AI Summary:
The article discusses the issues with Google’s Pixel 4a battery update. The update has caused drastically reduced battery life for many users, with some experiencing only two hours of charge. Google has offered three options for affected users: a battery replacement, $50, or $100 in Google Store credit. However, the update has been criticized for its lack of transparency and the inconvenience it has caused. Additionally, the update was built on a personal machine, not the proper build system, and has led to confusion and frustration among users.
I gave my old 4a to my father who enjoyed it tremendously. This bullshit update ruined the phone for him. Battery replacement helped but I really don’t see how such updates are okay to push for a company this big. They know there are two types of batteries and one of those can’t handle the update, because they’ve sent a warning to those phones. Maybe just don’t push the update to those phones instead?
@Scrollone Motorola Is the perfect stock-like android smartphone imho. They are cheap and reliable and some of them came with a lot of storage and battery Power…uh and gestures
I have a still working updated 4a which I use for a second phone account I have because it is so pleasant to carry around. I bought it late in the 4a production cycle and I think it must therefore have a battery that is different in some way to that included with earlier models and that is the reason the update did not brick my phone. I think what happened here is Google knew of a flash bang fault in those batteries which touch on wood later ones did not have so sent a targeted update to hash those specific early devices for safety. The question is not did Google intentionally scupper those phones but when did it know about the fault. My guess is it discovered it during production and that is why later models are altered and now remain usable after the update. The upshot of that is Google had some idea they were faulty very early on but chose not to recall them then but instead only disable them very late in their life. This is just speculation of course, I could just have been lucky and Google could have just recently found some fault with aging batteries.
My pixel 4a was affected by that update. I ended up buying a new phone. I don’t even want to install something like Graphene os. So many privacy-based limitations I don’t really need. And I have no desire to try Lineage OS. All I wanted is to have a functional phone. I can’t trust google long-term hardware reliability. They don’t even gave an explanation. I don’t think that I will consider any Google hardware in nearest future.
For all people reading this: there are zero privacy-based limitations with GrapheneOS.
Yeah, i think its awesome and liberating to be more in control of my phone. I am rocking it for over a year now and haven’t had any major issues yet (I had more issues with the stock software of my Xiaomi I had previously). Except for some nasty apps (like some banking apps) everything works flawlessly for me!
I love the additional freedom too.
For me there weren’t even problems with nasty banking apps, all apps from three german banks are working normal.
Okay, I was thinking about my next phone being a pixel, ain’t going to happen now.
One thing is fucking over your customers with an update like that, but then not fixing it and instead offering 50 bucks is just giving your customers a finger straightin the face
I’m in a slightly similar boat. I was considering one of this foldable phones next…but what’s the point in leaving one big tech for another?
I’m seriously considering an open source phone now, one that has everything open source, no Google or Apple shit.
I do want one that has good cams, battery, and display, though
Same.
I’ve looked at pics presumably posted using a FairPhone on Pixelfed (They have a FP hashtag.), and I think they look good.
From my conversations on Mastodon, it’s good in all other aspects although some do say the camera isn’t great. The battery is 4200mah, which is bigger than this iPhone 13. I’m going to look into trying one, somehow.
Why not slam a 10000mah battery on that thing? I don’t care that it’s twice as thick, onepuld have a phone that can last nearly a week, worth it.
I had a couple 4a and now have an 8. Don’t bother – I’m convinced there are better phones for the $. Not to mention better companies to buy from, after this shit show
Hardware-wise there may be better phones, but from a software standpoint… hmm… I haven’t been able to find any other phone with a stock-like experience, and no bloat.
