If you don’t notice an issue, there is no reason to replace the battery.
But if Google now puts a fat “your battery needs to be replaced” notification, those users who didn’t even notice an issue are driven to buy a new phone out of fear their phone will explode.
Now that is a good point. The average consumer will see that and think “gollygee I better spend more money.” They don’t have the knowledge needed to protect themselves.
I see this more as a tool for people who notice reduced battery life and want to do something about it. Currently they essentially need to guess if the battery is the issue and get it replaced to find out.
If you notice your battery life shortening, the health check can either confirm that you will see improvement with a new battery, or it will tell you your battery is okay, and reduced life is due to software changes or increased usage.
The phone I bought used was fortunately a company phone where the prior user barely touched it. So it lasted two years before really going to crap. But I’ve seen stories of used phones working fine for a few months then the battery just goes to shit.
Honestly sometimes I get carried away on my device and eat through 20-30% of my battery. And then start thinking it needs replacement because it felt like it’s just been a few mins… before popping open the battery stats and realise i’ve actually been on my phone for hours 🤦♂️
Most people can’t tell how much battery life has been lost to wear and tear just by using the battery.
If you don’t notice an issue, there is no reason to replace the battery.
But if Google now puts a fat “your battery needs to be replaced” notification, those users who didn’t even notice an issue are driven to buy a new phone out of fear their phone will explode.
Now that is a good point. The average consumer will see that and think “gollygee I better spend more money.” They don’t have the knowledge needed to protect themselves.
Yes, this is definitely an anti-consumer feature! /s
if I can’t tell that my battery life has been reduced, why do i care? i’m literally oblivious to it
I see this more as a tool for people who notice reduced battery life and want to do something about it. Currently they essentially need to guess if the battery is the issue and get it replaced to find out.
If you notice your battery life shortening, the health check can either confirm that you will see improvement with a new battery, or it will tell you your battery is okay, and reduced life is due to software changes or increased usage.
This is especially true for users of Lineage os. Its hard to know if the reduced battery is related to updates or not.
So, use the phone instead.
Seems then if the user can’t tell…
Worse if you buy it used.
The phone I bought used was fortunately a company phone where the prior user barely touched it. So it lasted two years before really going to crap. But I’ve seen stories of used phones working fine for a few months then the battery just goes to shit.
Honestly sometimes I get carried away on my device and eat through 20-30% of my battery. And then start thinking it needs replacement because it felt like it’s just been a few mins… before popping open the battery stats and realise i’ve actually been on my phone for hours 🤦♂️