The most recent incident of the Pixel 6a’s battery exploding came 27 days ago, when a user reported that the smartphone ‘spontaneously combusted in the middle of the night.’ There have been other complaints about the mid-ranger overheating, prompting Google to begin the roll-out of a mandatory update for the device, which should prevent any dangerous episodes from transpiring. Sadly, this decision will be at the cost of charging performance and battery capacity. Here are more details that you will be interested in.
Lack of sufficient cooling, inefficient chipset, and 5G modem are the likely components that are causing the Pixel 6a to overheat
Google’s spokesperson, Alex Moriconi, provided a statement to the Android Authority, talking about the software update for the Pixel 6a that may reduce battery overheating. The company will contact impacted customers from next month, with a certain percentage of users expected to receive the update.
“A subset of Pixel 6A phones will require a mandatory software update to reduce the risk of potential battery overheating. The update will enable battery management features that will reduce capacity and charging performance after the battery reaches 400 charge cycles. We’ll contact impacted customers next month, with all the information they need to address the issue.”
It is common practice for smartphone owners to hold onto their devices for several years, and with the Pixel 6a, it makes a ton of sense because Google’s previous-generation mid-ranger is expected to receive software updates until June 2027. However, with the string of overheating events, the same customers might want to consider upgrading. While a smartphone battery explosion is definitely a cause of concern, it is usually a rare incident.
However, what is happening with the Pixel 6a has started to become routine, forcing Google to issue a software update. Perhaps now the Mountain View behemoth will seriously consider transitioning to more power-efficient components, starting with the Tensor G5 for the Pixel 10 series, which is said to be mass produced on TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process.
Unfortunately, instead of moving to the more advanced 5G modems from MediaTek, Google appears adamant to stick with Samsung for its less efficient baseband chips for its upcoming flagship family. Whether it is to reduce component costs or Samsung offered a lucrative deal to Google, we cannot confirm. What we can inform Pixel 6a owners is to be vigilant about how they charge their smartphones and keep an eye out for any software updates they may receive soon.
