How to ensure my Pixel 2 lasts 3-4+ years?

[thegoodjuju]

I recently got the Pixel 2 and I am so in love with it! The screen size is perfect for one-handed use when most new phones out there are too big (even the S8 is too tall for my liking). Since this thing is gonna be updated all the way through Android Q, and because I love this phone so much, I intend to keep this phone the next 3-4+ years. Which, really, a high end phone should last 5 or more years, like my PC, or my TV, or my sound system, etc. Or someone should revolutionize the wasteful smartphone industry and design a modular phone that can be upgraded similar to a home PC. But anyways, I'm loving my Pixel 2 and I want to make sure it's well protected. I have it in an Otterbox defender (with the horrible dust-collecting screen popped out of it) and an Invisible Shield Glass+ protector (but I plan on switching that out for the newly released Power Support Tempered Glass Film for Pixel 2). And I have the $11 Total Mobile Protection insurance from Verizon. Is there anything else I can do to ensure a long life for my new phone? Additionally, I am worried about the camera lens not having a screen protector on it but I can't find one on the market yet.

 

[AuburnGrad]

the biggest killer to phones is battery life degrading. I know some of it comes down to the amount of recharge cycles. I think that some comes down to luck. My 6P lost more than half it's useful battery life and wouldn't make it through the even half the day.

Like you I wish they were modular and we could swap batteries, like I did when I had a Samsung Note. I always carried a spare and that was still going strong after two years.

No need to worry about the camera lense. if you have insurance, and an otter box case, your doing as well as you can.

 

[LeoRex]

I think that some comes down to luck. My 6P lost more than half it's useful battery life and wouldn't make it through the even half the day.

Well, that was not bad luck. In an attempt to maximize battery life without going with a larger cell, Huawei chose to use a battery with a peak charging voltage of 4.4v. For LiPo batteries, this is right at the absolute maximum voltage... Most other phones stop at 4.35v.

So, basically, every time you fully charged the 6P, it degraded just a smidge quicker than other phones. Add that up over time and there ya go.

 

[whiteangelcl]

Use it carefully.

 

[swarlos]

Don’t sit on it. It apparently bends and cracks super easy.

 

[chanchan05]

Here's an old post I had that I kept on my phone's memo. Battery tech hasn't changed anyway. We just figured out how to make them smaller and have more cycles. But how to care for them remains the same. For example, instead of 300-500 cycles for charging depth of 100%, it now runs to 800-2000 charges.

Anyway the gist is, basically, batteries work by ion movement, and like a machine, these ions wear out over time due to use. And similar to machines, heavy use wears them out more. You're more likely to break an engine by running it for 1 day at max rev, than running it over a month at half capacity. The smaller the depth of discharge, the lower the wear. Lab tests have concluded that when you constantly discharge from 100 to 0, it allows you betwrrn 300-500 charge cycles before it starts to break down and not hold charges. More specifically, when you reach that magic number your battery can only hold 75% of it's original charge. That's typically 1-2 years of use if you charge once a day. And heavy abusers charge more than once a day, so that decreases the time span to however many weeks it takes them to reach 500 charge cycles. Now, the increase in charge cycles is exponential, not arithmetical. So a depth of discharge to 50 before recharging will not give you 600-1000 charges. Rather it will give you 1200-1500 charge cycles. Mathematically, draining a 3600mah to zero for 300 charges gives you 1080000mah to burn through however short your battery life will be. On the other hand, using only 50% of the battery before recharging gives you 2160000mah to burn through before it expires after at least 1200 charge cycles. In other words, it stored twice more power for you to use. If you say, charge once every 24hrs, going always from 100 to 0 gives you at least 300 days. Recharging twice a day at 50% gives your battery at least 600 days of use before battery capacity deteriorates noticeably. Discharging to 75% before recharging actually gives you 2000-2500 charge cycles, making it even longer. Basically the point is, always plug the phone in when given the chance. Don't wait for 50%, or whatever. 40% is an arbitrary number actually, not sure why it's chosen. Also, this is why one of the choices to auto activate power saving in the S7 is at 50%, so that it keeps the battery up as close to 50% as possible when you get the chance to plug in.

As for charging to 80%, this is because partial charge is better than full charge for lithium ion batteries. The ions are placed on stress to hold charges. Maximum stress is at 100% charge. And like everything else, stuff tends to break more. So not running it to 100% all the time will reduce overall stress experienced and increase the time before deterioration occurs. Personally I charge to 90%, and discharge to 40% or above. That's a 50% depth of charge, so that's good for up to 1500 charge cycles, plus whatever number of cycles the decrease in max stress gives me.

However, note that environmental temperatures also play a role in battery longevity.

Sources for that is batteryuniversity.com

 

[thegoodjuju]

Like you I wish they were modular and we could swap batteries, like I did when I had a Samsung Note. I always carried a spare and that was still going strong after two years.

No need to worry about the camera lense. if you have insurance, and an otter box case, your doing as well as you can.

Can the battery be swapped on the Pixel 2 if I take it to a technician?

Regarding the camera lens - if it's in a bag full of other objects (keys being one of them) then the lens could get scratched and adversely affect picture quality, right?

Well, that was not bad luck. In an attempt to maximize battery life without going with a larger cell, Huawei chose to use a battery with a peak charging voltage of 4.4v. For LiPo batteries, this is right at the absolute maximum voltage... Most other phones stop at 4.35v.

So, basically, every time you fully charged the 6P, it degraded just a smidge quicker than other phones. Add that up over time and there ya go.

How is the Pixel 2 different from the 6P in comparison? How long would it take a Pixel 2 battery to degrade? Right now the battery life is pretty stellar.

Here's an old post I had that I kept on my phone's memo. Battery tech hasn't changed anyway. We just figured out how to make them smaller and have more cycles. But how to care for them remains the same. For example, instead of 300-500 cycles for charging depth of 100%, it now runs to 800-2000 charges.

Sources for that is batteryuniversity.com

That was some helpful info, thank you. So how many charges is the Pixel 2 battery supposed to run?

 

[chanchan05]

Google made no annoucements on the battery, and no one has actually tested it, but it's safer to expect it to have the minimum of 800 cycles when discharging from 100-0.

If we use that as base, then discharging from 100-50 before recharging should give it maybe 4x more cycles, or about 3200 cycles, if we compare to how 300 cycles minimum becomes 1200 for older batteries.