Buying a new, unused smartphone from the unsold stock of manufacturer. What about battery health?

[PeterMug]

Hi,

I'm thinking of buying a new, unused, unopened Sony Xperia X Compact from a third-party seller who bought a bunch of them from Sony. The phone was originally released in September 2016. So assuming the worst case scenario and the phone was made in September 2016 and never turned on, should I be concerned about the health/capacity of the battery? It's only been a maximum of 1 year and 5 months, so maybe it won't be a big deal? I figure if the phone was never used, maybe the inactivity of the battery will hinder the battery's performance/health/capacity, assuming the phone was manufactured close to the first release of the phone (September 2016). Do you know?

Thanks again. I appreciate your time!

Thanks.

 

[Tim1954]

That would depend entirely on the way it was stored. Temperature. State of charge. And you can't know this until you try it. Perhaps look at replacement cost of the battery and factor that into the deal....

 

[PeterMug]

True. Thanks for your input. I don't think Sony even sells spare batteries. How would I even know if I am getting a genuine one that is new on eBay? And how do I know how the replacement battery itself was stored?

 

[PeterMug]

So, let's assume ideal conditions: phone was stored in a dry, cool place with battery percentage at 50%. In that case, would a year and 5 months of inactivity affect battery health/capacity?