On January 1, 2026, Google filed a patent (via Hypertxt.ai) for an interesting smartphone battery design that skips glue and opts for a more mechanical way of locking the battery inside a phone using a rigid metal chassis. That new design should technically allow a normal user, like me, to dislodge the battery from the phone without puncturing it or damaging it, and replace it with a new one.
Although this is still a patent, and patents have a tendency to remain theoretical hogwash, there’s actually a reason why this particular one might end up in an actual product like the Pixel 12: the European Union’s battery regulation. And if it does, then Google might have finally figured out how to fix one of the Pixel’s biggest battery complaints.
Which battery innovation do you want on your next Pixel phone? 415 votes A silicon-carbon battery for more battery life out of the box. 25 % An easy user-replaceable battery. 19 % Why not both? 55 % Something else (tell us in the comments). 1 %
Pixels are made to last; their batteries aren’t
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
Pixel phones last many years if you take care of them and you’re lucky not to face any major hardware defect. My mom was still using my five-year-old Pixel 5 as her main device until very recently, while my eight-year-old Pixel 2 XL is still functional and acts as my family’s backup if something goes wrong with our current phones. The problem with this longevity potential? Pixel battery life is mediocre as a start, and the battery itself just doesn’t last as long. Sure, the phones have a good resistance to aging, and the current seven-year software update promise means they will remain updated and secure for many years, but battery life just can’t keep up.
As a perk of my job, I’ve been upgrading my Pixels yearly since the Pixel 4 XL, and I know one thing for sure. Like clockwork, come June or July, after around nine months of use, I notice a significant dip in my phone’s battery life. It happens gradually, of course, but I don’t see its effect until I’m traveling somewhere during the long summer days and relying on my phone to carry on taking photos and using Maps until bedtime. All of a sudden, it can’t. The same phone that was able to manage long and busy days in September or October now dies around mid-afternoon.
My Pixel's battery life was mediocre as a start, but after just a year, it's even worse.
I’ve seen this happen to my Pixel 6 Pro, 7 Pro, 8 Pro, and to a lesser extent, to my Pixel 9 Pro XL. The Pixel 9 Pro XL says it’s down to 93% capacity after 365 cycles — though I feel it’s lost more than 7% of its longevity based on my experience. The battery wasn’t phenomenal as a start, and now it’s even worse. If one year of consistent use can do this to the battery, I can only imagine the impact of a couple more years. Actually, I can guess, kind of. My husband’s Pixel 7 Pro, which has been his primary phone since he bought it at launch, doesn’t show the exact cycle count and remaining capacity, but it clearly says the battery capacity is reduced because the phone has exceeded its rated cycle count.
Pixel 9 Pro XL battery health... ... after one full year of charging and use Pixel 7 Pro battery health after three full years of use
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