Google and Samsung beware: This Android brand just raised the bar for free battery replacements

Phone makers are putting increasingly larger batteries in their smartphones. While that’s great news for people who want longer battery life, there isn’t a lot you can do once the battery health drops. Fortunately, Xiaomi is taking steps to solve that problem for its customers.

The company is gearing up to launch the Redmi Note 17 Pro in China on July 14, and the phone will come with a uniquely useful benefit. Xiaomi Group President Lu Weibing has announced in a Weibo post that the Redmi Note 17 Pro will include a free, five-year battery upgrade program for devices purchased in the first sale.

If the phone’s battery health drops below 80% in the first four years, the company will replace the phone’s battery for free. However, if the battery health drops below 80% in the fifth year, users will be able to upgrade to a bigger battery for free.

That’s great news, especially for people who prefer keeping their phones for years before upgrading to a new one. The battery is usually the first thing to degrade in modern smartphones, and having a free replacement program is not only good for customers but also for the environment, as it can reduce the amount of electronic waste.

Companies like Samsung and Google offer battery replacements for free while the device is still covered by the one year warranty. However, if your battery health drops after one year, you will have to pay to get the battery replaced. Since most smartphone batteries usually last well beyond one year, and significant battery degradation happens after a couple years of usage, it effectively means most customers won’t be able to get their Pixel or Galaxy device’s battery replaced for free.

Xiaomi has offered battery upgrade programs for older smartphones like the Xiaomi 13 in the past. However, those were paid options. A free replacement program is much more impressive, even if it’s limited to devices sold in the first sale. It’s possible that the company will offer the battery replacement program as an add-on for phones sold after the first sale.

Xiaomi has already confirmed that the Redmi Note 17 Pro will come with a 9,000mAh battery with support for 67W wired charging and 22.5W reverse wired charging. Recent leaks have also suggested that the phone could come with the Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 chipset and a 200MP main camera.

It’s worth noting that the Redmi Note 17 Pro’s global version might not feature a 9,000mAh battery. The five-year battery replacement program could also be limited to China. We’ll have to wait for the global launch to get more details.