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

[vincelovesfreefood]

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?

Thanks.

 

[hang-the-9]

Yes a battery sitting for a long time without being used can fail or drop capacity.

 

[vincelovesfreefood]

Yes a battery sitting for a long time without being used can fail or drop capacity.

Thanks for your response! How long is "a long time" and approximately how much capacity loss could one expect from it? I'm trying to find research online about this, but I cannot.

 

[hang-the-9]

No way to know for sure, it may be fine, it may be dead, it may be half. Cross your fingers and get it if you want to get an older device to save money. There is no set answer here.