Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
Setting expectations is a funny thing. Usually, it’s built on experiences you’ve already had, and often takes reasonable forecasting into account — the key word being reasonable. For example, if you’ve gone out and run one marathon, it’s reasonable to expect that you’d run your second one a bit better. After all, you know what the distance feels like, you know when it starts to get hard, and you know what it takes to push through.
And yet, when we try to set expectations in the world of smartphones, we’re so often left wanting more. We create lofty goals, and we’re confused and disappointed when they aren’t met. So, why do we bother setting expectations for Google when it comes to the battery life of its Pixel series? I’ve used them for years, and here’s what it will take for me not to give up.
I was told that Tensor improvements would change everything
Joe Maring / Android Authority
Alright, so I know it’s not an entirely fair comparison, but let’s go all the way back to the Pixel 6 series. After all, it was the first to bring its chipset in-house, sporting the Tensor name for the very first time. I was excited, you were excited, we were all excited as Pixel fans. And, despite buying my Pixel 5 less than a year before, I knew I had to have it.
The only — well, the biggest — problem was that its battery life was terrible over time. I picked up the Pixel 6 Pro, and I found myself putting it right back down to either cool off or recharge (or both) early and often. For a while, I was happy to dismiss it as the Tensor chip simply learning my usage habits, but I quickly realized my returns were getting worse, not better.
I expected Apple-like battery returns when Google brought its Pixel chipsets in-house...
Then, we all agreed to blame most of the woes on the modem in the Pixel 6 series, which was a perfectly reasonable decision. It really was a problem, just not one that Google would get around to fixing before the Pixel 7 series. So, when that duo, powered by the Tensor G2, came around, I set my expectations high. Surely, this had to be the Pixel that improved upon the legacy of the quirky Pixel 5 that I’d loved so much.
It… wasn’t. Well, it was, in the sense that I praised its updated modem and fingerprint sensor, but the Tensor G2 presented a familiar set of problems. It ran hot, which tanked the battery life and meant that I’d often have to put the phone down to let it cool. Rinse and repeat the process for both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 series, with slight improvements to the thermals each time, slowly making it easier to enjoy Google’s cameras and software for longer at a time.
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