Here’s the crux of the article in video form:
Normally, it takes anywhere from a few days to weeks before a new smartphone learns your usage habits and settles to a standard battery life. During this time, you may observe unusual battery drain and even overheating. But once things settle down, you should start noticing improvements in thermals and battery usage. However, we are seeing reports of severe battery drain from some owners of the new and shiny Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro several weeks later.
The Pixel forum and subreddits have multiple reports from Pixel 8 and 8 Pro owners experiencing excessive battery drain despite having daily-driven the phone for more than the recommended two weeks. But hey, these wouldn’t be the first Pixel phones to suffer from severe battery consumption, would they?
It’s nothing new on Pixel phones
The Google Pixel is no stranger to battery life woes ever since Tensor-powered Pixel 6 and 6 Pro debuted. In fact, the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro were some of the worst hit devices released in 2022 alongside the iPhone 14 and Samsung Galaxy S22 series. Perhaps it was just a bad year for chipset makers, but at least Apple and Samsung went back to the drawing board and improved battery life on the iPhone 15 and Galaxy S23 series. Unfortunately, it seems Google missed the memo to address previous battery life issues with the release of the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro.
The Pixel 8 Pro, for instance, has a 5050mAh battery unit. At best, especially with normal usage, you shouldn’t get anything below 7 hours of SOT. However, there are multiple reports from people barely managing 6 hours of SOT. As noted earlier, it may take up to 2 weeks for a new phone to learn your behavior. From my observations, though, it seems something else is contributing to the battery drain problem on the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro.
Potential cause for Pixel 8 battery drain issue
We all have different usage patterns. I could be a heavy gamer and you could be heavy on TikTok and YouTube. The next person might be into texting and a few calls. In the end, we all can’t have the same battery life, even on the same device. However, there seem to be a recurring theme with the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro battery drain issues.
Similar to the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 family, mobile network seems to be the biggest battery hog on the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. This often happens at night when the phone isn’t in use, which further adds to the conundrum. This can hardly be blamed on the phone learning your behavior since you aren’t even using it. Also, there’s evidence of the same issue in previous models, which could suggest Tensor’s modem problems still persist on the Pixel 8.
It’s known mobile network usage can be a huge battery hog owing to the energy used to connect to signal towers depending on where you are. However, it’s a whole different ballgame losing up to 75% battery juice on mobile network, especially when in sleep mode.
The good thing is software updates can fix or improve such issues. So hopefully, the November update brings some much-needed network optimizations and battery life improvements for Pixel 8 and 8 Pro users.
Hillary Keverenge
2119 Posts
Tech has been my playground for over a decade. While the Android journey began early, it truly took flight with the revolutionary Lollipop update. Since then, it's been a parade of Android devices (with a sprinkle of iOS), culminating in a mostly happy marriage with Google's smart home ecosystem. Expect insightful articles and explorations of the ever-evolving world of Android and Google products coupled with occasional rants on the Nest smart home ecosystem.
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