Google Pixel 6 battery life tested — we have bad news

Google Pixel half-dozen bombardment life tested — we accept bad news

(Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

If you're wondering if the Pixel half-dozen and Pixel 6 Pro are worth ownership, the brusque answer is "yep." Equally you lot'll encounter in our Pixel half dozen review and Pixel 6 Pro review, both phones deliver not bad cameras, responsive displays and plenty of ability through the new Tensor chip.

The only major caveat for the Pixel 6 series is battery life. Both phones turned in below-average endurance on the Tom's Guide bombardment test, which involves continuous web surfing over 5G at 150 nits of screen effulgence.

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For context, the phones on our best phone bombardment life list last all last 11 hours or more, and we consider 10 hours or longer higher up boilerplate.

The Pixel 6's 4,614 mAh bombardment lasted only 8 hours and 1 infinitesimal on our test with the screen set up to static or 60Hz mode. On adaptive mode, which sales the refresh charge per unit from 60Hz upwards to 90Hz, we saw equally high as viii:xiii. Non good.

Model	Battery life (hours:mins)
Google Pixel 6	8:13
Google Pixel 6 Pro	7:53
iPhone 13 Pro Max	12:16
iPhone 13 Pro	xi:42
iPhone 13	x:33
iPhone thirteen mini	viii:41
Samsung Galaxy S21	9:53
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus	ix:50
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra	eleven:25
OnePlus 9 Pro	12:48

Surprisingly, the Pixel 6 Pro turned in an even worse 7 hours and 53 minutes on our battery test, despite having a larger 5,000 mAh battery. In adaptive fashion the Pixel half-dozen Pro lasted 7:46 or near the same fourth dimension.

By comparison, the iPhone 13 lasted 10 hours and 33 minutes on our web surfing test and the iPhone 13 Pro Max striking 12:xvi. The Samsung Galaxy S21 endured for 9:53 and the Galaxy S21 Ultra endured for 11:25. Last but not to the lowest degree, the OnePlus 9 Pro lasted an first-class 12:48.

Interestingly, nosotros tested the regular Pixel 6 a couple of times over 4G as well and it averaged 10 hours and 52 minutes. That'south cracking, simply we would like to see better results over 5G.

And then what's going on hither? We have a couple of theories. For one, we tested the Google Pixel vi and Pixel 6 Pro at 77% brightness for our battery exam, as that'southward what information technology took to become to our required 150 nits. Other phones tend to accomplish that nit level at around l% brightness, simply we wanted to keep the comparisons fair.

Second, the Google Pixel half-dozen and Pixel 6 Pro reportedly utilise an older Samsung modem found in the Galaxy S20 series. It's over a year sometime at this betoken. We suspect that this modem is not nearly as efficient as new Qualcomm modems in today'south flagships.

To exist fair, no i is going to surf the web continuously until the battery dies, and our test is not designed to mirror real-world utilize. In fact, thank you to Google'southward Tensor chip and tools like Extreme Energy Saver mode, you lot should be able to get through most of the twenty-four hours (if non more) on a charge.

But when it comes to tasks that utilize 5G on the go, the Pixel half-dozen and Pixel 6 Pro are definitely a a pace backside the contest when it comes to battery life.

It's also worth pointing out that Google has since warned people that the Pixel half dozen may non accuse with generic or USB-A charging hardware. That, combined with the weak 5G bombardment life, is a real double whammy of bombardment issues.

More: Pixel 6 Pro vs iPhone 13 Pro Max existent-world speed test shows surprising results

Marker Spoonauer is the global editor in master of Tom's Guide and has covered technology for most 20 years. In add-on to overseeing the management of Tom's Guide, Marking specializes in covering all things mobile, having reviewed dozens of smartphones and other gadgets. He has spoken at fundamental industry events and appears regularly on Idiot box to discuss the latest trends. Marker was previously editor in main of Laptop Magazine, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Science and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.