Google Pixel 6 battery life tested — we have bad news

(Paradigm credit: Tom'due south Guide)

If you're wondering if the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are worth buying, the short reply is "yeah." Equally you'll see in our Pixel half-dozen review and Pixel 6 Pro review, both phones deliver great cameras, responsive displays and plenty of power through the new Tensor chip.

The only major caveat for the Pixel 6 series is battery life. Both phones turned in beneath-boilerplate endurance on the Tom's Guide battery exam, which involves continuous spider web surfing over 5G at 150 nits of screen brightness.

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For context, the phones on our best phone bombardment life list last all last xi hours or more, and we consider x hours or longer to a higher place average.

The Pixel six's iv,614 mAh battery lasted but 8 hours and one minute on our test with the screen prepare to static or 60Hz manner. On adaptive manner, which sales the refresh charge per unit from 60Hz upwardly to 90Hz, we saw as high as viii:13. Not skilful.

Model	Battery life (hours:mins)
Google Pixel half dozen	viii:xiii
Google Pixel half-dozen Pro	vii:53
iPhone xiii Pro Max	12:xvi
iPhone 13 Pro	11:42
iPhone 13	ten:33
iPhone 13 mini	viii:41
Samsung Galaxy S21	ix:53
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus	9:50
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra	xi:25
OnePlus ix Pro	12:48

Surprisingly, the Pixel six 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 vi Pro lasted seven:46 or about the same time.

Past comparing, the iPhone 13 lasted ten hours and 33 minutes on our web surfing test and the iPhone 13 Pro Max hit 12:16. The Samsung Milky way S21 endured for 9:53 and the Galaxy S21 Ultra endured for 11:25. Last merely not least, the OnePlus nine Pro lasted an excellent 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'southward slap-up, but we would similar to meet ameliorate results over 5G.

So what's going on hither? We have a couple of theories. For one, we tested the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel half dozen Pro at 77% effulgence for our bombardment test, as that's what it took to become to our required 150 nits. Other phones tend to reach that nit level at around fifty% brightness, but we wanted to go on the comparisons off-white.

2d, the Google Pixel half dozen and Pixel vi Pro reportedly use an older Samsung modem found in the Milky way S20 serial. It'south over a year old at this point. Nosotros suspect that this modem is not nearly as efficient equally new Qualcomm modems in today'south flagships.

To exist fair, no one is going to surf the web continuously until the battery dies, and our test is not designed to mirror real-world utilize. In fact, thanks to Google'due south Tensor chip and tools similar Extreme Energy Saver mode, you should be able to get through nearly of the day (if non more) on a charge.

But when it comes to tasks that employ 5G on the go, the Pixel half dozen and Pixel 6 Pro are definitely a a footstep behind the competition when information technology comes to battery life.

It's besides worth pointing out that Google has since warned people that the Pixel vi may not accuse with generic or USB-A charging hardware. That, combined with the weak 5G battery life, is a real double whammy of battery issues.

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Mark Spoonauer is the global editor in chief of Tom's Guide and has covered technology for most 20 years. In addition to overseeing the direction of Tom'south Guide, Marker 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 Television set to talk over the latest trends. Mark was previously editor in principal of Laptop Mag, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Scientific discipline and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.