Pixel 4 Battery Life Is Biggest Reason Not to Buy It

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The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL are two of the most advanced smartphones ever made, filled to the brim with computational photography tricks, fancy hand gestures via a radar chip and a recording app that can transcribe what is said in real time.

It's just too bad that Google didn't pay more attention to one of the key basics: battery life. Based on our testing, both the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL trail the longest-lasting phones by a wide margin.

Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL battery life vs competition

Phone Battery Life (hrs:mins) Pixel 4 8:03 OnePlus 7T 8:47 Galaxy Note 10 9:10 Pixel 4 XL 9:42 Galaxy S10 10:19 iPhone 11 Pro 10:24 Galaxy Note 10 Plus 11:09 iPhone 11 11:16 iPhone 11 Pro Max 11::54 Galaxy S10 Plus 12:35

With its 2,800 mAh battery, the Pixel 4's capacity is less than the Pixel 3's 2,915 mAh battery. So it wasn't a big surprise that this phone turned in a shorter runtime on the Tom's Guide battery test, which involves continuous web surfing at 150 nits of screen brightness. We use T-Mobile's network for our testing to be consistent across phones.

The Pixel 4 lasted only 8 hours and 3 minutes on our battery test, which is well below the handsets on our best phone battery life list and most competing flagships. For example, the iPhone 11 lasted 11:16 while the iPhone 11 Pro (with a similar size display to the Pixel 4) lasted 10:24. That's about two and a half hours longer endurance from Apple's phone.

The picture isn't much better when you compare the Pixel 4 to Samsung's similarly sized flagship phones. The regular Galaxy S10 lasted 10:19 on our battery test and the regular Galaxy Note 10 hit 9:10. The Android phone that finished closest to the Pixel 4 was the OnePlus 7T at 8:47.

The Pixel 4 XL benefits from a larger battery than the Pixel 3 XL, as Google stepped it up from a 3,430 mAh pack to a 3,700 mAh one in its newer phone. The result was a battery life increase from 9 hours and 30 minutes to 9:42. Nevertheless, the Pixel 4 XL is shamed by other premium phones.

Take the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Apple's big-screen phone lasted an excellent 11:54, which is more than two hours longer than the Pixel 4. The Galaxy S10 Plus lasted an even longer 12:35. And the Galaxy Note 10 Plus endured for 11:09, which is nearly 1.5 hours longer than Google's handset.

If you're wondering whether the faster 90Hz refresh rate on the Pixel 4's and Pixel 4 displays contributes to the poor battery life, it does but not a ton. When we tested the Pixel 4 with the smooth display effect turned off we saw a runtime of 8 hours and 36 minutes, which is only about a half hour better than with 90Hz turned on.

The bottom line is that Google's new phones simply don't last as long on a charge as competing phones. So if battery life means a lot to you, go for the larger Pixel 4 XL to get more juice or opt for a Samsung phone or new iPhone.

PrinceOfStealing on October 28th, 2019 at 16:38 UTC »

For me, the problem is not what SOT you get today with the pixel 4. The problem is what you get a year or two from now. Sure, you can always pay for a quick battery swap, but you'll be less inclined if the battery was designed for extended use to begin with.

Like, if I had the iPhone 11+ pro, I wouldn't be too worried about its battery for the next two years.

mountainOlard on October 28th, 2019 at 16:31 UTC »

I don't know man. After the pixel 3a, I'm just not willing to sacrifice battery life for features I don't need very much. I get that speed, wireless charging, and multiple cameras is nice but.. the price AND cost of battery life is just not worth it.

I never have to worry about my battery lasting me the whole day. Ever. 6+ hours of screen on time in use every day. Sure the phone isn't crazy fast (fast enough tho), and the camera options are limited and a few other things but it's perfectly fine for what I need.

ivanthecurious on October 28th, 2019 at 15:53 UTC »

I'm hoping all this bad press finally shames Google into putting a properly sized battery into its phones. Every other flagship has been growing its batteries over the past two years! People don't like battery anxiety, and the handset makers finally got the signal. Get with the program, Google!