Google Pixel owners complain of battery drain, overheating after update

A few Google Pixel owners on Reddit are reporting increased battery drain and overheating following the big June Pixel feature drop update. Others have also noted poorer signal quality and an inability to select text. Google has yet to confirm any such bugs officially, and we have not independently verified these issues on our own Pixel phones. 

Google’s latest Pixels feature drop includes several useful new features, including cinematic wallpapers, an emoji workshop, a macro focus mode for video, and enhanced AI-powered charging management, among others. 

The update may have included hidden features as well, such as increased battery drain, overheating, and signal drop issues, according to a post on the r/Googlepixel subreddit. In response, some Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 users concur and trace the diminished experience on Google phones to the June feature drop.

“At my work (all steel building) I would always have at least some signal albeit quite poor. Now it’s a coin toss if I have any service. Thankfully the in house wifi is great but just thought it was interesting how it changed since the update,” one complaining Pixel owner said.

Google faced a similar overheating issue caused by a server-side update to the Google app in May. The company managed to resolve it in short order but signal, modem, and thermal issues seem endemic to the Tensor processor.

We hope this isn’t a recurrent problem 

In all fairness, we haven’t personally noticed this increased battery drain on our personal Pixels. However, complaints seem to be mounting with Google’s Pixels. The company’s switch to Tensor, its own SOC platform, has been fraught with problems. The processor has picked up a reputation for heating and battery concerns, and we experienced these problems in our Pixel 6a review and Pixel 7a reviews.

At the same time, it’s worth noting that Pixels still stand out as some of the best Android phones. They have elegant designs and powerful cameras, and their software is still rather nice and comparable to iOS in its simplicity and design, if not better.

However, should Google’s thermal, signal, and software problems continue for another year or two, the company may find it hard to stand among the best smartphones, especially when Apple and Samsung deliver excellent experiences year after year.