Google Pixel 4/Pixel 4 XL

[Tig Bitties]

My Pixel 4 XL, is giving me best battery life of a smartphone I've had in years. I'm totally shocked reviewers say it's so bad. Unless I have my settings tweaked so much just right, I'm afraid to change anything.

Right now I'm getting like 7.5h to 8h SoT, which absolutely blows my Pixel 3 XL out of the water. This is giving me like 50% better battery life, and I could easily call this 2 day between charges.

Last night after being off the charger from 8:00am to 11:30pm, I plugged the phone at bedtime, with 59% battery left.

 

[Awesomesince86]

My Pixel 4 XL, is giving me best battery life of a smartphone I've had in years. I'm totally shocked reviewers say it's so bad. Unless I have my settings tweaked so much just right, I'm afraid to change anything.

Right now I'm getting like 7.5h to 8h SoT, which absolutely blows my Pixel 3 XL out of the water. This is giving me like 50% better battery life, and I could easily call this 2 day between charges.

Last night after being off the charger from 8:00am to 11:30pm, I plugged the phone at bedtime, with 59% battery left.

Awesome to hear. I wonder why your SOTs are so much of an outlier?

 

[Tig Bitties]

Awesome to hear. I wonder why your SOTs are so much of an outlier?

I've read similar stories on XDA, users that have the Pixel 4 XL, are telling of great battery life, better than expected.

 

[AustinIllini]

I already said in comparison it makes it seem worse. But no, I don't agree that makes it objectively bad on the 4XL. It would get 90 percent of people through the day reliably. That's all you can really count on from a smartphone nowadays, even including the Pro Max and other battery champs.

Meh. You have to judge it against its competitors, especially considering the price. If reviews are to be believed, the Pixel 4XL battery is bad.

 

[nospleen]

My Pixel 4 XL, is giving me best battery life of a smartphone I've had in years. I'm totally shocked reviewers say it's so bad. Unless I have my settings tweaked so much just right, I'm afraid to change anything.

Right now I'm getting like 7.5h to 8h SoT, which absolutely blows my Pixel 3 XL out of the water. This is giving me like 50% better battery life, and I could easily call this 2 day between charges.

Last night after being off the charger from 8:00am to 11:30pm, I plugged the phone at bedtime, with 59% battery left.

How is your average cell signal strength where you work/live? Mine is poor and I assume that kills battery life. I haven't upgraded yet, but getting closer.

 

[comper]

Meh. You have to judge it against its competitors, especially considering the price. If reviews are to be believed, the Pixel 4XL battery is bad.

I mean you guys are free to look at stuff that way. Maybe don't ever buy anything other than an iPhone though because in comparison every other mobile chipset is 2+ generations behind, has an objective and more exaggerated gap in performance, and therefore bad if using that logic. (No I'm not actually making that claim)

 

[AustinIllini]

It's not about buying or not buying, but $800 plus for a phone should get you competitive battery.

 

[Tig Bitties]

Not to beat a dead horse but my Pixel 4 XL has extremely good battery life and that should not be a concern whatsoever when getting this phone battery life has lasted me more than any phone I've had recently.

 

[michael9891]

Even phones with supposedly good battery life can be poor for some people. Best way if you really like a phone, try it for yourself.

I didn't find the 4XL to be great in the battery department, but certainly not bad and would easily last a day unless I was particularly hammering it.

 

[Awesomesince86]

I've read similar stories on XDA, users that have the Pixel 4 XL, are telling of great battery life, better than expected.

I wonder if the poorly reviews battery life was due to pre release software? Probably more likely people that have the phone are actively taking steps to preserve battery life whereas tech reviewers push it on purpose. Also could be just another example of quality control issues with Google where the battery life levels are varying so much due to hardware issues.

 

[comper]

It's not about buying or not buying, but $800 plus for a phone should get you competitive battery.

Okay, but you'd also be hard pressed to say that the 855/855+ is an objectively bad SoC just because the A12/A13 are so good, right? That's my whole point. We're at the point where processors and battery life are already very good and will serve their purpose for the vast majority of people just fine. The extra horsepower of the A13 is nice, and so is the extra battery life from some of the newer offerings, but they don't transcend those phones to a whole different class or make other phones objectively bad. I have to plug in the Pro Max every night the same I would the 4 XL.

 

[drinkingtea]

I mean you guys are free to look at stuff that way. Maybe don't ever buy anything other than an iPhone though because in comparison every other mobile chipset is 2+ generations behind, has an objective and more exaggerated gap in performance, and therefore bad if using that logic. (No I'm not actually making that claim)

Going on forums like this can be really unhealthy and ruin enjoyment in using any phone. Most people are content with non-Apple devices or having a phone without crazy specs, which is something tech junkies seem to be largely oblivious of. What bothers most people about the Pixel 4 and the 4 XL just doesn’t bother me or many others. When the Pixel 4 XL is $300+ off, it’ll be a great buy. Otherwise, I’ll get the iPhone 11. Either way, I’ll be fine.

 

[AustinIllini]

Okay, but you'd also be hard pressed to say that the 855/855+ is an objectively bad SoC just because the A12/A13 are so good, right? That's my whole point. We're at the point where processors and battery life are already very good and will serve their purpose for the vast majority of people just fine. The extra horsepower of the A13 is nice, and so is the extra battery life from some of the newer offerings, but they don't transcend those phones to a whole different class or make other phones objectively bad. I have to plug in the Pro Max every night the same I would the 4 XL.

That analogy would work, accept battery life is measurable and the 4XL is measurably bad. The processor performance not as easily measurable as it depends on a number of factors including hardware and software.

The battery life is bad for a phone which is far too expensive. Back to the drawing board.

 

[drinkingtea]

That analogy would work, accept battery life is measurable and the 4XL is measurably bad. The processor performance not as easily measurable as it depends on a number of factors including hardware and software.

The battery life is bad for a phone which is far too expensive. Back to the drawing board.

I remember when the 3 XL was released (a much worse phone than the 4, IMO), you had a Pixel icon/avatar and you would shoot anyone down if they dared to understandably criticize the phone. And then you went forth and made this thread. How the tables have turned. Anyway. Without a doubt, Google made a huge mistake with the battery. That’s why purchasing this phone is much more justifiable when it’s heavily discounted.

 

[comper]

That analogy would work, accept battery life is measurable and the 4XL is measurably bad. The processor performance not as easily measurable as it depends on a number of factors including hardware and software.

The battery life is bad for a phone which is far too expensive. Back to the drawing board.

What? Processor performance is way more objectively measurable compared to battery life. This post makes zero sense to me.

 

[AustinIllini]

What? Processor performance is way more objectively measurable compared to battery life. This post makes zero sense to me.

Battery life is battery life. It measures how long a phone lasts. Multiple causes to one effect. It's a trait of the phone itself.

The processor in and of itself is not a measurement of the phone. The processor speed is meaningless on its own.

Performance is to battery life as processor speed is to battery capacity. Fairly simple analogy. The first two are things that are measurable and directly useful to the consumer. The other two are pieces but not the whole picture.

 

[drinkingtea]

All I’m going to say is that to be overly upset and scandalized by specs is a privilege.

 

[comper]

You actually had it right the first time, except replace “battery life” with “processor performance” and then you’d see how subjective battery life really is between devices and different users. Meanwhile processor performance is objectively measurable. I never said anything about the listed processor speed, I’m talking about objective measurements that show the A13 is superior to anything else out right now.

But you still haven’t told me that the 855 is a bad processor for the same reason I won’t say the 4 XL battery life is objectively bad despite there being direct competition that’s better in that area by comparison. The 4 XL battery life is fine and should reliably get you through the day, the same as a
Note 10 or Pro Max will, and you’ll still plug them all in at night as well. I’m going stop this derail on my end now.

 

[big samm]

I also have excellent battery life on my Pixel4 xl
7 hours sot all the time... Glad i just bought it without really caring of what these reviewers are saying... These reviewers are not regular users..
They need to put their videos out so they can get more views so they rush and extensively use the phone , by taking 300 pics, 50 videos, upload them to instagram, snapchat, twitter, Facebook etc to show their followers, all that in bright sunlight with 90hz on, then get 500 + likes notifications that keeps the screen on even if the phone is not in use, and then they say battery life is nkt so good... i mean come on... This is not how we use our phones do we? I work for a living i got no time for all that s***. I got more than enough battery life on my P4 xl and no reviewers will convince me the opposite.

 

[drinkingtea]

I also have excellent battery life on my Pixel4 xl
7 hours sot all the time... Glad i just bought it without really caring of what these reviewers are saying... These reviewers are not regular users..
They need to put their videos out so they can get more views so they rush and extensively use the phone , by taking 300 pics, 50 videos, upload them to instagram, snapchat, twitter, Facebook etc to show their followers, all that in bright sunlight with 90hz on, then get 500 + likes notifications that keeps the screen on even if the phone is not in use, and then they say battery life is nkt so good... i mean come on... This is not how we use our phones do we? I work for a living i got no time for all that s***. I got more than enough battery life on my P4 xl and no reviewers will convince the opposite.

Right? I have a life outside of my phone. If I have to charge it twice a day, that doesn’t bother me. I have bigger worries in my life.

And, yes. YouTubers aren’t at all representative of average consumers. I really don’t care what they have to say. I watch them more for the visuals than anything else. MKBHD complaining about this or that doesn’t determine my purchasing decision because I know he uses the phone completely differently than the way I would. I mean, these people complain about the speed differences in unlocking methods. I genuinely don’t care. I just want the phone to unlock properly.

 

[michael9891]

I certainly wouldn't want a phone I had to charge twice a day. That is poor, by any standards.

 

[drinkingtea]

I certainly wouldn't want a phone I had to charge twice a day. That is poor, by any standards.

I disagree. Battery life isn’t something I personally prioritize.

 

[Lava Lamp Freak]

I charge my S8 twice a day, every day. I charge it in the morning to make up for whatever it drained the night before, and then I charge it when I get home from work. (I also use Android Auto when driving, so technically I charge it more than twice, but I'm referring to actually leaving it plugged in to 100% twice a day.)

I've always had smaller phones with smaller batteries, so I'm just used to it.

 

[Tig Bitties]

I also have excellent battery life on my Pixel4 xl
7 hours sot all the time... Glad i just bought it without really caring of what these reviewers are saying... These reviewers are not regular users..
They need to put their videos out so they can get more views so they rush and extensively use the phone , by taking 300 pics, 50 videos, upload them to instagram, snapchat, twitter, Facebook etc to show their followers, all that in bright sunlight with 90hz on, then get 500 + likes notifications that keeps the screen on even if the phone is not in use, and then they say battery life is nkt so good... i mean come on... This is not how we use our phones do we? I work for a living i got no time for all that s***. I got more than enough battery life on my P4 xl and no reviewers will convince me the opposite.

Agreed.

I was very worried battery life would be **** on this phone, per all the YouTube reviews. But not sure what settings I tweaked just right, but man, the battery life is way above my expectations. Blows my Pixel 3 XL battery out of the water, significantly better. And everything else is just so good on this phone. I also have forced 90hz on all time. The Pixel 4 XL in my eyes is #1 Android phone of 2019.

- Fast and super smooth UI
- Very deep vibrant colors on the screen
- Loud and crisp stereo speakers
- Narrower width is great makes phone easier to hold one handed
- Highest build quality for a Pixel phone
- Face Unlock, along with raise to wake, is so effortless, and fast. Pick up the phone and just look at it, and boom, you instantly in the homescreen. No tapping anything, or pressing a button, or swiping up, none of that needed, just pick up and look at it, and your in your phone immediately.
- Monthly security updates like clockwork direct from Google.
- Great battery life

 

[drinkingtea]

I charge my S8 twice a day, every day. I charge it in the morning to make up for whatever it drained the night before, and then I charge it when I get home from work. (I also use Android Auto when driving, so technically I charge it more than twice, but I'm referring to actually leaving it plugged in to 100% twice a day.)

I've always had smaller phones with smaller batteries, so I'm just used to it.

Same. I have to charge my 8 Plus throughout the day. It can be annoying sometimes, but overall, it doesn’t bother me and I’m constantly around outlets. Of course if I wasn’t, battery size would be more important for me.