Android fans slam Google Pixel 4’s bad battery life

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Google-Pixel-4
It's not a good year for Google Pixel.
Photo: Google

Google’s latest Pixel smartphones might be able to compete with iPhone 11 in camera performance. But when it comes to battery life, they have no hope of keeping up.

Android fans are slamming the Pixel 4 lineup for its poor stamina in between charges. Even if you cough up extra for the XL model, you’ll get battery life that’s “just OK.”

Google’s Pixel devices had been outperforming iPhone’s cameras for several years. They were so good, in fact, that they gave many iPhone fans a reason to consider using Android instead.

But the new iPhone 11 and 11 Pro eliminate that gap. Their much-improved shooters deliver results that many will say are even better than the Pixel 4’s. And iPhone’s advantages don’t stop there.

We’ve already discovered Apple’s new A13 Bionic chip easily outperforms rival chips found in Android devices. And now it seems iPhone 11 is way ahead in battery life, too.

Google Pixel 4’s bad battery life

Many Android fans have taken to Twitter to express their disappointment in the Pixel 4’s battery life. They say it’s far from good enough for a flagship smartphone in 2019.

Daniel Bader, managing editor of AndroidCentral, says Pixel 4 is the first Pixel smartphone he cannot recommend.

“This is the worst battery life I’ve had on a phone in years,” Bader writes in his Pixel 4 review. “Most days, the Pixel 4 is dead by supper … and on a particularly busy Saturday, it was dead by 6 p.m.”

In response to this review, David Ruddock, editor-in-chief of Android Police, tweeted:

https://twitter.com/RDRv3/status/1186413525398220800?s=20

Android fan Cliff Levine replied:

What happened, Google?

“In a year when Apple increased its phones’ battery life across the board by making all the iPhones chunky bois, putting a smaller battery in the Pixel 4 was just inexcusable,” Bader added on Twitter.

Bader’s colleague, Alex Dobie, executive editor of Android Central, agrees that both the Pixel 4 and the larger Pixel 4 XL suffer from bad battery life. He goes so far as to say it’s this year’s “blunder.”

Search “Pixel 4 battery life” online and you’ll find a lot of complaints like these. In fact, I’m yet to find a reviewer who found Google’s latest devices to be acceptable in this department.

Long-time Android fan John Ghazzagh said: “This is the first year I thought about switching to an iPhone,” thanks to the Google Pixel 4’s battery life.

It’s not all bad

The Google Pixel 4 does have some things going for it. It has a decent display that can reach 90Hz, Android software untouched by third parties, and cameras that won’t let you down.

It’s also more affordable than iPhone 11 Pro, starting at just $779.

Even so, that’s a lot to pay for a smartphone that may not last you all day.

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