The Google Pixel 7 series was released recently, and we’ve been spending a lot of time with both the Pro and the non-Pro. We’ve been loving the cameras, the software, and even the upgraded display. However, as it turns out, the display is a battery killer when used at higher brightness — much more of a battery killer than we’ve seen on pretty much any other flagship device.
I’ve been using the Pixel 7 Pro a lot since Monday, and I noticed that the battery life is much improved over the Google Pixel 6 Pro… until I step outside. I went out for coffee yesterday morning, and I was sitting at nearly three hours of screen on time at 50%. By all accounts, that’s really good battery life. However, stepping outside and using my phone while walking immediately dropped the battery life by about 10% in fifteen minutes. It quickly clicked with me that my brightness had been higher as I had been outside. I asked other members of the team, and Daniel Bader, Valnet’s Technical Lead, mentioned that he had experienced the same.
The thing is, obviously using a display outside will draw more power. The problem is that the power draw seems really disproportionate. I spoke to other members of the XDA family and collected readings from their devices, and it seems that the Google Pixel 7 Pro might have a pretty big display problem. I investigated this with some help from XDA’s display analyst, Dylan Raga, and we’re using measurements from the Pixel 6 Pro and the Galaxy S22 Plus for building context around the Pixel 7 Pro’s extraordinary behavior.
What’s happening with the Pixel 7 Pro’s display?
At 600 nits, all four of our Google Pixel 7 Pro devices are topping out between 3.5W and 4W. It gets even worse though: with maximum brightness (the Google Pixel 7 Pro is rated up to 1500 nits, and I triggered high-brightness mode), its power consumption shoots up to 6W. These display luminance ratings are usually measuring peak brightness at 1% APL — or in other words, a tiny portion of the screen lighting up. High brightness mode should be jumping to 1000 nits across the entire panel when a white screen is displayed (100% APL), and it does look to be about that.
For reference, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra would use about 2W at 600 nits, and 4W at about 1000. Dylan Raga told me that the numbers that I collected show that the Pixel 7 Pro display uses about 50% more power than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus comparatively.
We have taken power readings in our display reviews of both the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus and the Google Pixel 6 Pro. The Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus seems to drain up to 4.5W at 1100 nits, a fairly respectable figure. In contrast, the Google Pixel 6 Pro hits 4W at just shy of 800 nits. Dylan pointed out to me that if you were to extend his Google Pixel 6 Pro display power consumption graph in the same direction that it was already going, you would basically cross over the same values that we’re experiencing on the Google Pixel 7 Pro. This is indicative of a larger problem that Google has had in the past with its panels, and the Google Pixel 7 Pro appears to have only made the situation worse.
I spoke to Ben Sin, Daniel Bader, and Manuel Vonau of Android Police — three people who have Google Pixel 7 Pro units that are sourced from PR in different regions of the world. I sent all three of them instructions on how to measure that power usage from the display at maximum brightness. All of their values were roughly in line with mine. In the table below, you can see how the Google Pixel 7 Pro stacks up against the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus and the Google Pixel 6 Pro.
| Power Consumption | Google Pixel 6 Pro | Google Pixel 7 Pro | Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 600 Nits at 100% APL | 2.9W | 3.5W-4W | 2W |
| 800 Nits at 100% APL | 4W | – | – |
| 1000 Nits at 100% APL | – | 6W | 4W |
How bad is the Google Pixel 7 Pro’s display power draw?
To contextualize the problem, the Google Pixel 7 Pro’s Tensor G2 likely has a TDP of around 10-12W. We haven’t completed our testing yet, but this means that the display alone at full manual brightness is likely using just a bit less than half of the chipset’s maximum power. In high-brightness mode while playing an intensive game, it’s feasible that you could be drawing up to 18W of battery at any given time. That would kill any smartphone battery in just under three hours, and that’s only the display and the chipset. Your phone has other components, too, so expect to hug the wall sooner if you are using the Pixel 7 Pro with high brightness than you would be doing so on a competition device under the same settings.
What can Google do to fix this?
It’s hard to say at this preliminary stage. We’ve tested this across multiple devices and spotted the same power draw across all of them. For what it’s worth, we also took readings on two Google Pixel 7 devices and it looks a lot more normal, so this seems to be an issue that may be exclusive to the Pro. It’s unclear if Google will be able to make the panel more efficient with a software update, though I suspect it won’t be able to. Still, that’s why we’re saying it “might” have a big display problem — Google could end up fixing it. Whether it’s a hardware or software problem is all up in the air currently — all we know is that there is a problem.
For what it’s worth, at lower brightness, the Pixel 7 Pro display functions closer to expectations. Dylan noted that the power values I collected for using the display at its lowest brightness are still on the high side, with it draining roughly 0.7W. Still, it’s a lot more manageable than touching off of 6W. If you’re on the fence about a Google Pixel 7 Pro, we’d recommend waiting to see what comes of this. The Google Pixel 7 also doesn’t appear to have the same issues, which may make it a better choice for people who spend a lot of time outdoors, in sunny environments, or just like having their display brightness high.
We’ve reached out to Google for comment, and we’ll be sure to update this article if we hear back.
Google’s Pixel 7 Pro has other display problems, too
It’s not just the display power draw either. GSMArena’s Prasad Naik pointed out on Twitter that the display remains active for a small period of time even after turning it off.
I was wondering how I ended up in apps I wasn’t in after I unlocked the Pixel 7 Pro. Turns out the screen remains on for several milliseconds after you lock it. pic.twitter.com/qvtwxp9lTC
— Distinguished Gentleman (@krazyfrog) October 13, 2022
I have noticed the same problem on my unit as well, and it was only when I saw this Tweet did I realise that it was the cause. A few times now I’ve been listening to music, using my phone, turned off the screen, and turned it around to put it in my pocket. I’ve skipped tracks a few times this way and it was incredibly frustrating, but I assumed it was just me doing something wrong. However, I’ve verified that I have the same problem and the display is staying on for roughly a second after I turn off the screen.
It’s unclear at this time whether or not this is a bug or if this can be fixed by disabling any particular settings. We’ll be sure to update this article if we hear more.
The post The Google Pixel 7 Pro might have a big display problem appeared first on XDA.
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