Google's Pixel 8 Could Finally Fix The Biggest Battery Complaint

Google's Pixel 8 series phones are slated to hit the shelves in the coming months, and so far leaks have painted the picture of a minor design refresh coupled with big camera upgrades. Now, Android Authority has revealed some welcome battery-related tweaks planned for the Pixel 8 and its Pro version, citing information received from internal sources.

These sources have indicated that the vanilla Pixel 8 might come equipped with a 4,485 mAh Li-ion unit inside, which is slightly bigger than the 4,270 mAh battery offered by the Pixel 7. Folks interested in the upcoming phone will be glad to know the wired charging output is going up to 24W, which is about 20% faster than the Pixel 7's 20W charging limit.

Wireless charging rates stay the same at 20W maximum using Google's proprietary charger. However, if you have a third-party Qi wireless charger lying around, you can get up to 12W output from it for juicing up the Pixel 8. For comparison, the iPhone 14 allows 20W worth of peak wired charging, 15W using a MagSafe charger, and taps out at 7.5 with Qi-based charging mats.

The bigger updates, it seems, have been reserved for the Pixel 8 Pro. The leak claims it will boost the wired charging output to 27W, up from the 23W limit on the Pixel 7 Pro. It also tops up at 23W using Google's in-house wireless charging mat, slightly faster than the Pixel 8's 20W maximum.

With a Qi-based wireless charger, you again hit the 12W limit. Looking over at the competition, the OnePlus 11 allows for 100W wired charging, while the OnePlus 10 Pro allows 50W wireless charging with the proprietary VOOC charging stand. As for the battery capacity, the Pixel 8 Pro is said to offer a 4,950mAh battery, which is barely beefier compared to the 4,926 mAh inside the Pixel 7 Pro.

Still, it looks like Google is saving the generation-over-generation upgrades for the imaging hardware. Both the Pixel 8 series phones are reportedly getting a new 50-megapixel main snapper with a larger sensor to collect more light data.

Google is also swapping the Pixel 7 Pro's 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera in favor of a 64-megapixel sensor on the Pixel 8 Pro. Interestingly, leaks also mention an upgraded time-of-flight (ToF) sensor and a thermal sensor for non-contact temperature analysis on the Pixel 8 Pro.