Pixel 8: How to improve your battery life?

Picture: June Wan/ZDNET.

The Pixel 8 Pro, if it does not seem to fundamentally change from its predecessor the Pixel 7 Pro, has enough improvements to potentially make it the best Pixel smartphone until today. Among the notable novelties: a headphone jack easier to handle, a more pleasant screen, and above all a faster processor. The latter is considerably more powerful than that of its predecessor. With these improvements come the Android 14 updates, which are the icing on the cake.

When it comes to battery life, the Pixel 8 Pro also beats the Pixel 7 Pro flat out, in my experience. The battery is a consumable, which means that it wears out as you use it. Thus, after a year, the autonomy of your smartphone is already diminished. With the Pixel 8 and Android 14, Google has anticipated this problem by adding a practical tool to check the status of your battery. This feature is only available for Pixel 8 devices. So even if you have Android 14 on your Pixel 7, you won’t find the diagnostic tool.

Before proceeding, be aware that this feature is not a real diagnostic tool – it does not perform tests on your battery. Rather, it is a tool to help you identify the problem, based on the most common problems concerning Pixel batteries.

If you have a Pixel 8 or a Pixel 8 Pro and want to check the status of your battery, here’s how to use the diagnostic tool.

1. Go to the Android settings

Swipe down on your notifications screen twice, to bring up the Settings app icon (which looks like a gear). You can also search for it in the list of all your applications.

Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET.

2. Go to the battery settings

Scroll down to Battery. You will also see in this place the amount of remaining battery of your phone.

Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET.

3. Start the battery diagnosis

Under the Battery widget, you will see Battery diagnostics. Click to launch the test tool.

Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET.

4. Check the status of your battery

Once the diagnostic tool is open, you can run four different tests, according to your needs :

The battery is discharging too quickly.

The phone is very hot.

Charging problem.

Another question.

For example, if you feel that your battery is running out faster than expected, click The battery is discharging too quickly.

Then you are asked if you allow the Pixel diagnostic tool to check if there is a problem on your device. Click on Allow to continue the test.

The different battery tests that you can perform on Android 14. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET.

5. Select an option

If you have selected the option The battery is discharging too quickly, two tips are then displayed: one concerns the display and the other the applications.

If you select Display, you will see the following tips : Enable the dark theme or Disable screen smoothing. Click on the tip of your choice. You will then be redirected to the settings location where you can fix this problem.

If you select The applications that use the most battery, you will be taken to the page on battery usage. You will then be able to see which applications are draining your battery and, if necessary, delete applications that are not essential for you. Or, simply update applications that you use often. Sometimes a simple update is enough to solve the problem. You will also find links to other articles on how to improve your battery life on this page.

Assistance rather than a diagnosis

This feature is rather aptly named: it is not so much a diagnostic tool as a support page guiding the user to solve common problems related to the battery.

Nevertheless, if the battery of your Pixel 8 or 8 Pro does not last the day, I advise you to take a look and follow the advice given to you there. There is a good chance that your problem will then be solved.

Source: ZDNet.com