Google Pixel 7 Pro may have a big display problem

The Google Pixel 7 series It was recently released, and we spent a lot of time with both the Pro and the Non-Pro. we used to love camerasAnd the program and even the screen has been upgraded. However, as it turns out, the screen is a battery killer when used at higher brightness — far more of a battery killer than we’ve seen on any other flagship device.

I’ve been using the Pixel 7 Pro a lot since Monday, and I’ve noticed that the battery life has improved a lot over the Google Pixel 6 Pro…until I get out. I went out for coffee yesterday morning, and was sitting for about three hours from the screen on 50% time. By all accounts, that’s really good battery life. However, going out and using my phone while walking immediately reduced battery life by about 10% in fifteen minutes. I quickly clicked that my brightness was higher as I was outside. I asked other members of the team, and Daniel Bader, Valnet’s Head of Art Brands, mentioned he’s had the same experience.

the thing is, clearly Using an external monitor will attract more force. The problem is that the pull of force seems truly Disproportionately. I’ve talked to other members of the XDA family and collected readings from their devices, and it looks like the Google Pixel 7 Pro might have a very big display issue. I checked this with the help of XDA Display Analyzer, Dylan RagaWe use measurements from the Pixel 6 Pro and Galaxy S22 Plus to build context around the Pixel 7 Pro’s unusual behavior.

What happens to the Pixel 7 Pro screen?

At 600 nits, all four of our Google Pixel 7 Pro devices top out at between 3.5 watts and 4 watts. It gets worse: with maximum brightness (the Google Pixel 7 Pro is rated up to 1500 nits, and I turned on high brightness mode), its power consumption is up to 6 watts. Screen brightness ratings typically measure peak brightness at 1% APL—or, in other words, a small portion of the screen that lights up. The high brightness mode should jump to 1,000 nits across the entire panel when viewing a white screen (100% APL), and it looks like it does.

For reference, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra uses about 2W at 600 nits, and 4W at around 1,000. Dylan Ragga told me that the numbers I collected show that the Pixel 7 Pro display uses about 50% more power than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus relatively.

We’ve taken solid readings in our show reviews for both Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus and the Google Pixel 6 Pro. The Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus appears to be draining up to 4.5W at 1,100 nits, which is a fairly respectable number. In contrast, the Google Pixel 6 Pro reaches 4W at 800 nits. Dylan pointed out that if you scaled his Google Pixel 6 Pro’s power consumption graph in the same direction it was already going, it would express essentially the same values ​​we experience on the Google Pixel 7 Pro. This points to a bigger problem Google has had in the past with its panels, and the Google Pixel 7 Pro appears to have made the situation worse.

I spoke to Ben Sen, Daniel Bader and Manuel Funau Android Police Three people with Google Pixel 7 Pro units obtained from PR in different parts of the world. I sent them all instructions on how to measure the power usage of the screen at maximum brightness. Almost all of their values ​​were in line with my own. In the table below, you can see how the Google Pixel 7 Pro stacks up against the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus and Google Pixel 6 Pro.

How bad is the Google Pixel 7 Pro’s screen pull?

To put the issue into context, the Google Pixel 7 Pro’s Tensor G2 will likely have a TDP of around 10-12W. We haven’t finished our testing yet, but that means the screen alone at full manual brightness will likely use just under half of the chipset’s maximum power. In high brightness mode while playing an intense game, it is possible to draw up to 18 watts of battery at any one time. This would kill any smartphone battery in less than three hours, and this Just Presentation and slides. Your phone has other components too, so expect to stick to the wall sooner if you’re using a Pixel 7 Pro with higher brightness than you would on a competitor device under the same conditions.

What can Google do to fix this?

Hard to say at this initial stage. We’ve tested this across multiple devices and discovered the same force pulled across them all. For what it’s worth, we also took readings on two Google Pixel 7 devices and they seem more normal, so it looks like this is an issue that might be exclusive to the Pro. It’s unclear if Google will be able to make the board more efficient with a software update, although I suspect they won’t be able to. However, that’s why we say that”may be“Big display issue – Google may end up fixing it. Whether it’s a hardware or software issue is currently up the air – all we know is that there is a problem.

For what it’s worth, at lower brightness, the Pixel 7 Pro’s display performs much closer to expectations. Dylan noted that the power values ​​I collected for using the screen at its lowest brightness were still on the high side, draining roughly 0.7 watts. However, it is much more manageable than the 6W touch. If you’re on the fence about the Google Pixel 7 Pro, we recommend waiting to see what happens. The Google Pixel 7 doesn’t seem to have the same issues, which could make it a better option for people who spend a lot of time outdoors, in sunny environments, or like the screen’s brightness is high.

We’ve reached out to Google for comment, and will make sure to update this article if we hear back.

Google’s Pixel 7 Pro has other display issues too

It’s not just about pulling the power of the screen. Prasad Naik from GSMArena noted on Twitter that the screen remains active for a short period of time even after turning it off.

I was wondering how I ended up in the apps I didn’t use after I unlocked the Pixel 7 Pro. It turns that the screen stays on for several milliseconds after it’s locked. pic.twitter.com/qvtwxp9lTC

Gentleman (krazyfrog) October 13, 2022

I noticed the same issue on my unit as well, and didn’t realize it was the cause until I saw this tweet. Several times now I’ve been listening to music, using my phone, turning off the screen, and turning it around to put it in my pocket. I’ve skipped paths a few times this way and it was very frustrating, but I assumed I was doing something wrong. However, I have verified that I have the same issue and that the screen stays on for about a second after I turn the screen off.

It is unclear at the moment if this is a bug or if it can be fixed by disabling any particular settings. We’ll make sure to update this article if we hear more.