Google Pixel owners just got a great free battery upgrade

I've been using the Google Pixel 7 Pro since launch and, frankly, I love it. It's easily one of the best Android phones right now. But when other people ask me about it, they always quip that they hear the battery life isn't great. That's generally not been my experience, but clearly Google knows there's room for improvement. 

So I was excited to awake this morning to a notification on my Google Pixel telling me that a software upgrade awaited. Billed as a security upgrade, it was another aspect of the details that most caught my attention: Google says it also has a "fix for issue causing increased power consumption while certain apps [are] installed". 

So if you've not yet received your update – codename variation on TD1A.221105, make it sound catchy, right!? – I suggest you dig into your Settings and System Updates in order to refresh and make sure that you, too, receive the over-the-air update. 

Because if you have certain apps installed that are causing bad battery experience then this ought to improve your Pixel phone's performance. And it's not just for the Pixel 7 series: Google has an update for Pixel 4a, Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Pixel 6a too. Neat.

Over longer periods of use I have found the Tensor G2 chip inside the Pixel 7 Pro to cause more heat when playing particular games, namely Marvel's new Snap competitive card game, compared to when I first received the device, which obviously has a knock-on effect on battery life. So here's hoping that Google's November software update will bring better battery life to me, to you, to all of us Pixel-using folk...