Android 14 Beta 3.1 leads Pixel users to contradict each other about battery life

It's one of the biggest debates on Reddit after which Darren was the better one on Bewitched, Dick York, or Dick Sargent. Pixel users subscribed to the Android 14 Beta Program are split on whether the beta program has improved the battery life on their phone or made it worse. You see it in posts on the r/android_beta subreddit.

One writes that the latest release, Android 14 Beta 3.1, has improved the battery life on his Pixel 6. Another writes that the battery life on his Pixel 7 Pro has improved since installing the update while another says his battery life is about the same since downloading the latest beta. A redditor with the handle "aasikki" says that thanks to the Android 14 Beta 3.1 release, "My [Pixel] 7 Pro has the best battery life it ever had on the latest beta."

If battery life weren't such an important issue (so important that it might lead me to switch back to the iPhone from the Pixel 6 Pro in September), reading the back and forth in the subreddit might almost be funny. Right before "aasikki" says that the latest Beta release gives his Pixel 7 Pro record battery life, Reddit user "joni21rm" says that the battery life he is getting on the same phone is worse since the update.

Others said things like, "Beta 3 [battery life] seemed great, 3.1 not as good so far," and "Version 2.0 was the best. After that, it got worse and worse." And while I'd love to weigh in with my impression of the battery life on my Pixel 6 Pro running Android 14 Beta 3.1, well, for starters, I don't do impressions (sorry, old Airplane joke). Actually, I've been on either the QPR3 Beta or the Android 14 beta for months so I haven't been able to really discern whether the Android 14 beta has improved my pre-beta battery life or made it worse.

When the dust settles and the final version of Android 14 is installed, Pixel users will get a better idea about whether Android 14 lengthens or reduces the battery life of their Pixel handsets. It might do neither and just keep it the same.

Regardless, Google might have to consider a larger capacity battery for the Pixel 8 Pro or improve the optimization. Apple's top-of-the-line iPhone 14 Pro Max delivers amazing battery life and with the 3nm A17 Bionic powering the iPhone 15 Pro models later this year, the iPhone 15 Pro Max in particular might offer battery life that is too hard to resist.