Next year's Pixel 12 series could feature a major change to the line's batteries
A change to the batteries used with next year's Pixel 12 line could give Google more freedom to design features for users.
Google could make major battery move for Pixel 12 line. | Image by Google
Battery life has been a sore point with Pixel users. Personally, I remember being disappointed with the 5,000mAh battery on my Pixel 6 Pro. At the time, that was considered to be a rather hefty battery for a flagship phone, but even so, it never was a 24-hour phone.
While the base Pixel 11 model saw a slight increase in battery capacity this year, from 4,970mAh for the 2025 model to 4,985mAh for the Pixel 11, the Pixel 11 Pro actually dropped to 4,850mAh from 4,870mAh for the Pixel 10 Pro's battery. That 20mAh decline was nothing compared to the 85mAh drop from Pixel 10 Pro XL's 5,200mAh battery capacity to the 5,115mAh capacity for the battery that powers the Pixel 11 Pro XL.
The Pixel 11 Pro series has up to 30-hour battery life compared to 24 hours for the Pixel 10 Pro
Despite the decline in battery capacities for the Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro XL, Google says that both phones will deliver up to 30 hours of battery life compared to the 24 hours achieved by the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL.
Google hopes to squeeze more battery life out of TSMC's cutting-edge 2nm process node
You might ask yourself how is it possible to use lower capacity batteries and still keep your phone powered up for as long as six extra hours each day. The answer has to do with how TSMC is manufacturing the Tensor G6 chipsets. The latter is being produced by the world's number one foundry using its cutting-edge 2nm process node. Chips manufactured using this node include the Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistor architecture.
The Pixel 11 Pro XL in Dune. | Image by Verizon
Using stacked horizontal nanosheets, the gate covers the channel on all four sides, reducing current leaks and raising the drive current, allowing transistors to quickly switch from "On" to "Off" and vice versa. This increases processing power, allowing a chip to run faster and more efficiently. Google is hoping that the 2nm process node used to build the Tensor G6 will generate more energy efficiency than the amount lost by using lower capacity batteries.
Google rumored to switch to silicon-carbon batteries for Pixel handsets
We could see even more battery life improvement for future Pixel handsets as there is talk that Google will soon switch to silicon-carbon cells. At this stage, it is only Google and Apple that have not switched to silicon-carbon cells. The biggest advantage that these batteries have is the ability to deliver larger amounts of power, but in a smaller package. These batteries will also charge faster.
What do you want to see from your phone's batteries?
There is one downside to using silicon-carbon batteries as they age faster than lithium-ion batteries. This is a matter of longevity and it is one of the reasons why Google and Apple have stayed away from these batteries up until now. These batteries greatly expand while charging, and the internal battery material degrades faster than lithium-ion cells.
After 30 minutes of charging, the Pixel 11 Pro XL will be as much as 75% charged
Speaking about charging, with the Pixel 11 and Pixel 11 Pro, after 30 minutes of charging you can end up with as much as a 55% wired charge. On the Pixel 11 Pro XL, after a half-hour of charging, you could have as much as 75% battery life on your device.
Google does not have a timetable for switching to silicon-carbon batteries for the Pixel line, but we wouldn't be surprised to see Google make the transition as early as next year with the Pixel 12 line. While the Pixel might not have the largest market share inside the US and out, Google's Senior Vice President of Devices and Services, the one and only Rick Osterloh, has said that Google has a goal with its Pixel phones.
That goal is to bring the best of Google together including its AI, hardware, and software, to deliver helpful experiences to Pixel users. In other words, Google wants to make sure that Pixel users have access to the best technologies and that would include silicon-carbon batteries.
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