Some users are seeing charging issues with Pixel Watch 2, poor battery life on Pixel 8

Ben Schoon | Nov 2 2023 - 7:19 am PT

The Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel 8 are big improvements over their predecessors in a lot of ways, but as with basically even Google hardware product, they haven’t been without some hiccups in the weeks after launch. As more folks get their hands on Google’s new hardware, some Pixel Watch 2 owners are noting charging issues, while Pixel 8 owners are apparently seeing very bad battery life on mobile data.

Over the past couple of weeks, several users have come out with similar charging issues on the Pixel Watch 2. Namely, the new smartwatch just refuses to charge on Google’s updated charger. The contact-based charger, for affected users, just isn’t recognized.

For one user, this happened during initial setup, where the watch asked to be charged while it installed an update, but never recognized being placed on the charger. Another affected user was using Pixel Watch 2 for a few days before charging issues randomly set in. The issue doesn’t seem to be widespread, but some others have mentioned intermittent charging problems, and one user even noticed the same issue across two separate units. And, oddly, Google support doesn’t seem to be very helpful in getting this particular problem resolved.

Meanwhile, Google’s Pixel 8 is also suffering from some early issues, as some users are noticing poor battery life and their phone getting warm when using mobile data. This has become somewhat of a trend of Google’s Tensor-powered Pixel phones, as Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 also had some power and thermal difficulties when on a cellular connection due to the Samsung modem being used. The folks over at Android Police noted a Pixel 8 Pro getting warm after just a few minutes browsing the web while on mobile data.

It’s unclear if this is really an actual issue, or just a quirk of the device itself. After all, it is using the same modem as the Pixel 7 series.

Anecdotally, I can’t say my Pixel 8 Pro has been particularly bad when it comes to battery life on mobile data, and I’ve seen no problems with warmth either (though my area is entering cold temperatures, so that could play a role). As with any prior Pixel (and really any device) there’s certainly a hit when using mobile data versus Wi-Fi, but it’s within the realm of reason for me at least.