Google must do better after its latest Pixel battery fiasco

After the Pixel 6a and Pixel 4 experienced embarrassing, annoying, and downright concerning battery swelling issues, it’s the turn of the Pixel 7 range to come under the microscope.

It has emerged (via PiunikaWeb) that owners of both the Google Pixel 7 and the Google Pixel 7 Pro smartphones have been taking to Google’s support forums to report swollen batteries.

“I am writing to report a serious issue with my Pixel 7 Pro, which I purchased approximately two years ago,” wrote one user back in May.

“Recently, I noticed that the side panel of the device has started to separate, as clearly shown in the attached photo [see below]. Upon closer inspection, it appears the battery may be swelling, posing a significant safety risk including the potential for explosion or fire.”

The user reports that Google provided “excellent and quick support” within 48 hours, but other users have since joined the thread with their own related Pixel 7 complaints. Not all users have experienced this same swift resolution, either.

Pixel problems

Whatever the quality and consistency of Google’s customer service operation, it clearly has a deep-lying issue with the battery provision in its Pixel phones.

Just a couple of months ago, the company was forced to issue an update that severely throttled the performance of Pixel 6a phones that had exceeded 400 charge cycles – all with the intention of avoiding a potentially dangerous overheating battery situation.

We’re hoping that Google’s switch to a new, more premium design with the Pixel 9 series will represent a clean break from these manufacturing issues. However, that still leaves a big question mark over the Google Pixel 8 range.

A promise that could come back to bite

Given the inherently similar design of the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 8a to their immediate predecessors, do we need to be worried? Will we be reading reports of expanding batteries and/or drastic performance-sapping firmware updates for these phones this time next year?

This would be particularly problematic, as the Pixel 8 series was the first to receive Google’s industry-shaking seven-year software update promise in 2023. This was the point at which Google really sought to shake off its reputation for hardware and software flightiness and really seemed to commit to both sides of its business.

If the first generation of devices covered by this extended support promise struggles to make it even to the halfway point, it would be a terrible look for Google.

It remains to be seen if the company went a little early with its bold smartphone support scheme, but one thing’s for sure: Google really must do better with its hardware from now on.