The Google Pixel 8 may have been in the spotlight since its launch last week, but Google hasn't forgotten about the phones that came before it. Google's upcoming Android 14 update offers special bonuses to the Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 7, designed to improve both battery life and the phones' bad habit of overheating during use.

People have taken to Reddit after noticing changes in their Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 devices, noting that the latest Android release has made their phones run much smoother and cooler than before. It is speculated that the latest Android version includes some under-the-hood optimizations for the phone's Tensor chipset.

The main problem with Google's Tensor chips is that they lag a bit behind Qualcomm and Apple. By relying on Samsung's Exynos 5 nanometer node, Google's chip design is not as efficient as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and Apple's A17 Pro, which use TSMC's 4nm and 3nm processes respectively.

Lower efficiency generally means that the chips have to work harder to get things done, resulting in higher heat levels and requiring more power from the battery. In fact, this may be the reason for the short battery life of the last two Pixel models.

Google has not revealed the details of this change, and there is no mention of CPU optimization in Android 14's changelog; Android Police speculates that the CPU scheduler may have been changed to reduce the utilization of the CPU's high-performance cores. You know, the ones that run more intensely and generate heat and battery loss in the process.

This does not magically extend the battery life of the older Pixel to a level comparable to the iPhone 15 Plus, nor does it completely eliminate the heat generation. But if what is being claimed on Reddit is true for everyone, we may see a noticeable difference in the performance of older Pixels. And if battery life is as poor as the Pixel 7 was during testing, you need all the help you can get.

But it's a little odd to see people not complaining after a major software update for the Pixel. Normally I would be upset that something went wrong, but frankly, for once I am glad to see that things are going in the right direction.