How’s your Pixel holding up in the heat? [Poll]

Ben Schoon | Jun 26 2025 - 5:30 am PT

As a massive heatwave hits the US and temperatures keep cranking up across the Northern Hemisphere, I’ve been thinking about how much better Pixel phones have gotten in the heat, but I’m curious – how is yours holding up?

The biggest problem that’s come from Google’s switch to Tensor chips in Pixel phones has been overheating. Google knows this, and we’ve seen improvements over the years. Tensor G3 in the Pixel 8 series was a big jump forward from the first two generations, and the current Tensor G4 chip is also markedly improved.

That said, the release window of the Pixel 9 series means that, for many, Tensor G4 hasn’t really dealt with hotter days until now.

I’m located in North Carolina and in the height of a heatwave driving temperatures up to just shy of 100°F (~38°C), and I’m both frustrated with my Pixel, while also being a bit impressed. On the one hand, my Pixel 9 Pro Fold is still running pretty warm. Both indoors and out, any prolonged usage seems to result in the device being noticeably warm to the touch and it takes a while to cool down with it being so hot outside.

Advertisement - scroll for more content

But, on the other hand, that hasn’t been a real issue. Outside of the minor discomfort, my Pixel hasn’t really “overheated.” I’ve yet to have the device complain about the heat with pop-ups or slowdowns, and that’s even while recording video out on a sunny day with temperatures in the 90s. Performance has also remained fairly steady even with the device at its warmest.

That’s a far cry from the earlier Tensor days. I remember times where my phone was basically unusable due to the heat, and that simply hasn’t happened on these newer generations.

But what about you?

In a poll a couple of years ago, I asked this exact same question and the results were pretty mixed. Even in late May 2023, roughly a third NewGeekGuide readers claimed to have already had overheating warnings, while the rest were either not have any issues, or at least hadn’t had their phones get warm enough to cause any problems.

Top comment by stadi

Liked by 9 people

My Pixel 8 Pro has overheating warnings telling me not to use wireless charging (even though my car has a built-in fan above the wireless charger), or even Google Maps / music playback not working correctly when it's very hot outside (30°C). I'm using wireless Android Auto, with wireless charging or with cable based charging. Sometimes it happens when I'm using a cable to charge, and the only thing that helps is putting the phone to the AC exhaust, which is not great for driving safety. I hope the Pixel 10 Pro XL will be better in this regard.

View all comments

So let’s revisit that two generations later. Vote in the poll below and let us know how things are holding up for you right now.

And stay cool out there, it’s a hot one out there today.