They were talking about the usb modules. The back two on either side (the ones closest to the screen) have an issues where the USB 4 Type C to USB A adapter is not fully going to sleep when nothing is plugged in. So ArsTechnica's reviewer most likely had one of the USB A modules plugged into those two USB 4 ports which causes their apparent poor battery life.
Abbrahan
joined 1 year ago
Stock android on the Pixel's have just an "Internet" button which controls both wifi and mobile data. You can press it, then it will show toggles for wifi, mobile data.
I believe Framework said they are looking into fixes for this issue, either with firmware patches or if neccesary a hardware revision of the USB A module. Current workaround is just to not put USB A into those two back slots.