Google Pixel 2 XL Users Report Performance Issues, Smartphone Said to Be Lagging

Google is expected to launch new smartphones in its Pixel 3 lineup later this year. While the tech giant readies to unveil new handsets, some Pixel 2 XL users are reporting performance issues in the 2017 smartphone. Over the course of a month, some users have been complaining about an apparent slowdown problem in the Pixel 2 XL. More notably, among the users who have reported the "lagging" issue are technology journalist Artem Russakovskii and YouTube reviewer Marquees Brownlee. Both the users have claimed that the Pixel 2 phones have become a lot slower in the year since their launch. In light of recent reports, Google is currently said to be investigating the issue.

Android Police founder Artem Russakovskii had raised the Google Pixel 2 XL issue in July, while YouTuber Marques Brownlee had highlighted some of the problems that he faced, in a video. Following this, other users have claimed, via Reddit and Twitter, apparent lag in animation and app performance. The biggest issue seems to be related to the camera in Pixel 2 XL. As per a video shared by Russakovskii, the smartphone takes roughly 10 seconds to open Google Camera using the power button double-tap gesture. He says that in the period, the handset gets frozen and the touch and swipe gestures do not work. Further, when the camera opens, switching to video takes another few seconds. As per a user, the recordings have a "choppy" quality to them.

In his tweets, Russakovskii mentioned a Marquees Brownlee's video that detailed his own experience with slow Pixel 2 phones. In the video, Brownlee had explained that the Pixel 2 became a lot slower and he had to replace it with the OnePlus 6.

Meanwhile, a Google engineer and public relations representative visited Russakovskii to assess the issue, he claimed. In a tweet, he said, "the phone was extremely laggy to the point that both of them were visibly surprised." While Russakovskii has not mentioned any response from Google, 9to5Google's Stephen Hall had tweeted that an anonymous source told him Google had "identified three possible causes" of the issue, and that one of them would "require hardware replacements."