Google Pixel 4 XL User Video Shows Major Performance Slowdowns In Simple Tasks
A video that has racked up nearly 20,000 views shows a possible problem with Google's recently introduced Pixel 4 XL handset. In the video, the Pixel 4 XL is shown lagging in certain situations, such as opening up Spotify and loading the Settings menu, while a OnePlus 7 Pro situated next to it performs the same tasks much quicker.
What makes the video a bit more interesting is that it was not taken by a random user—Android Police founder Artem Russakovskii recorded the clip and uploaded it to his Twitter account. Here it is, embedded below...
I have some upsetting news. After only 2 days, the Pixel 4 XL is already showing signs of major lag, in loading apps and settings as well as major frame drops on video (4k30). Never had any such issues on the @oneplus 7 Pro.
— Artem Russakovskii (@ArtemR) October 27, 2019
Here is one such demo: Spotify and system settings. pic.twitter.com/Qz836ykoic
"I have some upsetting news. After only 2 days, the Pixel 4 XL is already showing signs of major lag, in loading apps and settings as well as major frame drops on video (4k30). Never had any such issues on the OnePlus 7 Pro," Russakovskii wrote.
Is there really a problem with the Pixel 4 XL, as the video seemingly demonstrates? There is a discussion on that very topic over at Reddit. A few others have chimed in with similar complaints, saying they too are seeing the kind of slowdowns highlighted in the video clip. However, there is a fair amount of skepticism as well.
"I just tried this with my Pixel 4 XL and no issues. Force stopped both Spotify and Settings, both booted just fine," one user wrote.
Other users have brought to attention that Russakovskii seems to have poor luck with Pixel handsets in general.
"As mentioned before, something really bad must be happening with his Google account synchronization and how it interacts with his Pixel devices.
He gets a Pixel 3, it starts malfunctioning. He gets a new Pixel 3, it starts malfunctioning to no point of functional return. He gets a Pixel 4, again the same thing," another user wrote.
Several users have called into question Russakovskii's experience with the Pixel 4 XL, as shown in the video, as well issues he's run into with previous generation Pixel handsets. It could very well be that something funky has happened to his migrated account data, which would explain why these issues persist from one Pixel phone to another. Apparently at one point in the past Google even sent engineers out to the Russakovskii to try and diagnose and resolve a similar problem.
At the same time, Russakovskii points out he's not seeing the same performance issues on other Android handsets when importing the same account data.
"I migrate from phone to phone. Did the same thing when I moved to the OnePlus 7 Pro from the Pixel 3 XL, and it hasn't had any such issues, so I don't buy it as a potential reason," Russakovskii stated.
It's hard to know exactly what is going on, and if there is a real performance issue, how widespread it is and in what situations it is most likely to manifest. That said, this is not the first time the performance of a Pixel device has been highlighted in a negative way. Earlier this year, it was reported that Google's Digital Wellbeing feature in Android 9 Pie was causing performance problems for some Pixel 3a and Pixel 3 owners.
We'll be keeping an eye on this situation to see if anything further develops. In the meantime, let us know in the comments section below if you are seeing similar issues with the Pixel 4 (or any Pixel device, really).
