New-ish Pixel 8 user. Bad performance..

[InverSharinGan]

I recently upgraded my old and good Pixel 6a, as I had an offer in O2, so I choose Pixel 8, because of the fantastic size, as the 6a + I can get Fitbit Versa 4 with Google Pixel buds -A for free after.

And yeah... I thought that GT3 will be much better than GT1, but I'm truly disappointed.. games runs nearly similar, laggy, stuttering and almost the same FPS (also I can't tell exactly because FPS counter doesn't work XD) .. Genshin Impact, New CoD Warzone the same, Asphalt 9 stuttering.. it's like I upgraded nearly 400£ more, for just 120hz display, and a bit better OLED display, and 2Gb ram more, but not necessarily noticeable difference.
Okey camera is much better, so it's actually good upgrade, at least in this category.

But..
Traveling through the UI, doesn't feel premium, because there are some stutter here and there as well. Which I could understand on Pixel 6a, but not in Pixel 8 which cost 549-699 depends on the store.

In my opinion, it has something to do with Android 14. Or GT3 is just the worst CPU on the market, even tho the GPU seems to be quite good. If that's so, and Android 15, which actually included in changelog, some information about better performance, will be the same, or worse, then oh boy.. this will be the last pixel in my entire life.

Plus in this case, 7 years of software upgrading promises ? What for.. if phone performing like some cheap mid range phones..

Pixel as the Google's phone, also Android company, should performing at least as good as some flag ship phones.

 

[SeeBeeEss]

Full disclosure: I am not a gamer and the Pixel 8 Pro does everything I need - and more.

It sucks when things don’t work the way we think they should and it is unfortunate that you feel that the 8 does not meet your gaming needs. Have you tried to return it and buy something that you would be happier with? Are you on the latest update (it was reported that the December update significantly improved gaming performance in the 8 series)? Have you checked out some of the sites that offer advice/solutions to some of the issues you have noted?

 

[InverSharinGan]

Full disclosure: I am not a gamer and the Pixel 8 Pro does everything I need - and more.

It sucks when things don’t work the way the way we think they should and it is unfortunate that you feel that the 8 does not meet your gaming needs. Have you tried to return it and buy something that you would be happier with? Are you on the latest update (it was reported that the December update significantly improved gaming performance in the 8 series)? Have you checked out some of the sites that offer advice/solutions to some of the issues you have noted?

Well, I checked my system update, and it's the latest from March, so or this update got even worse, or it's just the phone.

I've done some throttling test, and I can see why is that. After just 2.30mins, phone is dropping down all cores to 1.4ghz and 1x 2.15(with drops to 1.55ghz for a sec), and that's without any cases, to avoid additional overheating, but barely 35C it's called overheating? Even my old 6a was better at this point. Maybe in fact some system update broke something.

I was considering at first Pixel 8 Pro, but same CPU/GPU, with much higher resolution, doesn't necessarily means better performance, even worse at this case. And I don't like big phone overall.

So my only hope is to wait for some updates, or maybe for Android 15, potentially bringing better optimization, cuz there is something wrong, when cpu slowing down significantly, after just 2.30mins.

Although, I have still 14 days to cancel this swap on my O2, but that will bring me back to 6a, but I can also wait 90days and then swap for free my Pixel 8 for something better. Maybe even Pixel 9, or something with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 or 4.

So I guess best option is to wait 90 days, with potential patch fix, if any, and then decide what to do. Because when they fix this issue, 7 years of updates doesn't sound bad at all.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! In case something else is interfering, try booting into Safe Mode and see if the general performance still seems stuttery (and make sure Smooth Display is turned on in the Settings>Display menu.

If it's much smoother, then that would suggest there is something that's causing issues. The next step may be to do a factory reset, and this time set the phone up from scratch (i.e., don't restore from backup). Then install only one of those games, and see if the performance is still bad.

Also, you are installing these games from the Play Store, right? If you happen to be installing from other sources (i.e., as an apk), then I'd be wondering about the possibility of something like a crypto-miner thrown into the mix.

For what it's worth, Asphalt 9 works very smoothly on my Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel Tablet, but that's the GT2. I don't have a Pixel 8 to test with ...

 

[InverSharinGan]

Welcome to Android Central! In case something else is interfering, try booting into Safe Mode and see if the general performance still seems stuttery (and make sure Smooth Display is turned on in the Settings>Display menu.

It is done since first thing I've done when I got this phone, was missing 120hz on my 6a tbh

If it's much smoother, then that would suggest there is something that's causing issues. The next step may be to do a factory reset, and this time set the phone up from scratch (i.e., don't restore from backup). Then install only one of those games, and see if the performance is still bad.

I transferred all data from my old Pixel 6a, but mostly only music, as I have lots of FLAC files purchased. Also few apps, but all of them from Play Store.

Also, you are installing these games from the Play Store, right? If you happen to be installing from other sources (i.e., as an apk), then I'd be wondering about the possibility of something like a crypto-miner thrown into the mix.

As said about, only Play Store as the source.

For what it's worth, Asphalt 9 works very smoothly on my Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel Tablet, but that's the GT2. I don't have a Pixel 8 to test with ...

I can remember asphalt 9 on my few, much weaker phone, like S20 FE, was running more stable, and even I had some graphics quality presets, but on Pixel 8 only 30/60fps, and resolution looks like 480p with disabled antyaliasing.

Well i could try to do factory reset, and set it as new phone, but dunno if it's worth the effort and wasted time

It is possible, that some sketchy crypto miner, or other troyans are come from some of my old phones, one to another since I doing transfering all data, from phone to phone, which causing worse performance ?

 

[B. Diddy]

Sometimes doing a full restore from a previous phone can carry over stuff that causes oddness, so I think it's worth trying a factory reset, then manually installing apps. If the problems still happen, then it's either a problem with the Tensor 3 (which I can't test myself, but others here with a Pixel 8 could do so), or it's a problem with your specific unit. If the latter, you can try contacting Pixel Support and inquire about a replacement: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/?hl=en#topic=7078250

 

[InverSharinGan]

Sometimes doing a full restore from a previous phone can carry over stuff that causes oddness, so I think it's worth trying a factory reset, then manually installing apps. If the problems still happen, then it's either a problem with the Tensor 3 (which I can't test myself, but others here with a Pixel 8 could do so), or it's a problem with your specific unit. If the latter, you can try contacting Pixel Support and inquire about a replacement: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/?hl=en#topic=7078250

Alright, I doubt it will help, but I will give few mins in charger, and I give a shot for factory reset.

If not, I will ask here for some help with other users, and at the end I can try to contact Google itself or O2 first as I took it from them.

I will let know here either way.

 

[InverSharinGan]

Alright, I've done factory reset yesterday, and I spend some time for testing it, to make sure it's not only for a moment, but surprisingly it helped. Asphalt 9, not even single stutter, Genshin a bit but I've looked at YouTube and even Snap 8gen3 sweating at this game. It's just great game for iOS users only, unfortunately.

And most important thing is the battery, doesn't drain as hell, and phone itself isn't warm as it was before.

I transferred only my music, so the phone is completely free from older files, and installed only those apps I really need, from Play Store of course.

So fortunately I guess problem solved by Factory Reset this time.

Bonus thing, I noticed after Factory Reset, than in Bluetooth settings, specifically on my earphones settings, there appears something like LE Audio, which actually sound better in my opinion, but need more time to listen and make sure

 

[B. Diddy]

Awesome! I'm glad that worked for you.

 

[InverSharinGan]

Awesome! I'm glad that worked for you.

Well, it's not perfect, cuz Warzone still stutter, not that bad as before, but overall it's still old known activitison. Diablo Immortal not supporting 60fps on Pixel 8 and stutter a lot, but I Pixel 8 came out like 6 months ago, so blizzard probably still need time to optimize this, especially when 6a was running perfectly at 60fps.

Altho except those few games, which is not the phone fault itself, I'm pretty pleased with performance. And overall experience after the phone works as should.

 

[mustang7757]

Welcome to AC!
I have the 8pro which has been pretty solid in performance but I don't game on it.

 

[Maljunulo]

I don’t think Pixels are intended to be gaming machines.

You don’t buy a Honda and complain that it doesn’t perform like a Ferrari.

Just my opinion.

 

[B. Diddy]

I don’t think Pixels are intended to be gaming machines.

You don’t buy a Honda and complain that it doesn’t perform like a Ferrari.

Just my opinion.

I would say, though, that Asphalt 9 should definitely run pretty smoothly. It certainly runs well on my Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel Tablet.