Android 17 is slowing down even the most powerful Pixels, what’s happening?

Google devices have always offered a highly satisfying user experience when it comes to daily operations and photo processing. However, the <strong Tensor processors have never been designed specifically to excel in gaming.

Nevertheless, those who own a Pixel rightfully expect to be able to run lightweight apps and less demanding games without any hesitation.

Unfortunately, the arrival of the update to Android 17 has made this much more difficult, bringing to light issues affecting a wide portion of users worldwide.

Google Pixel, Android 17 worsens gaming performance

Until recently, Google’s smartphones handled so-called “casual” titles with ease, maintaining high frame rates and ensuring leisure sessions free of major issues. Today, the situation appears completely reversed.

Numerous reports confirm that, following the installation of Android 17, basic and decidedly not demanding in terms of hardware resources, such as Hill Climb Racing 2, Poku00e9mon Champions and Clash Royale, show annoying slowdowns.

Only slightly more complex apps, such as Brawl Stars, are in some cases literally impossible to use due to continuous frame drops.

The issue is rooted across multiple generations of smartphones: complaints come from users of the Pixel 8 series, the Pixel 9 and even the very recent Pixel 10 lineup, including the flagship Pro XL variants.

Lack of official communications and community attempts

As of the time this article was written, the California company has not released any statement regarding these performance issues. The lack of explanations leaves room only for reasonable suppositions, pointing to a probable bug at the operating system level.

One detail that caused particular concern among the community of enthusiasts is that the first dips in fluidity were already noticed during the beta testing phase of the software.

Users had hoped for a timely fix before the final public release, but the bug was shipped intact even in the stable firmware version.

In the absence of an official patch, online forums have filled with tips to curb the annoying problem. Some users have seen a partial return to normal by updating Google Play Services to the latest versions released in June. This procedure, however, does not guarantee success for all devices involved.

A decidedly more complex alternative requires access to the Developer Options on the smartphone. Through this hidden menu, some advise modifying the system graphics driver preferences, forcing the use of the ANGLE libraries for the affected games.

Intervening on these parameters, however, requires extreme caution and is not a recommended path for the average user, who could inadvertently compromise the overall stability of the product.