4 Cons of Buying a Google Pixel Phone

Buying a new Android phone and choosing the brand that best suits your needs is a constant conundrum that many experienced tech consumers try to solve. Simply put, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Although the ecosystem of different Android devices is tightly integrated, the software, hardware, and even the core experience can vary widely.

Look at Google’s Pixel UI versus Samsung’s One UI skin, for example. Both offer exceptionally powerful experiences, but one is closer to stock Android (Google), while the other is far from it (Samsung). While this doesn’t necessarily make one better than the other – it’s always a matter of personal preference, after all – it can be disadvantageous if you’re someone new to smartphone technology, or even a long-time Apple user looking to branch out into Android territory.

Although given the close ties between Android and Google, many might be looking to buy a Google Pixel ahead of other options. While the Google Pixel tends to offer a relatively clean and simple experience with its user interface and apps, it still has some drawbacks that might deter some users from getting a Pixel as their primary phone.

You’ll either love or hate the Pixel UI that Google uses on its Pixel line of smartphones. In general, Pixel UI is meant to be a cleaner, minimalist experience without extra bloat. But that also means it’s limited in customization options outside of the Material You theme and third-party icon packs or launchers.

While Material You is an interesting concept, some reported that the wallpaper and color scheme options seemed more muted and less pronounced than they would have liked. But since Material You was released with Android 12, Google has evolved it into a more advanced form, combining the efforts of Material 3 Expressive and the latest Material Design engine available to add a little more oomph to the UI, including animations and AI-generated wallpapers and icons. But beyond the built-in options, there’s not much to customize, especially compared to Samsung’s Good Lock customization features, which can redefine the look of a phone.

The Pixel is Google’s proprietary smartphone, so it shouldn’t be surprising that if you use one, you become more locked into Google’s ecosystem. However, this isn’t as scary as it might seem, since you can always use third-party apps to override some of the default options. But this has certain disadvantages. Alternative apps from Samsung, OnePlus, and Motorola all have features you can only access if you own a device from the manufacturer. Most of these devices will have Google apps, in addition to their own apps. But if you really want true app freedom without the constraints of Google’s Play Store, you might want to consider sideloading.

Side loading, although now with more friction and stricter checking than before, is still possible by following the aggressive new Advanced Flow sequence, which includes a 24-hour lockout. If you try to use Google minimally, such as avoiding the Google Play Store altogether to access apps, you can do so, but it won’t be without consequences. Generally speaking, these phones still perform much better if you stick to the Google Play Store, mainly because your system app updates are pushed through Google Play Services. So if you don’t like Google apps and services, it’s best to avoid a Google Pixel.

Unfortunately, this isn’t just a problem with the Google Pixel. Other high-end devices, like the Samsung Galaxy S series since the Galaxy S21, also lack an expandable storage option, often to entice users to rely instead on cloud storage or pay for a newer model. As of now, none of the new Google Pixel phones have expandable storage, so in terms of hardware, what you buy is what you get. This isn’t really ideal if you plan to make good use of Google’s seven-year software promise and keep your phone for that many years. The best way to get around this is to use your Pixel device’s storage conservatively, use a USB-C flash drive, or rely on cloud services to keep your data accessible.

Unfortunately, cloud storage isn’t always cheap, although some services aren’t as expensive as Google One. It can also be a mistake to keep everything in the cloud instead of backing up your most sensitive files in a more secure location. Those concerned about storage may want to look to another Android family, like Motorola’s Moto G series, which offers expandable storage up to 1TB on some phones.

Google Pixel phones have been powered by Tensor chips since Google first unveiled the chipset in 2021. While these chips are designed to be quite strong in most cases, they do have some drawbacks. The main drawback lies in its gaming performance. Indeed, Google’s goal for the Tensor chip was never gaming, but rather AI processing. Competitors like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon seem to dominate benchmark tests and show that they are beasts for gaming. The Tensor chip is the Google Pixel’s signature chipset, so even if you buy a high-end device like the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, it won’t perform as well as a OnePlus 15 or Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra for gaming.

But that doesn’t mean a high-end Google Pixel phone isn’t capable of gaming; you might just experience more battery drain, frame drops, and stuttering if you try to max it out on a more graphically intensive title. This mainly concerns more demanding games like “Genshin Impact” or “Call of Duty: Warzone” – if your mainstay is “Balatro” or “Angry Birds”, most modern Tensor chipsets will handle casual games without issue. Otherwise, keen gamers will likely want to purchase an Android phone with at least a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset to maximize gaming performance.