Older model Pixel phone major lag and slowdown coinciding with Pixel 6a release.

[Technyewb]

I have a Pixel 3XL for three years and I've been happy with it and feel no need to upgrade.

The phone has always been responsive and works well. And as I'm not a heavy phone user, it's still perfect for me. 

However, in the last few weeks it has started to lag terribly when opening apps. 
It feels to me as if the lag is engineered rather than an issue of the processor not keeping up with the demands of the OS and apps. Especially as I don't use processor intensive apps. 

It almost feels like the lag is a statement saying 'hey, this old phone is struggling to keep up. Why not upgrade'. 

I may be wrong. But it sure feels like the stutter/lag/freeze that occurs when I open the apps and they hang for a period is made to be long enough so it's not a subliminal frustration but a clear statement. 
 

[Commodus]

33 minutes ago, Technyewb said:

I have a Pixel 3XL for three years and I've been happy with it and feel no need to upgrade.

The phone has always been responsive and works well. And as I'm not a heavy phone user, it's still perfect for me. 

However, in the last few weeks it has started to lag terribly when opening apps. 
It feels to me as if the lag is engineered rather than an issue of the processor not keeping up with the demands of the OS and apps. Especially as I don't use processor intensive apps. 

It almost feels like the lag is a statement saying 'hey, this old phone is struggling to keep up. Why not upgrade'. 

I may be wrong. But it sure feels like the stutter/lag/freeze that occurs when I open the apps and they hang for a period is made to be long enough so it's not a subliminal frustration but a clear statement. 
 

 Nah, this isn't some sinister conspiracy on Google's part. Don't let frustration cloud your judgment; sometimes, bad things just happen.

 

Most likely, this either reflects battery wear from three years of use (the chip may have to throttle to avoid spontaneous shutdowns) or simply some OS hiccup that's affecting everything. Have you tried a factory reset to see if that helps?

 

[venomtail]

If a company did this it certainly wouldn't be Google. They're a software company first, so their priority is to get people using hardware to go and use their software, Google, YouTube and so on. Slowing down phones so that people can use their software less thus making less money doesn't really make sense.

 

First check if something isn't out of date. I remember when my Firefox browser had a leak and didn't delete cashed RAM, or however that worked. Make sure your storage also isn't more than 80% full as it can have an effect on how well your phone works.

[Lurking]

Every once a while make sure all apps are updated, and useless apps removed. Some older apps may not work on newer OS. Always have as few apps installed as possible. I'm just saying that since some people need to install every gimmick and not ever app is coded well, or updated. OR newer apps also need more resources. 

 

I don't know if your older Pixel can auto-update apps (like my P6). On some older phones without auto-update, I had to manually remove and re-install apps to get the new version (which helped fix problems). 

 

Try factory reset to disprove the conspiracy theory   the timeline you describe also coincides with Russia attacking Ukraine. Russian hackers would make a much better conspiracy theory. It also coincides with summer arriving ....   Google correlation vs. causation....