When the Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones were first launched, they were both billed and priced as premium phones on par with the Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy series. At a price point ranging from $649 to $869, consumers had a right to expect both a premium product and premium service. Unfortunately, it became evident soon after launch that there was actually a problem with the phone’s microphone, causing a number of users to be unable to use the phone as a phone or access a number of voice activated features.
While Google admitted that there was a difficulty with the microphone, they also claimed that the defect only affected approximately 1% of the units sold. According to a Google representative, there was a “hairline crack in the solder connection on the audio codec,” which created an intermittent issue with the microphone.
Unfortunately, however, they not only continued to sell the product without warning consumers of the defect, but also allegedly refused to replace existing phones with the defect even when they were still under warranty. Even when they did replace phones, the terms of the warranty are such that fixing, replacing or refunding the phone was at their discretion and in many cases they opted to simply replace one defective Pixel phone with another. While this theoretically allowed them to abide by the terms of the warranty, it did not in fact fix the actual problem for consumers.
Google Defective Pixel Phone Going Public
In March of last year, the defect was made public, at which time Google advised retailers of the phone as well as carriers to send the Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones back to Google in order to receive a free replacement. Once again, however, this did not actually fix the issue, but instead possibly just exacerbated it.
As a result of these issues, Google is now facing a class-action lawsuit being leveled at them. The plaintiffs are claiming that Google knowingly shipped out defective pixel phone and then failed to act appropriately when they began to receive hundreds of complaints about the issue.
As if that weren’t enough, Google may now be facing another class-action lawsuit for issues stemming from the 6.0-inch Quad HD+ pOLED display made by LG that is one of the primary features of the second-gen Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. In addition to a number of lesser concerns regarding certain quirks of the screen, larger concerns include premature “burn in” as well as an issue with a “black smear.”
The burn in issue is what happens when an image remains stationary for too long on a screen, it becomes “burned in” to the pixels, so even when you switch screens, you still see a trace of the original image. For instance, if an app icon becomes burned in to the pixels, then you will still see a faint image of the icon even if you are watching a video on your phone or making a call. The black smear issue is one in many which Pixel 2 XL owners have reported that moving pixels against a black background results in a black smudge which distorts the display.
In regards to the issues with the Pixel 2 phones, Google recently announced that it will be extending the warranty period to 2 years for all Google Pixel 2 phones. This does not, however, help the owners of the original Google Pixel phones with microphone issues.
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