Many customers who preordered their Google Pixel or Pixel XL from the U.S. Google Store have started receiving their phones already, but shipments are now falling behind.
The latest Google Pixel and Pixel XL are currently among the hottest smartphones on the market, and they're in high demand despite their hefty price tags.
Further attesting to high demand, it seems that quite a few orders are starting to miss delivery estimates, with many customers still seeing their order status as "pending" even if it should be ready by now.
Initial preorder demand has exceeded Google's expectations and the company is now having trouble keeping up to ship all units on time. Some early preorder customers were even told that their devices won't ship until mid-November due to overwhelming demand.
Buyers who preordered the Google Pixel or Pixel XL can check their order history on the Google Store, and many are currently listed either as "Pre-ordered" or "Pending," both of which mean the device is not ready to ship just yet.
Google Store support representatives can only offer limited information at the moment, but many users report that customer service reps said the devices will ship by the estimated date despite the current status. Some representatives even advised users to ignore the online status page and wait for their device on the estimated date.
At this rate, it's anyone's guess whether the devices will ship on time or with a few weeks' delay stretching to November, as some representatives say they're still on track while others note a significant delay.
Google-centric publication 9to5Google has contacted the company and learned that the shipping department has indeed fallen three weeks behind. Consequently, the estimated shipping date for the device they ordered is now Nov. 18 instead of the previously estimated Oct. 27 to 31 timeframe.
"We're thrilled to see the excitement for our new Pixel phones, and frankly preorder demand has exceeded our expectations," Google told the publication. "We're working to restock our inventory as soon as possible."
However, the company offered no explanation for the discrepancy between the Order history status and what different support representatives are telling customers.
At the same time, high demand also means that some versions are currently sold out and no longer available for purchase at this time. The Google Pixel is still available in black and silver, estimated to ship in three or four weeks, while the Pixel XL is available only in the 32 GB silver model, with the same shipping estimate. Other variants are out of stock and it will likely take a while for Google to clear the order backlog and put all models back on sale.
Long story short, there's a good chance that if you haven't received your Google Pixel or Pixel XL already, shipping will stretch well into November. Did you order one of the new Pixels? If so, drop by our comment section below and tell us about your experience so far.
