A number of people have been complaining about performance issues on the Pixel Slate, particularly when the device is in tablet mode.
Users claim they encounter lagging issues often while in the said mode, apart from having a janky experience overall. That and the fact there's no clear recourse makes this $599 tablet a sour sell.
Google seems to have taken notice, at least. Since the Pixel Slate's sluggish and stuttery user interface is becoming a deal breaker for most consumers, Google is reportedly planning to roll out an update that will improve the performance of its flagship tablet.
Chrome Unboxed has uncovered that Google aims to address performance problems present on the Pixel Slate, particularly issues with lag. What's more, the fix might actually be a simple one.
Pixel Slate Lag Issues
Developers have noticed that much of the performance issues stems from the performance-intensive way the tablet draws rounded corners, and they especially persist when dragging down to reveal the overview mode.
"A lot of animation jank seems to be coming from the use of Mask Layers to create rounded corners. This combined with background blur adds a lot of additional steps in the paint/rendering pipeline," according per the bug's description.
When rounded corners are disabled, the performance allegedly improves, even on the Celeron-based Pixel Slate, which is the entry-level model of the lineup.
"The performance (fps increase) and memory improvement (tiles don't get discarded and we actually see the content) is quite significant on Nocturne Celeron when rounded corners are removed."
Of course, turning off rounded corners likely won't solve every lag and performance issue present on the device, but it's an easy and uncomplicated start, and should significantly increase performance for users who enter overview mode on a regular basis.
When Will Google Release This Fix?
As to when Google plans to release the fix is another story. The company has labeled the bug as high priority, at least, but bear in mind that the discussion dates back to November 2018, which suggests a solution might not be around the corner. Also, Google hasn't formally acknowledged the Pixel Slate's performance issues, making it harder to predict if and when the fix is coming.
That's quite unfortunate since a number of reviewers liken the Pixel Slate as a successful attempt from Google to reinvigorate the tablet landscape, apart from being a worthy competitor to the Apple iPad. Clearly, Google has quite a room for improvement on the software side of things — and definitely on the hardware as well.
