Google’s Shocking Hardware Record Exposed By Class Action Lawsuit

Consumers who purchased the much-hyped Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones because retailers were being paid millions in marketing rebates by the big search Company, are now being sued by consumers fed up with their poor quality of the Google designed devices.

In the USA, Google is facing a class-action lawsuit, alleging that the internet giant knew about the defect but still continued to incentivise retailers in Australia to sell the product.

This is not the first problem for Google who recently saw a significant jump in operational costs due in part to their obsession to play in the smartphone and devices market.

Last year problems with their latest Pixel 2 device emerged with some users complaining about ‘burned in’ afterimages on their screens, a bluish tint, periodic clicking sounds and occasionally unresponsive touch commands.

Then there were problems with their Home Mini smart speaker which was caught out always listening.

And if that was not enough their Wireless ‘Pixel Buds ‘headset received savage reviews because they were seen as being expensive despite a cheap look and feel, mediocre sound quality, and being difficult to set up and confusing to use.

When ChannelNews approached Google to review both the Pixel and Pixel XL, products after we had heard rumblings of customer complaints the PR division of Google Australia not only refused to supply devices they also failed to respond to our emails.

At the time we had heard that there were microphone and display screen problems.

The expensive Google Pixel devices are also bulky when compared to superior offerings from the likes of Samsung, LG and HTC a Company that Google has now spent millions on buying their R&D and manufacturing expertise.

Some users have complained that all three microphones on the Pixel device would be disabled if they held the phone in different ways or used it in cold temperatures.

Users began complaining about issues with the microphone shortly after the Pixel and Pixel were released in 2016.

According to the Daily Mail, one Google employee said the issue most likely stemmed from a ‘hairline crack’ in the solder connection on the audio codec.

‘This is especially frustrating as a user because, just when you think you’ve got it fixed, the problem randomly comes back,’ the Google employee wrote on the firm’s support forum.

The lawsuit, which was filed in a district court in California, claims that Google then continued to sell the earlier Pixel models knowing that they had an audio defect.
What’s been revealed is that despite receiving hundreds of complaints shortly after the launch of the Pixel and Pixel XL and after admitting the phones had a ‘faulty microphone’ — Google continues to sell the Pixel phones without telling purchasers about the microphone defect,’ the lawsuit states.

‘Moreover, instead of fixing the defective Pixel phones, Google has replaced defective phones with other defective phones, resulting in many consumers repeatedly experiencing the microphone defect,’ the document continues.

The lawsuit also states that the plaintiff, a Pixel owner, would not have purchased the phone had they known of the defect beforehand.

As can be expected Google Australia is today ducking for cover with the Company refusing to identify how many Australians have been affected by poor Google hardware.