[Google Pixel XL ROMs, Kernels, Recoveries, & Other] jhs39:
Multiple people on XDA who have actually bothered to check the temps that their Pixel operates at have reported being alarmed and RMA'ing their devices only to receive a refurbished device that operates at the exact same high temperatures. Because the phone doesn't feel hot to the touch doesn't mean the temperature isn't very hot inside.

Pixel overheating is such a common problem that if you do a Google search on Pixel XL problems overheating will be on every single list that comes up. If you contact Pixel support because you think your phone is running too hot they always do the exact same thing because they have so much practice. If you don't believe me feel free to try it yourself. First they will ask if your phone feels too hot to the touch. My Pixel XL barely felt warm to the touch the times it overheated and shut down. When you say no they will email you a pre prepared list a full page long stating the many reasons the Pixel might overheat under normal operating conditions without there being anything wrong with the phone. Google considers Pixel overheating to be completely normal under a very wide variety of conditions. Again, don't believe me then contact Pixel support yourself. They sent me the same identical word for word prepared list twice already. Instead of claiming I'm full of it you can simply contact Google support yourself. They probably send out more than a dozen of them a day, Like I previously said Pixel support is very well rehearsed when it comes to this issue and always says the same things and sends out the same list.

Google maximizing the kernel settings is nothing new--they did the exact same thing on the Nexus phones. I'm not sure if the Pixel attracted different customers than the Nexus phones or what but many people who have Pixel phones seem to be significantly less tech savvy than people on the Nexus XDA threads. Many people here seem to think that the sched governor is somehow magical and that it makes the Pixel XL super fast and smooth without any trade-off in terms of making the device hot internally or potentially causing long term damage to the phone similar to what happened previously with the Nexus 5X or Nexus 6P, both of which actually ran cooler internally than the Pixel XL does.

With the Nexus phones you could easily flash a custom kernel and change the governor from On Demand to Interactive. After you did that the phone would run cooler inside, the battery would last longer and there would be no perceptible drop off in performance because 95% of users don't need the maxed out kernel settings that Google uses by default. But you can't do that with the Pixel because devs of custom kernels for the most part didn't create any other governors that work with the Pixel--it's mostly sched or nothing and sched is an On Demand style governor whether XDA owners in these threads realize it or not.

I don't have any personal kernel tweaks. I'm not a developer and wouldn't really know where to start. I expected the development community to actually develop other governors that work with the Pixels but they have largely dropped the ball. I ended up going back to stock because I felt maintaining root and a custom recovery and running and updating a custom rom on this phone simply wasn't worth the hassle if I couldn't change the governor on the kernel, which was one of the primary reasons I rooted my Nexus phones. If I'm stuck with Google's stock kernel settings even on a custom kernel then I might as well just stick with the convenience of stock.

With the Nexus communities on XDA people were more than willing to discuss the shortcomings of the devices. With the Pixel XL community if you suggest that maybe the phone actually has some flaws that devs should really be addressing you typically get attacked by Google fanboys who are in a complete state of denial where this phone is concerned and are unwilling to admit that the device isn't perfect. If you go to the official Google forums for the Pixel devices you find much more honest and frequent criticism of the Pixel phones than you do on XDA.

If you think the sched governor is the greatest thing ever and absolutely love it that's your privilege, even if I think you are in denial about how hot the sched governor makes this phone run internally. But I think there should be a choice of kernel governors like there was on previous Nexus devices for people like me who aren't actually thrilled with Google's stock governor. That choice does not exist with this phone.

I can't honestly fathom how the developer of a major recognized kernel like ElementalEx could make a kernel for the Pixel XL but not offer a single alternative governor that actually works with the phone--or the fact that Pixel users on XDA seem to have no problem with that at all.