[Google Pixel XL Questions & Answers] TheAnarchist1:
I, too, also jumped ship to an S8+ and to be honest in it has been a total disaster. Let us clear the water now. I am not a Samsung hater. I have used every Galaxy device except for the S2. I have a serious amount of love for both their hardware design and ambitions to invoate. With that being said...

I preordered the Galaxy S8+ on T-Mobile. Orchid Gray model. My preorder device was met with an incredible amount of frame-rate loss in the OS for relatively non-GPU intensive tasks such as simple menu scrolling and the notification shade as others have complained. I suspect that the GPU, albeit current, simply isn't "there" yet when it comes to pushing all the pixels in the infinity display. There isn't latency per-say. The Snapdragon 835 zooms along like a champ, but, the GPU seems easily bogged down from almost the point of powering on the device. I suspect that the display is simply too far ahead of the SoC curve. This feels more like the transitional device we saw in the Galaxy S6, rather than the polished product we had with the S7/Edge models. The bogged down GPU creates the appearance of significant OS "jank" which gives the illusion of lag, even though it is nothing more than a weak sauce GPU. I find myself justified in this assumption by Samsung's choice to artificially shackle their flagship display on their flagship device to a simple 1080p, rather than allowing it to shine. Samsung is no stranger to bragging which makes this all the more curious of choices. They use the excuse of battery savings but running it at full resolution doesn't necessarily hurt the battery so much more as it results in even more what I assume to be GPU related stuttering. Please note that I also severely de-bloated my device using Package Disabler Pro as well as switched to the much simpler Nova Pro launcher in hopes that it would solve my frame rate issues. Didn't help. My preordered device also featured a faulty microphone which prevented people from hearing me entirely unless I was on speakerphone which made it just barely usable. I was also having severe radio data related issues with my model. I was averaging about 0.24 MBS with a 30-35 ms Ping in an area where even the Pixel could muster at least 5MB down consistently during a point of the day with high network congestion. I, too, was also facing severe wifi charging issues and I was using a Samsung blessed charging dock. I also had the dreaded red tint issue. Furthermore after doing an exchange I was sent the wrong device. I am not a superstitious man in the least but if ever there were a sign that the S8+ wasn't the device for me at the moment. This whole experience certainly seemed like one.

I won't argue that the Pixel XL is a more powerful device, because it simply isn't. In terms of simple generational terms. The S8+ hardware is newer and therefore features the improvements related to generational gaps. The 835 is fabulous. The device is beautiful and feature packed. What I will argue is that the user experience on the Pixel XL is leaps and bounds above even the cleaned up Samsung OS. Google's optimizations are so tight that it allows the Pixel XL to almost have the appearance of advantage over the Galaxy S8+. The Pixel XL makes the absolute most out of the hardware that it has, while the Galaxy S8+ has a ton of great hardware that it absolutely makes the worst use out of. The Pixel XL is a muscle car designed to do one thing and one thing only but to do that one thing incredibly well. The S8+ on the other hand is more of a fully loaded luxury sedan built with mind to doing everything but not necessarily at the best quality that everything could in-fact be done. I also still feel that there will probably be later drama involving the disparity between the infinity display and the SoC powering it. Samsung is already working closely with Qualcomm for a second revision of the 835 and I can see why. There might come a point where these revisions make their way into the S8+ production line and turn the product into what it was intended to be later in it's lifespan. Right now, though. It isn't worth it at least in my eyes. The Pixel XL is, as Google described, "internet in your hand". The device works so well that the hardware dissolves into the background. The Galaxy S8+ on the other hand is constantly there to remind you that it is the hardware barrier between you and the internet. It is a beautiful and stunningly designed barrier, but a barrier nonetheless.

I hope this helps people. Feel free to field me questions

PS: Thankfully I did not sell my Pixel XL and am still in the grace period for my S8+ so I can right my mistakes and move on with my bad self approximately $901.50 richer. Lol.