Google's new Pixel 2 smartphone may be at the forefront of Android design but it may not hit the so-called "Gigabit LTE" heights its hardware is capable of.

The Pixel 2 has a Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) Snapdragon 835 chip onboard, which is the first "Gigabit LTE" chip that could deliver theoretical peaks of 1 Gbit/s on downloads.

But Light Reading hears that the search giant has rate-limited the chip to 800 Mbit/s on its newest flagship, similar to the way that Apple is rumored to have throttled its latest iPhone 8 and iPhone X devices to 600 Mbit/s. (See Apple's New iPhones: No Gigabit LTE for You!)

Light Reading has asked Google for any comment or explanation it can offer on this. We've had no reply yet.

Note that in the real world, Gigabit LTE will probably deliver average speeds more like 100 Mbit/s to 300 Mbit/s. (See When Is a Gig Not a Gig? When It's Gigabit LTE!)

With that in mind, consider this: Even with throttling, the Pixel 2 will still be one of the faster Android phones available. Light Reading understands it could be up to 20% faster (think 200Mbit/s peaks) than all but the latest Samsung devices -- the S8 and the Note 8 -- available on US networks.

— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading