Google Pixel 4 reportedly lags when loading apps, settings, & video recording, latter issue affecting some Pixel 3 units too

Google is now in its fourth year as a company that makes smartphones. Prior to the Pixel era, the Nexus devices that came with Google’s blessings were actually manufactured by other vendors like LG, Motorola, and Huawei.

However, unlike OnePlus that has been quick to learn its trade around hardware and software alike, Google is still evidently struggling with smartphone hardware. Sure, the latest Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL handsets have great builds, but they still lack in a way or two.

On the other hand, Google has always been the best when it comes to software. The Pixel 4 phones are meant to show the rest of the Android fraternity how Google wants the OS to look and work on phones, but then again, the software is developed by humans and we all know none is perfect.

Since launch, the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL have had a share of issues that are software-related. There is talk of faulty OIS in some units, missing 4K videos at 60fps, unstable 90Hz refresh rate, and even the face unlock saga.

In yet another software-related issue, it is now being reported that even Googles recommended 4K video recording standard at 30 frames per second (fps) is faulty. According to Android Police’s Artem Russakovskii, 4K videos recorded on his Pixel 4 XL unit at 30fps experienced major frame drops.

I have some upsetting news. After only 2 days, the Pixel 4 XL is already showing signs of major lag, in loading apps and settings as well as major frame drops on video (4k30). Never had any such issues on the @oneplus 7 Pro.
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Of course, the lag in the video recording is visible in the playback, something several Pixel 3 XL users can also attest to.

About every 3-4 seconds it stutters while I’m recording. Of course, you can see it during playback. When k turn H.265 off, it is fine. I’m finding this on 1080p60. Anyone else?
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Artem went further and posted a couple of videos to illustrate the video recording lag issue as well as the lag when loading apps like Spotify and even the settings menu under the tweet below.

While it seems the H.265 tech might be the culprit as far as video recording and playback lag issue is concerned, the lags experienced when loading apps and settings are likely to be system-related, although nothing has been confirmed to this point.

I’m hearing based on the traces I’ve provided that the settings lag is not related to the Spotify one, though not 100% yet. The system runs into some weird (and rare) resource contention and something hangs, then times out because I/O is like 50x slower than it should be.
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It is unclear how widespread these issues are, but if more bug reports and similar cases continue popping up, we should see a response from Google. Until then, these might as well be treated as isolated cases.

Are you affected? Let us know in your comments below.

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