Google Camera app's Play Store reviews have been recently bombarded with one-star ratings from many Pixel owners. In recent months, users have been complaining about their inability to take photos because the camera app keeps crashing.
While Google's Pixel smartphones have received praise due to its amazing camera features, a quick search at the Google Pixel support forums reveals several complaints from many users. Apparently, there have been some issues with the camera crashing since December 2019. This has left Pixel owners frustrated and most recently gave Google Camera poor ratings.
According to Android Central, several Pixel owners have been advised to factory reset their devices, which didn't do anything to resolve the issue at all. Some have gone to repair specialists and have spent more than $100 for camera replacements. A few others have successfully had their phones replaced under warranty.
The complaints are mostly from Pixel 2 owners, but you can also spot a few bad reviews from owners of other Pixel phone models. Perhaps what's even more frustrating is that the problem isn't just centered on the Google Camera app. Users are saying other apps are crashing as well, including WhatsApp, Instagram, and Snapchat, upon opening the camera in-app.
It's too early to tell, but this could be another reason for a class-action lawsuit. Google earlier this year started dispensing payout settlements to appease users of its previous phones. The first settlement was over a microphone issue in the first Pixel smartphone. The second involved the Nexus 6P, which had battery issues.
Things aren't all bad for Google, however. Last week, it was reported that the Pixel 4 might soon be capable of shooting 4K60 video courtesy of a camera update. Senior XDA member cstark27 was able to examine the Google Camera 7.4 APK and found a new video recording mode called "camcorder.4k60fps." XDA-Developers also discovered there's support for 4K 24fps in the 7.3 APK as well.
While the discovery is exciting, it doesn't mean we're going to be offered such luxury soon. There's a possibility Google is still in the process of testing the new mode internally. For now, let's all be happy; Google has plans to include the feature on Pixel 4 and most likely on other future models.
Google hasn't addressed the camera crash issue as of writing, and while we're hoping a fix is going to be issued soon, we're also looking forward to the debut of the new shooting modes.
