This Pixel bug has existed since the COVID era, and some people now think it's actually a Pixel feature

Bugs and glitches are not an uncommon sight on a smartphone. Most of them are usually addressed just days after they are first discovered. However, there’s a very strange popping noise bug that has been in Pixel smartphones for so long that some of you might even think it’s actually a feature of your Google Pixel.

It’s existed since the coronavirus days

Opening and closing apps is one of the most basic things you do on a smartphone, and users generally do not face any issues with it. However, some users have posted on Reddit about hearing a very loud popping sound when they open or close any app on their Pixel smartphone.

While the issue is currently being experienced mainly in the Pixel 10 line, it has been noticed in older models as well. The Pixel 9, Pixel 8, and Pixel 7 are some of the older Pixel models on which the problem has been reported. Interestingly, one user reported facing a similar issue almost six years ago, when the world was suffering from the coronavirus pandemic.

By evaluating all the reports, it seems the problem usually occurs when you’re already listening to audio on your Pixel and another sound is triggered by opening a different app. For instance, you might hear the popup sound while listening to YouTube Music on your Pixel, then open a game that produces a sound on launch. It also appears that the phone doesn’t make the popup sound every time you switch apps. Instead, it’s very random. Sometimes it happens with every app launch, other times, only after every 30–40 minutes.

A Reddit user commented that they experienced this even though they had turned the volume on their smartphone down to zero. Another user commented that this had happened to them multiple times when using Duolingo, whereas one user mentioned that the popup noise sounds very cringe, especially when it happens in a silent room.

Redditor The_best_1234 commented that it’s actually a Pixel feature that has existed since the Pixel 3a. Whether they were mocking Google for not addressing this bug even after so many years or actually believed it’s a feature, we don’t know.

Thinking it was a hardware-related issue, one of the affected users had the speakers of their Pixel 10 Pro replaced. Unfortunately, the problem still persisted for them. This suggests that it is probably occurring due to a bug or glitch in the software, rather than any fault in the hardware of the Pixel smartphones.

So, what’s actually producing the popup noises?

Display of the Pixel 10 Pro. | Image by PhoneArena

Even after considerable reports on Reddit and even Google’s own community forum, there hasn’t been any official statement from the tech giant on what’s causing the problem. However, if I have to take a random guess, it’s most likely related to the audio driver of the Pixel smartphones.

I believe the audio driver might be glitching when a short-duration sound, such as a game’s launch sound, interrupts the audio that’s already playing in the background on the smartphone. That said, I tried to reproduce this problem on my Pixel 10, but luckily it didn’t happen on my device. I had Spotify playing in the background on my phone, then opened Duolingo, which, as mentioned above, has been reported as one of the many apps that trigger the underlying issue.