Google is working on a fix for the Pixel 3 app-closing issue

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• Some owners of Google’s Pixel 3 smartphone have experienced
  issues with apps randomly closing themselves when they’re meant
  to be running in the background.
• The issue is mostly an inconvenience, but it’s not something
  that’s expected from a brand-new smartphone that cost north of
  $800. 
• Google says the issue can be fixed with an update that’s
  coming in the next few weeks. 

A glitch in some Pixel 3 smartphones that closes apps running in
the background is getting a fix in the “coming
weeks,” Google
told Android Police.

Several Pixel 3 owners have reported via
Reddit, Twitter,
and various forums that apps they recently used would close
themselves when they switch to other apps. Usually, recent and
often-used apps stay open and running in the background for
convenient quick access when you return to the app. 

Instead, some Pixel 3 users have found that their recently-used
apps need to fully re-open when they return to them. Other users
have found that Spotify, in particular, will randomly close
itself when other apps are in use.

Having to re-open apps can take significantly longer than
returning to the app when it’s running in the background. It’s a
minor nuisance, perhaps more so for games that need to reload
entirely, which can take more time than standard apps. 

But users aren’t happy that a brand-new smartphone with a pretty
high price tag — $800 for the Pixel 3 and $900 for the Pixel 3 XL
— has problems retaining apps in the background. Many say it
hasn’t been an issue on previous devices. 

Most are pointing the finger at the Pixel 3 phones’ comparatively
paltry 4GB of RAM. Indeed, that’s on the lower end for top
Android smartphones these days, where 6GB of RAM is more or less
the standard now. Marques Brownlee of the
MKBHD YouTube channel also expressed his concern about the
Pixel 3’s minimal RAM.

A quick refresher on RAM: It’s short-term memory where any device
like a phone or computer can store the apps you’ve recently used
so that you can revisit those recently-used apps right where you
left off, without needing to re-open the app. The more RAM you
have, the more apps can be stored, and the faster you can switch
between them. 

Google told Android Police it’s a glitch and it can be patched up
with a software update. Let’s hope so because it would be a
hardware issue otherwise, where the only fix is to buy a new
smartphone with more RAM. I personally haven’t experienced issues
with multi-tasking on the Pixel 3 XL I’ve recently used. Either
way, here’s to hoping the problem can be fixed with an update.

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