The Google Pixel 3 has what is easily still one of the best cameras available on a smartphone today, but like the phone itself, that camera is somewhat prone to strange issues. Over the past few months, quite a lot of Pixel 3 owners have been reporting a “shaking” camera issue that Google still hasn’t fixed.
First highlighted by the folks at Android Police, a huge number of Google Product Forums and Reddit threads have detailed this issue which sees the camera viewfinder shaking even if the Pixel 3 is sitting completely still. This is well demonstrated in the video below, where the phone itself is sitting upright on a table, but the viewfinder shakes rapidly while recording a video.
Making matters worse, this problem isn’t just limited to the viewfinder. The resulting photos and videos can lack proper focus or be jittery as a result of this strange issue.
Based on user reports, this seems like a hardware issue, possibly relating to the OIS or autofocus hardware. Part of that reasoning comes from some users noting an audible sound coming from the camera, sometimes even showing up in the recorded video. No software-based fix has been found, with only a full hardware replacement seeming to fix the issue. The Pixel 3 XL also seems less likely to be affected by the problems, as the majority of these shaking camera reports seem to be from smaller Pixel 3 owners.
Google has yet to comment on any fix for the problem or explain what’s happening. Hopefully, if this ends up being something in the software, it can be resolved quickly. If it turns out to be a hardware issue, try your luck with Google’s support staff.
