Pixel 8 user here. It seems like every day I run into something Gemini does that makes me irrationally angry.

I just asked it to set an alarm for tomorrow and it said "that's an intensely early start" and didn't set my alarm.

What stupid things has it done to annoy you?

It is honestly exhausting watching the current state of Android skins. Ever since Apple dropped the "Liquid Glass" aesthetic in iOS, almost every major Android OEM—Vivo (OriginOS), Oppo (ColorOS), Xiaomi (HyperOS), OnePlus—has tripped over themselves to copy it screen-for-screen.

The translucent frosted blurs, the bubbly rounded toggles, the exact same floating menu bars and dynamic island clones... it is a shameless 1:1 rip-off.

What frustrates me the most isn't just the copying itself—it's the complete lack of ambition. The whole point of Android is supposed to be variety, freedom, and distinct character. These brands have massive design teams and incredible hardware, yet they willingly throw away their own visual identity just to look like a knockoff iPhone. It screams insecurity, like they are telling their own buyers, *"We know you secretly wanted an iPhone, so we made our software pretend to be one."*

Right now, Google's Pixel UI feels like the only breath of fresh air left. With Material 3 Expressive, Pixel actually has a spine. It uses bold colors, distinct geometry, and fluid motion that doesn't look anything like iOS. Even Google's Android boss publicly shot down the idea of bringing Liquid Glass to Pixel, and honestly, thank God for that.

What blows my mind is how normal this has become. People in the community just shrug and say *"everyone copies everyone"* or *"it looks smooth, who cares?"* Taking inspiration on a useful feature is one thing; copy-pasting an entire aesthetic direction because you're afraid to be different is pathetic.

Why isn't there more pushback on this? Do people actually want their Android phones to look like iOS clones, or have we just given up on OEMs having their own character?

I must admit there are many amazing phones I'd love to try. But every time I swap my SIM from my P9 I can't last more than a day due to not having call Screening. It's one of those features that you don't really pay much attention to until it's no longer there.

Has anyone else seen a massive increase in spam texts in the last few days? I am getting 5 to 10 every day. I thought the Google Messages app did a pretty good job automatically sorting these into spam but it seems like a lot are getting through. Is there any setting I can change or anything I can do to make the spam screening much more stringent?

I'm having issues with my new Pixel 11 Pro XL. 20-30 mins into driving with Android Auto and the phone crashes. Cleared the maps cache to no avail.

Since the last update my P10 has been lagging and freezing in pretty normal apps, mostly social media.

I'm also getting black pixels on the screen that show up and then disappear after a bit.

Is it just mine or is this happening to more people? Found any fix?

Greetings!

I'm in a bit of a predicament. I shot vacation footage on my Pixel 11 in MotionCam Pro, but can't seem to get a Gyroflow profile working now that I've returned home. The footage was shot with the expectation that I'd be able to correct it with Gyroflow, so I'm now turning to you folks to ask if any of you have a Pixel 11 main lens camera profile that you can create and share with the Gyroflow devs through the desktop app. I've tried to use the test diagram but it didn't work.

Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide.

There's a lot of posts about issues with pixels since the September/October updates. Specifically performance related.

A Redditor has already logged a case with Google if you're experiencing issues add your +1 and comments here:

https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/571186734

Mods: could this link be pinned?

Hi all,

Is there a way to stop notifications from certain apps while using specific other apps?

Pixel 9 Pro XL

Basically the title. I have missed important calls because for some reason they will just get sent directly to voicemail without ringing at all. I only notice it came through when the icon shows up telling me there's a new vm. These aren't blocked numbers either, they're not being marked as spam (which DOESN'T do this!), and it's driving me crazy! There seems to be no rhyme or reason to why this happens. Please help!

Hey guys!

Just looking for opinions since I just read the megathread about Bluetooth and wifi issues.

I've got Pixel Care+ on my 8 Pro and the battery is degraded so I can get it replaced or fixed for free. What I'm wondering is am I better off getting the battery replaced at a ubreakifix since I don't have any Bluetooth or wifi issues instead of going the RMA and potentially getting a device that will have those problems?

Upgraded to a Pixel 11 Pro, can't figure out how to get notifications. I get IG and Text but nothing else. Mostly want to make sure I get alerts about new emails. I've tried what Google told me and it didn't help. I'

Hello! ive just replaced my (very) old iphone Xr with the new pixel 11 pro and im having a great time so far. i finally found a great voice memos app that ive customised the recording quality on and it sounds even better than my last phone - anyways!

the problem: i was listening back on the most recent recording, and i heard a very quiet high-pitched mechanical beeping in the background? and i thought that was odd (since it wasn't in the others) so i paused the playback and raised the phone speakers to my ear. the sound turned out to be coming straight from within the phone!

it sounds kinda like a printer when it's rhythmically whirring going across the page (if that makes any sense lol) but it's very very quiet and also. in my phone. like it's trying to S.O.S. to me in morse code lmfao

if anyone knows what this might be or even how to fix it, that'd be amazing!! i thank you in advance! i'd like to keep being able to use this phone as it was very expensive lol :)

Has anyone else had this issue?

I have dual sims set up for work and personal. I had previously assigned sims per contact. Out of the blue all of my calls and texts have now been defaulted to one sim and in the setting the calling sim had been selected as "personal" whereas before it was definitely always set to "ask every time". This setting seems to have changed itself? Perhaps an update triggered it?

Very frustrating when I am suddenly texting and calling people from different numbers. Look like a flog.

I've had the phone for a few weeks and am quite happy with it, especially the way it interfaces with my hearing aids. Had to send the HAs for service and realized that the 10a has no output jack for wired ear buds or headphones. I sent away for an adapter that was promoted as being for 10a. Got them and they do not work. I just get some message about using Google or Amazon Alexa, whatever the hell that is about. I sent away for a different adapter and had the same results. Am I doing something wrong? Anybody else using an output adapter? I'm not going to buy Bluetooth ear buds because I should have my HAs back soon.

Hi all, I'm after a super tough case WITH a magnet close wallet front. I dream of it possibly closing between the time I drop it (all the time) and it landing on the ground.

Is there such a thing? It seems to be either super tough cases OR a wallet type case which aren't very protective.

I previously had an Otterbox case with a SPIGEN tempered glass cover, but the curved screen is such a pain and it still ended up with a damaged screen despite no visible crack etc. One month after warranty ended.

Unfortunately I seem to have no hand eye coordination and I drop my phones like there's no tomorrow. I'm probably going to eat my shame and buy a wrist strap.

Recommendations would be great!

Hi all. I have a Pixel 9 that I purchased one year ago in the EU, so it's still well within warranty. Last month, the phone turned off and wouldn't turn back on. It wouldn't restart with the various button combinations either, no vibration, no nothing. My laptop still recognizes it as a Pixel when it's plugged in (but I can't access any contents), and it still rings when I ping it with Find Hub.

Given the issues I was having, I sent it in for warranty repair via RMA. Of course, once it arrived in Poland, like so many people before me, the inspection team found "Cracked screen" and "Frame or back cover damage", and they want €235.54 to repair the phone. My phone was, of course, not cracked when I sent it in. I demanded photos to support their claim. Here's the two photos they sent me so you can judge for yourself.

I've been in contact with Google to try to understand what is actually wrong with my phone, and to understand why they won't honor their warranty. We've been trading emails for a week, but now they're just sending me in circles and they're not answering any of my questions.

What recourse do I have from here? I've already filed a complaint with my country's consumer protection agency, and I'm at the point that small claims court feels like my only option. It seems like Google is just scamming me so that they don't have to honor my warranty, which is incredibly disappointing. If I don't pay, I'm left with a non-functional phone. If I do pay, I'm sure that they'll just find another way to scam me at this point, considering that I still don't even know what's wrong with my phone, but I'm damn sure that €235 worth of cosmetic repairs are not going to solve it.

If anybody at Google is listening and wants to actually help me, my details below:
Case ID: 8-9961000042007
RMA: RMA97670296

Hey Pixel community,

I own a Pixel 7A phone from the last 2 years. It works perfectly fine with no lag and the battery is also fine not much degradation.

But from last few weeks the back panel of phone is coming out when it heats up. As I already saw some discussions about the battery puffing and all. It doesn't see to be the case as I pulled 75 percent of panel just to check that at 100 percent battery it wasn't swollen or something.

I am also attaching the Dev Check app screenshot of battery.

Please help me. Should I be worried or what should be my next step. I am worried about water getting inside as the back panel comes off randomly when phone heats.

Screenshots: https://postimg.cc/gallery/D2Hb28k

If I take 50 pictures, then review them and decide to delete 49 of them and keep the best one, is the one saved photo left on the device, but the original 50 are still in Google Photos cloud?

I want to have Google photos sync with the phone gallery so that there aren't unnecessary photos stored on Google Photos cloud.

Hey All. I've been trying to take a screenshot all day by pressing the power and down volume button but it's not working. Just shows the volume slider or the power off button.

Have tried long press, short press, with case, without case, even gone into gestures but can't see an option for it now.

Anyone else noticed this or just my phone being weird?

Thanks