Your expensive Google Pixel 3 ‘smart’phone sometimes forgets to save pictures to the device

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Google’s Pixel mobile devices have long been celebrated for being among the best smartphones for taking pictures. Unfortunately, some Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL owners say they can’t even save pictures with their newest device.

On Reddit and Google’s support forums, early adopters are sharing similar experiences. The widespread issue occurs when a user takes a photo with the Google Camera and then switches to another app or locks the phone immediately after.

Under these scenarios, the new picture shows up as a thumbnail in the Camera gallery circle. When tapped, however, the photo disappears. In some cases, the photo doesn’t appear initially but returns later.

The issue is not exclusive to Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL users

The issue isn’t necessarily tied to the new Pixel 3 devices. Some users are reporting having similar issues with Google Camera when the app’s used on the Galaxy S9, Moto Z2, Moto E4, and Nexus 5X. If this is correct, there’s no doubt this is a software issue that will quickly be corrected with a bug fix by Google.

Until that happens, at least one user has come up with a workaround. Reddit user erbat suggests leaving the camera app open until HDR processing completes or turning off the HDR function completely. From this user’s report, it seems to alleviate the issues with photos not saving.

Announced and released earlier this month, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL feature slightly different looks, new security chips, so-called adaptive batteries, and more.

We’ve reached out to Google about this issue and will let you know if they contact us with a comment.

In the meantime, have you experienced this problem? Let us know below. 

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