Pixel 9a's selfie camera is feeling a little twitchy - but it's fine. Probably. [UPDATED]

Another day, another bug. This time, it's the new Pixel 9a, and people on Reddit have reported noticing a strange little bug with its camera app. It's not huge by any means (not that it's stopping your phone from unlocking or something, wink-wink Samsung), but if it's happened to you, at least you'll know you're not alone.

The bug appears to be related to the selfie camera, and because it's relatively minor, it will likely get fixed with an upcoming update by Google. Apparently, people are reporting they are seeing a flickering issue in the dark areas of the viewfinder. According to reports, the dark area will flicker in gray color.

Luckily though, this happens only in the preview window, and the images themselves are not affected by the bug. Reddit users who have experienced the issue have had to uninstall the latest update for the camera app and likely this action will fix it. Hopefully, it will get patched soon though, so if you don't find it particularly annoying, you can just ignore it for the time being, as it's not affecting the images.

The fact that uninstalling the camera app update fixed the situation, it's likely the camera app is experiencing the bug. So this is software, not hardware most likely, and you don't need to be concerned.

Hopefully, Google will react quickly to the bug and issue a software update to fix it. Unfortunately, there are some bugs (minor ones or bigger, depending on who you ask) that have affected some Pixel phones for months and months without getting the needed attention from Mountain View: like the case with the Pixel 9 GPS bug that has been there since the start, irritating people.

Interestingly enough, there's one Redditor in the thread who claims they have the same bug on their Pixel 8 and it's never been fixed. At the time of writing, only one person is claiming that though. Hopefully, the situation won't be the same for the Pixel 9a: it's a minor bug, yes, but even the smallest thing can get annoying over time.

But of course, it's not only Google that has to deal with annoying things here and there. Tech is tech, and nothing is perfect in this life. Like, for example, Samsung's recent situation which I mentioned above - with a One UI 7 bug that left some Galaxy phones unable to get unlocked - is far more dire than your selfie camera preview flickering.

And it's not just the Android side either. Apple, despite its famed attention to detail, is also falling victim to small flies crawling between the motherboards. Take the recent iOS 18.4 release, which had many people complain of various bugs with their iPhones: from the battery draining too quickly to apps opening on their own (frankly, what type of ghost is that?)

So, the Pixel 9a's preview window flickering is hardly a big deal. Apart from that, the Pixel 9a is a good phone at a very good price, starting at $499. It offers the core Android experience and a refined design, and when we review it, we'll tell you exactly how well it fares in terms of camera performance, battery drain, and all.

The Pixel 9a is facing the iPhone 16e and the Galaxy A56 in the battle for the best mid-range phone.

The iPhone 16e is immediately at a disadvantage just because what was promised never arrived - and yes, I'm still sulking about the Apple Intelligent Siri. If you don't care about AI, the iPhone 16e is also a pretty good mid-range iPhone, performing excellently in video quality and speed.

The Galaxy A56 on the other hand reiterates everything that is good about the Galaxy A series, bringing great looks and at the same price as the Pixel 9a.

Six-month unlimited plan is now 57% off

$90

$210

$120 off (57%)

Mint Mobile is now allowing you to get whichever plan you like for either three, six, or 12 months for just $15/mo. If you go for the six-month unlimited service, for instance, you'll now have to pay just $90 upfront instead of $210.

Buy at Mint Mobile