Pixel 5a Overheating While Recording 4K Videos; What's Causing The Issue?

Ahead of the Pixel 6 series launch, Google unveiled the Pixel 5a which is an affordable option for the masses. The device has limited availability restricted to the US and Japanese markets as of now. It has been just a day since the device went official and users have already started highlighting concerns with heating issues. What's causing the issue and what Google has to say on this matter?

What's Causing Google Pixel 5a To Overheat?

The Pixel 5a's overheating issue is reportedly at peak with the camera while recording 4K videos @60fps. Several users, including some tech reviewers, took to Twitter and other online forums to reveal this device heat up the issue.

As per the reports, the Pixel 5a unit heats up to an extent where the camera app is forced closed. A tweet shared by a tech reviewer confirms this issue and the error message stating, "Device is too hot. Close camera until the device cools off." Apparently, the issue isn't with extensive usage. The Pixel 5a's temperatures surge exponentially within minutes of camera app usage (recording 4K videos).

What Does Google Say?

Google has not yet revealed what is causing this heating issue with the 4K video recording on Pixel 5a. We still are waiting for the company to share some insight into the same. While the processing is heavier with such applications, most of the premium mid-range smartphones are well equipped to handle such tasks.

And Pixel smartphones are well known for their powerful performance. But, that doesn't seem to be the case for the Pixel 5 series. The Pixel 5a alone isn't in the headlines for the overheating issue. Some of the Pixel 5 users have also been complaining of similar device heat up issues.

A report by Android Police confirms this same issue with the Pixel 5. The camera app force closes while recording 4K videos @60fps. The reason remains unknown but it seems that this issue is persistent with both Pixel 5 series handsets.

It can't be said if this is a hardware fault or firmware. Nevertheless, this is a major concern which Google needs to address soon to improve the overall user experience.