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Pixel 10 Pro XL Video Audio Issues Traced to Mic Relocation

Engineers say hand placement over the newly positioned bottom microphone is degrading recordings.

Overview

  • Google switched the bottom speaker and microphone locations on the Pixel 10 Pro XL, moving the speaker to the right of the USB-C port and the mic to the left.
  • Right-handed users recording in landscape often cover the left-side mic with their palm, causing muffled or uneven video audio.
  • Android Police’s Artem Russakovskii worked with Google engineers, who identified hand placement as the root cause rather than a software fault.
  • A practical workaround is to rotate the phone 180 degrees so the USB-C port faces left, with some users also reporting success using a looser grip or external microphones.
  • Google has not announced a formal fix, and the change appears tied to a design trade-off intended to reduce speaker blocking during gaming or media playback.