Google Pixel 3 December Update May Fix Poor RAM Management

Google has begun rolling out the December security update for its Pixel and Nexus smartphones. The update may not include any major features, but it will fix the memory management issue that has been plaguing the Pixel 3 and the Pixel 3 XL.

The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are both really good Android smartphones that are capable of taking incredible photos. However, when the devices launched this past October, many users discovered that the phones have trouble with managing RAM while having multiple apps opened at the same time. Early user reports claimed that they were only capable of opening two to four apps before one of them is forced to close while running in the background.

The culprit is heavily believed to be the Pixel 3’s poor memory management. Both the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL only have 4GB of RAM, which may also be one of the reasons why they were having problems with memory management. For comparison, other flagship Android phones have a minimum of 6GB of RAM, like the OnePlus 6 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

With the imminent release of the December security update, Google is finally addressing the problem. In a recent announcement on its Android bulletin, Google detailed what the upcoming update will include. One of them is a patch that will deliver “improved memory performance in certain circumstances.” This particular bug fix will apply to the Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3 and the Pixel 3 XL.

There really is no guarantee if this will completely fix the memory management issue on the Pixel 3, as pointed out by Engadget. However, this does mean that users should start seeing some improvements.

The December security update also comes with a bunch of other fixes, including improved camera capture performance and better Android Auto compatibility. The security update also improves hotword performance and enhances notification visibility when the Pixel 3 is charging on the Pixel Stand wireless charger.

The December security update is labeled as “2018-12-05,” which likely means that the update will be pushed out over-the-air (OTA) on or after that date. However, for those who want to get the update now and are familiar with the flashing process, they can install it on their Pixel and Nexus devices by downloading the OTA files and factory images from the Google Developers website.