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- It looks (and sounds) like the Pixel 2 may have the same problem. Here's another example showing off some of the audio issues in a video.
Pixel 2 problems seem to be compounding on one another in recent days. Next up to the bug-bat is audio. Specifically, it appears that the Pixel 2 XL's sound quality when recording a video leaves a whole lot to be desired. Our own Artem put together a stunning example that demonstrates the issue with the sound of running water, and it's a screeching mess.
https://soundcloud.com/archon810/pixel-2-xl-audio-glitching-during-video-recording/s-5e1mw
The above example jumps through several different segments of a video to demonstrate the issue. While the sound of running water starts out recognizable, as recording progresses the quality changes quite dramatically for the worse. Finally, it ends with something of a return to normalcy.
The cause of the issue is yet to be determined, though there is a thread on Google's support forums for it. Not all audio seems to be affected, and it may not be a problem for all devices. Even for Artem, loud sounds and speech are being recorded perfectly fine, but quieter background noises are definitely having some sort of problem. We'll have to wait and see what the particular cause for this issue is and if it's widespread.
UPDATE: 2017/10/27 12:46pm PDT BY
It looks (and sounds) like the Pixel 2 may have the same problem. Here's another example showing off some of the audio issues in a video.
The running water in this clip below suffers from some of the same weirdness:
Some of the background noises in the videos below also exhibit the same weird compression screeches:
UPDATE: 2017/10/27 4:28pm PDT BY
We spoke to a Google representative who confirmed that a fix is incoming, and it should be rolling out in the coming weeks.
UPDATE: 2017/11/30 10:29pm PST BY
At long last, the issue has been resolved in 8.1 DP2.
Source: Google Product Forums, Artem Russakovskii (SoundCloud)