Android may be able to increase the maximum size of its video files in the future

Default Android camera apps tend to limit the duration of recordings that the user can record. This is because they convert this data to MP4, which is done in such a way that the biggest file they can output amounts to about 4GB. This situation has been in effect since 2014, back when 32GB of fixed storage was plenty of space and 4K-capable sensors were not so common. However, these specs are not so applicable now.

The MP4 file size limit is in effect due to code found in Android called MediaMuxer and MPEG4Writer. They are responsible for the composition of video and its conversion to MP4 respectively, and do so on a 32-bit basis. Accordingly, the largest output of which they are capable equates to 4GB.

However, a new commit in the AOSP Gerrit may change this soon. It is described as capable of a "64bit offset in mpeg4writer". This could result in maximum file sizes of up to 32GB in size. However, should this change be merged, it might still be up to Google, not to mention individual Android OEMs, to implement it in full; however, it does mean that longer videos per file may yet be an option by the OS' next major upgrade.