I've had this problem on the Pixel 8a for about a year now. So far, I've failed to find any other mentions of it online. Didn't have this problem on the 4a with stock android, so I figured this was the place to ask.
Basically, if it's been a while since I last switched app, the app switcher button does nothing. You have to wait between 5-15 seconds for it to actually do something when you press it. After it "wakes up", app switching works like you'd expect it to for a while.
Strangely, it doesn't cause the phone to freeze or anything while it's waiting. It just doesn't work at all until it feels like it.
If you put the phone on standby for a while or stay in the same app, the next time you try it, it'll be "frozen" again. The phone still works normally while waiting for those buttons to respond.
Is this a know issue like with certain apps or features? Since I have no idea what could be causing it, is there some sort of android log that might be able to shed some light on it?
Thanks for reading all of this. I hope it makes sense.