Android 16: Audio crackling when using "Vibrate on Key Press" overlay haptic feedback

Is there an existing issue for this?

• This is a bug in RetroArch frontend
• I have searched the existing issues

Description

When using RetroArch on Android 16, audio crackling / distortion occurs in games with background music while pressing on-screen overlay buttons if "Vibrate on Key Press" is enabled in Input settings.

The issue is reproducible across multiple cores and does not depend on the emulated system on latest nightly and stable builds.

Testing performed:
Reproduces with multiple cores (Fuse, DOSBox-Pure, bsnes)
Reproduces with different games (Prince of Persia (dos), NHL 94(snes)).
Increasing audio latency does not help.
Changing output sample rate does not help.
Reproduces through device speakers and Bluetooth headphones.

Disabling "Vibrate on Key Press" completely eliminates the issue.

Expected behavior

Audio should remain clean while haptic feedback is triggered

Steps to reproduce the bug

1. Launch RetroArch.
2. Enable: Settings → Input → Haptic Feedback → Vibrate on Key Press.
3. Start any game with background music.
4. Use the touchscreen overlay controls repeatedly.

Version/Commit

1.22.2_GIT

Bisect Results

No response

Present in the nightly version

Yes, this is reproduced in the nightly build

Platform & operating system

Android 16

Affected Cores

any core

Environment information

Device: Sony Xperia 1 VIII
OS: Android 16
Build version: 73.0.A.2.38

Relevant log output

No source file, test, or entry point is named. Start by reproducing the crackling on Android 16 with Vibrate on Key Press enabled, compare it with haptic feedback disabled, and investigate the interaction between touchscreen overlay input, haptic feedback, and audio output. Done means background music remains clean while overlay buttons trigger haptic feedback.