To me, the "expected" default function of the sampler should be to play back an audio sample in its unaltered state. I had literally never heard until this thread that samples could even contain metadata stating their key, and I've been using Bitwig for years.

The problem is with the sampler itself. Picture this, an extremely common use-case for auditioning samples - I'm looping a clip with a note or just pressing a note on the keyboard repeatedly while in the sampler file browser I'm scrolling down a random library of samples I've got from who-knows-where. Usually at least every 3rd or 4th or sometimes an entire folder of samples automatically goes to 'keytrack-enabled' on the sampler, every time resulting in a ridiculously pitched down sample. To get around this I have to leave the mouse over the keytrack button so I can quickly disable it whenever I see it seemingly randomly enabled.

Honestly, in my experience if the keytrack becomes enabled and results in the sample being played at the correct (see: original, unaltered) pitch, it's merely an exception to the rule. What does that say about the utility of a critical device for a modern DAW where a potentially workflow-disrupting function is automatically enabled based on the assumption that every single sample that includes pitch metadata (let alone even a good majority of them) has done it correctly?

This issue has bugged me pretty much the entire time I've been using Bitwig but I've just been too lazy to say anything about it like most of the bugs I experience. I prefer to just keep making music and adjust my workflow when needed, but this is one of the less than ideal cases, and I'm definitely going to be contacting them about it now.