Max Screen Brightness ? - Google Pixel 4 XL Guides, News, & Discussion

Max Screen Brightness ? - Google Pixel 4 XL Guides, News, & Discussion

As I posted in another thread earlier today, even though this Pixel 4XL is a huge disappointment in many ways to me, I still will consider buying it to replace my Nexus 6 - which is still doing decent job for me.
Google has never given us bright display, and this XDA article analyzing Pixel 4 displays explains it pretty well -
My question is - anybody with Pixel 4XL -> have you been able to get high-brightness mode for regular [while outdoors] display? Anyone can try?
To me, the state of pretty much every Google-branded phone and display is a step-behind the leaders. Here, we've got Pixel 4XL with a last-generation display that is dimmer and takes more power than Samsung's latest. And then, Google disables the high-brightness (high-battery-drain) mode - so you can't see the display in bright sunlight. So competitors using the same last-generation display have brighter phones (and better battery life). For me, if I can't see the damn display, it doesn't matter what the battery life is - the phone is unusable for lots of things if you can't see the display.
Recommend reading Dylan Raga's entire article, but here my highlight, and just so sad that Google is so bad in this area:
The Pixel devices have historically been unimpressive when it comes to display brightness. This year is no different. While every other major smartphone maker has made their OLEDs significantly brighter, Google has shown little-to-no progress. Google did manage to increase its newest phones’ brightness this year, from about 400 nits up to 450 nits, but it still leaves them as some of the dimmest flagship smartphones in recent years.
Lack of high brightness mode
The reason Google is so far behind is that they are refusing to incorporate a higher-power brightness state for their system brightness. Furthermore, Google is using last-generation display panels that cannot compete in power efficiency or in rated brightness with Samsung’s latest panels. What’s interesting is that Google has had a higher brightness mode within their phones, which they can tap into during HDR playback (or with root). But for reasons likely related to battery, Google does not allow their phones to use this extra brightness for normal use. Higher brightness modes do require significantly more power to drive — an 800-nit peak brightness state drains significantly more power than twice that of a 400-nit brightness state — but if the competition is able to support higher brightness levels and maintain better battery life than the Pixel devices, then Google is severely falling behind in both departments.
When enabling high brightness mode within the Pixel 4s’, their displays approach acceptable levels of brightness. At 600 nits, this ranks the Google Pixel 4 displays competitively with last years’ OLEDs in brightness. But in 2019, 600 nits is about the baseline for every major smartphone company, while the best are pushing 800 nits (100% APL). These are simply the limits of Google’s outdated panels, as the same panels found in the Huawei Mate 30 Pro and the OnePlus 7 Pro push the same brightness levels — except those phones actually push those brightness levels in normal use.

I'm not sure why it's such a huge disappointment for you, but why would you consider getting it if you dislike it so much?

airmaxx23 said:
I'm not sure why it's such a huge disappointment for you, but why would you consider getting it if you dislike it so much?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because there is no phone that has everything I want.
I will not get a phone I can't root - must have unlocked/unlockable bootloader.
I will not get a phone that won't have custom ROM/kernel devs.
So, what's left after those 2 requirements?

I really wanted Asus rog 2 but it's nice not having to front the money pretty happy with the pixel 4xl but hate I have to be vigelent on background processes to keep the battery life
And the screen is a bit dim for direct sunlight but not an issue most of the time
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

relaxable said:
Because there is no phone that has everything I want.
I will not get a phone I can't root - must have unlocked/unlockable bootloader.
I will not get a phone that won't have custom ROM/kernel devs.
So, what's left after those 2 requirements?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Realme x2 pro, xiaomi mi 9t pro, both are flagship phones with 855 and unlockable bootloader's and plenty of development

srimay said:
Realme x2 pro, xiaomi mi 9t pro, both are flagship phones with 855 and unlockable bootloader's and plenty of development
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that reply.
As I live in a location where Google does not charge re-stocking fee (!) I decided to purchase the deals on the Pixel 4XL.
Then, I decided to also purchase a Pixel 3a XL.
The 4XL has arrived and I have been using it for about 24hrs. There's a huge difference in performance compared to the Nexus 6 - and probably will prefer Android 10 over earlier versions, BUT, there are a lot of things I don't like. And quite a bit shocked at how easily the phone breaks! The JerryRig youtube review shows how easily the phone snaps and breaks in four different places :crying:- here's a writeup with the video embedded at bottom of the page.
(I really enjoyed the video - here's Youtube link this guy has such a calming voice and dry witty humor, and makes a lot of good points about how awful a job Google really did - hinting cannabis may have played a part in Google's decisions - but certainly not a piece that's going to make Pixel 4xl owners feel good...)
I took some photos last night and they turned out horrible. In fact it was so bad I thought there might be some protective shipping plastic on the camera hump. But no, not the case. I guess I need to dig a little more to learn how to take a photo with the included camera app....
I did root the phone, but really super disappointed that /system remains mostly untouchable. And more than a bit annoyed that, if you start initial setup with a SIM installed, a bunch of SYSTEM carrier-bloatware apps are installed during the first-time setup! So you get junk (MyVerizon and more in my case) apps that you can't remove even with root! (This is not unique to this phone - it's Android 10 limitation as best I can tell.) I think this can be avoided if you do the initial setup without a SIM, and then disable the system app the enables this forced stuffing of carrier apps on your phone.
So, since I know I wouldn't want to keep this 4XL for >5 years like I did with the Nexus 6, and since I'd probably want to replace it before next year's hopefully better (although Google has consistently disappointed me ever since Nexus 6) Pixel design, I'm hoping that either the Pixel 3a XL will be 'good enough' or perhaps another of the rootable/dev-supported phones....
That said - there are some things I like or am impressed with -> the sound is pretty good considering the tiny holes - when I saw the holes, I thought no way this phone can have decent audio for music, but it's a lot better than I expected.
The screen is brighter than I expected as well - but I haven't tried it yet in direct sunlight.....

Nice thing about Google is they don't care if you root or unlock and warranty is still in tact. That with the advanced replacement option should there by any warranty issues makes this a no brainer for me.
I told a Google rep on chat the other day I was having an issue with the "oem unlocking" switch greyed out and that should not be the case since I ordered directly from the Google store - I told him I got the phone specifically for rooting and he didn't blink an eye

Related

Google Pixel 5: what we want to see

I saw this TechRadar article today: https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/google-pixel-5
"Everything we hope Google will add to the Pixel 5 and Pixel 5 XL"
1. Expand the Google Pixel 5 battery
2. Bring back the fingerprint scanner
3. Add an ultrawide lens to the Pixel 5
4. Give the Pixel 5 a microSD slot
5. Stick with the weird design
Apart from 1, I'm not bothered with any of these. I'd quite like to see an improved implementation of soli gestures.
I'd rather not have a fingerprint scanner as they are prone to accidental touches.
What would be your wishlist for the Pixel 5 / 5 XL?

My preferences would be:
At least a 4000mha battery for the XL.
I would like the FP sensor again.
Definitely would like Led notifications again.
Camera is not a big deal for me. I'm curmudgeon, so I don't take many pics, even of my grandsons?
Base storage starting at 128.
A true amoled black theme for all system apps that match the settings. What's with that? Settings are black, everything else is dark gray?
Go back to single partitions vs a/b for developers and just simple updating...(I know, not going to happen?)
Get rid of logical partitions, and system as read only!!!!!
Price point efficient from the get-go! Why penalize early adopters (your main supporters) and then give $200 off to black Friday folks??
That is all :laugh:

StrangerWeather said:
I saw this TechRadar article today: https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/google-pixel-5
"Everything we hope Google will add to the Pixel 5 and Pixel 5 XL"
1. Expand the Google Pixel 5 battery
2. Bring back the fingerprint scanner
3. Add an ultrawide lens to the Pixel 5
4. Give the Pixel 5 a microSD slot
5. Stick with the weird design
Apart from 1, I'm not bothered with any of these. I'd quite like to see an improved implementation of soli gestures.
I'd rather not have a fingerprint scanner as they are prone to accidental touches.
What would be your wishlist for the Pixel 5 / 5 XL?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having had Google phone since the Galaxy Nexus days (and upgrading every two years), the Pixel 5 needs:
- larger battery, about 4500 mha at least
- bring back FP scanner, whether it be on the back or under the screen (Qualcomm 865 SD chips have support for this or improved it's design)
- must have a competitive camera vs other flagships
- minimum storage starting at 128 GB
- have an affordable battery replacement program for those that had their phones for 1.5 to 2 years, or have authorized vendors so that the phone can retain its IP68 rating
- priced aggressively to move phones (release price and BF price should be the same)
- carry forward quality design (screen, camera, etc.)
- continue progress with SOLI's development
- make the phone easier to repair (don't pull an Apple)

Larger battery and a larger battery.
Everything else is secondary to me. Camera is fine, speed is fine, size is fine too (I have the P4) That's for the device.
As for Google and Fi sales, automatic price protection for 60 days from purchase. You buy it on October 25th then you get the BF and Christmas sale prices automatically.
And better tech support. If I ask for a supervisor or level 2 support transfer me right away. None of this call back in 24 hour bull****.
Get more apps to work with face unlock such as banking apps, work with the companies.
Keep the price the same, no increase or even a $100 price cut will go a long way in consumer loyalty.

My list is going to be small. I REALLY like this pixel version.
1. Ultrawide camera lens for sure
2. Bring back the wide angle front camera
3. Bring back the bottom front speaker, but keep the chin as minimal as possible
4. A bigger storage option for those who really want/need it
The only thing I miss about the fingerprint sensor is using it to login to apps. By the 5 however, I'm sure most of what I use it for will be using the new API.
To me, the battery is fine. It lasts me ~24 hours with somewhat heavy use. I'm not one to stay out all night (anymore), so this works for me. If they threw a bigger battery in? Coolio. Personally, I just don't need it.
Edit: Google NEEDS to make the pre-order price the same as their black Friday price. I was pissed when I saw it was $200 off a month after I bought it. I like that they did $100 store credit instead of $50, but yeah, it needs to be whatever they drop the price to on BF.

well I'm going to skip pixel 5 just due to the Qualcomm 5g fiasco.. if pixel 5 gets at least 4500mah battery I might consider.

Better price, BIGGER BATTERY, a little over 4,000mah would be nice considering all the sensors because I am assuming that motion sense will be in the 5 as well as well as the 90 hz refresh rate... So Google, c'mon, MORE JUICE! And definitely biometric authentication for more apps... would also like to see faster charging speeds, maybe bump the 18w to 25 or 30w and to top it all off, 128gb as the lower storage model.

I'd say they need to up the ante on their video capture capabilities, it's visibly inferior and behind the curve. I seldom use the video but when I do I'd like it to be flagship grade. Word is we lost the capability for 60 frames to save batt which would bring me to the bigger battery. In this case Apple isn't wrong, phones have gotten small enough and maybe too small as they're hard to hold and often slippery. More battery is a win. Going back to the camera I almost exclusively take pictures of stuff so I don't care about the wide angle personally but it's par for this category of phone and should be there.
Speaking of par 128 is the smallest storage option any flagship should have on offer.
I want my biometric security on the front and capable of lighting off the phone on the desk, don't care if they tart up the face so it works off angle or they go to a front fingerprint scanner in that regard.
Google isn't giving us an SD card and I don't like fairy princess wishes so I'm not going to ask.
I would like a side LED notification light for wallets and upside down phone action and a better AOD that can be afforded with the bigger battery already mentioned above. The Note has that and it's a nice feature. you can see the phone has notifications without even opening the wallet up.
I DO NOT want notches or holes in the screen, do what they can to reduce forehead and chin and it's good enough for me. As a personal observation I don't even notice the big forehead on this phone but I never stop noticing the notches and holes.
I'd like more of Soli myself but my understanding is they have significantly more stuff coming out in updates. It would seem there was an unforeseen boo boo they encountered when transferring the tech over from the pixel 2 frames where it was being tested until the final pixel 4 frame became available. Rumor has it they had developed quite a bit more capability but it wasn't ready for prime time.

True dual Sim like on the Oneplus devices.

crusht said:
True dual Sim like on the Oneplus devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I rather like the eSim idea much better. Two physical sims seems archaic now that we can program the eSim with software only. Once all carriers go eSim I say get rid of the physical sim or dual physical sim (OnePlus) slot entirely. Now dual radio would be really nice so you could be dual sim dual active but then you'd need a bigger battery for sure. P4 4000 minimum and XL 5000.

- Bigger battery
- Brighter display
- Slightly curved display. I feel it would help make the back gesture feel better to use
- Bigger display
- Bigger earpiece for a more balanced stereo sound (I feel the bottom speaker is louder)
- Bring back the bottom speaker to the front!
- I thought I'd miss a fingerprint scanner but I'm in love with face unlock! Possibly a gen 2 version that improves upon what we have today
- Get to iPhone level with video recording
- Cheaper price especially on launch. I definitely felt cheated when I bought the phone at launch only to see Black Friday deals so shortly after
- Either remove Soli and introduce a different new feature, or allow it to do more. Because right now I find swiping to change songs very gimmicky. Waving for alarms and phone calls is always hit or miss for me as well. The only good that came out of it is reaching to wake phone. But even this is not too different/better than a simple lift to wake phone
- Bonus longshot of what I'd want: getting rid of this scoped storage/logical partition stuff that makes rooting/custom development so much more difficult! No TWRP or modifying the system partition is rough on us but more importantly, the awesome devs that bring all these things to us!

Ultrawide, 5G mmw, bigger battery, and ditch the bezel. Something that won't be embarrassed by earlier 2020 phones or especially OnePlus again.

Front facing stereo speakers.
Sent from my Google Pixel 4 XL using XDA Labs

- Larger REMOVABLE battery.
It's ridiculous that electronics this expensive have sealed batteries which limit their usability to the life span of the battery. Ridiculous.

The following things i would like to see
1) Bigger battery 4000+
2) Base storage 128gb
3) UFS 3.0
4) Flat display like 4XL
5) Similar design but improved strength should not bread like 4xl
6) Brighter display and 90hz all time
7)Triple lens camera system + 12mp Selfie Cam
8) Minimal bezel like Sony 1 or Note 9

I don't want fingerprint scanner.
I want bigger storage, better camera, improved display (90hz/brightness), better screen to body ratio - more modern look, better CPU (yes it would need to shift the date of announcement, but they are alway using a 9-10 month old CPU, and after 2-3 month other flagships are coming with the next gen chipset), faster charging

- Improved motionsense (custom gestures, more stable, open api for developers)
- Either more storage 128gb+ or the free photo storage for at least 2-3 years
- Better battery (no specific mha, just around 20% better)
- Fast charging
- Icon themes in pixel launcher
- Google Assistant v2 (or whatever shipped with the P4) in more languages, including German
- Keep the sensors at the top unless ALL sensors can be put below the screen. DO NOT go back to notches, they're terrible.
- Ship an actual recovery with the phone. I'm not asking for an official TWRP, but ANY recovery that can flash zip files without adb/fastboot

1. A bigger battery isn’t needed imo but better optimization (what Apple has been doing with the iPhone for years) would be great.
2. Brighter, better upgraded display(90 & 120hz)
3. Continued improvement and more soli based gestures
4. Ultra wide camera lens
5. 128gb base storage with 256gb & 512gb options
6. Improve face unlock
7. 4K 24fps recording front & rear cameras as well as an option to record and take photos in raw format
8. Great job on the RCS messaging feature but google needs to start working on an airdrop alternative for android
9. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT add any kind of notch. Keep the top bezel if need be! PLEASE!
10. Add some more Ui customization natively into android and take back that crown from Samsung.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

1. Fingerprint sensor. It's unbelievably convenient just unlocking quickly and pulling the notification bar down without needing to reach sometimes. Give us the freedom to use either fp, face unlock, or both.
2. Front facing speakers.
3. No notch with said speakers.
4. Might as well make the phone thicker for a bigger battery and *no* protruding camera lens.
5. 128gb should be the starting storage size.
6. More RAM.
7. Ultrawide
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using XDA Labs

LED LED LED LED LED
And make the LED configurable. Those that don't want it can switch it off.
Move the power button. I still don't know which button to press without thinking about it/looking.
And stop waking up when I put the phone down on the sofa.
And most of all, don't give us a 30 minute "bestest-phone-ever" presentation at the phone's launch when you should have said "we think we know best and as a result, won't bother listening to what our customers say". For proof of that, see the posts above.

Should I get a Pixel 3a after a Sony Compact?

Hello, I have different questions on this device and I would be really thankfull if someone can answer at some of them.
I come from xperia xz2 compact which overall is great but app side looks outdate. No gesture system and sony apps are the same of two years ago.
I know the Pixel is bigger but I don't see any real alternative now. So here come my questions...
It's my first OLED. Is it true that they not last as long as LCD? I hope to use this phone for 2 years at last.
Does this pixel get all the updates and features of newer pixels? All base apps get updated?
Can I disable some of the google apps like I do on other phones?
Can I remove the google search on home or the pixel launcher is not giving me choice?
Does the kernel get higher over time or like other phones it get stuck on the release one?
Is there anything weird about pixel that you don't usually get on other phones?
Yeah I know that the cpu is a downgrade. But maybe I care more to get fresh software.
Thank you so much if you spend time to give me some hint.

xperianotfun said:
Hello, I have different questions on this device and I would be really thankfull if someone can answer at some of them.
I come from xperia xz2 compact which overall is great but app side looks outdate. No gesture system and sony apps are the same of two years ago.
I know the Pixel is bigger but I don't see any real alternative now. So here come my questions...
It's my first OLED. Is it true that they not last as long as LCD? I hope to use this phone for 2 years at last.
Does this pixel get all the updates and features of newer pixels? All base apps get updated?
Can I disable some of the google apps like I do on other phones?
Can I remove the google search on home or the pixel launcher is not giving me choice?
Does the kernel get higher over time or like other phones it get stuck on the release one?
Is there anything weird about pixel that you don't usually get on other phones?
Yeah I know that the cpu is a downgrade. But maybe I care more to get fresh software.
Thank you so much if you spend time to give me some hint.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using this smartphone for 6 months now and my previous one was a Sony Xperia XZ2 , so it's basically the same situation as yours.
I always loved Sony smartphones and I keep doing it, but Pixels are on a totally different level, I would suggest the upgrade.
Anyway, to answer to your questions:
-It's my first OLED too, but I doubt it will last less than 2 years
-Yes it does, unless they are exclusive of newer models (Pixel 4). Since the launch of Pixel 4 they already ported to the 3a Astrophotography, Live Captions, Styles personalizations, etc.. But Google said that they are not going to bring for example other things like the contrast slider for photo shoots, which remains a Pixel 4 exclusive
-Yes
-The google search bar is integrated into the launcher, you should change launcher in order to get rid of it
-I didn't check the version over the updates, but at the moment is 4.9.185
-Nothing weird, IMHO is a powerful device with a great price

marcogiannetta said:
I've been using this smartphone for 6 months now and my previous one was a Sony Xperia XZ2 , so it's basically the same situation as yours.
I always loved Sony smartphones and I keep doing it, but Pixels are on a totally different level, I would suggest the upgrade.
Anyway, to answer to your questions:
-It's my first OLED too, but I doubt it will last less than 2 years
-Yes it does, unless they are exclusive of newer models (Pixel 4). Since the launch of Pixel 4 they already ported to the 3a Astrophotography, Live Captions, Styles personalizations, etc.. But Google said that they are not going to bring for example other things like the contrast slider for photo shoots, which remains a Pixel 4 exclusive
-Yes
-The google search bar is integrated into the launcher, you should change launcher in order to get rid of it
-I didn't check the version over the updates, but at the moment is 4.9.185
-Nothing weird, IMHO is a powerful device with a great price
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for you time. :angel:
That kernel version is the initial android 10 kernel. So they maybe update only on new android big versions.
Would you say that the screen quality is good compared compared to xz2? Can colors be natural? I'm using professional colors on mine.
You basically come from my same device. So it's nice to see that you see the pixel as an upgrade.

xperianotfun said:
Thank you for you time. :angel:
That kernel version is the initial android 10 kernel. So they maybe update only on new android big versions.
Would you say that the screen quality is good compared compared to xz2? Can colors be natural? I'm using professional colors on mine.
You basically come from my same device. So it's nice to see that you see the pixel as an upgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, to be honest I consider the two displays almost on the same level, cause the xz2's LCD was way better than any other LCD I've seen around.
The 3a OLED is very good for its price, but under strong sunlight it may struggle to be visible.

xperianotfun said:
Would you say that the screen quality is good compared compared to xz2? Can colors be natural? I'm using professional colors on mine.
You basically come from my same device. So it's nice to see that you see the pixel as an upgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Regarding the display, it's really is not very bright, but custom kernels (e.g. ElementalX, I think) can provide a high brightness mode for direct sunlight.
If you want a really long in-depth review, xda's Dylan Raga has written a display review, but there's also a quick overview as Pros and Cons.
For other users' opinions, there is always the Real Life Review forum section to check out, it also has a display section.
Personally I also use the Natural profile. It seems bland at first compared to Adaptive (default setting), because it's not slightly oversaturated, but given Natural is more accurate, I'm quite happy without the additional color pop.

marcogiannetta said:
Pixels are on a totally different level, I would suggest the upgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May I ask you why you find Pixel so better?
sysuicrash0511 said:
Personally I also use the Natural profile. It seems bland at first compared to Adaptive (default setting), because it's not slightly oversaturated, but given Natural is more accurate, I'm quite happy without the additional color pop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. That article is really intersting. But what is scaring me now about OLED is that often people get headache since the screen flickers.
Based on this review: https://www.notebookcheck.net/PWM-Ranking-Notebooks-Smartphones-and-Tablets-with-PWM.163979.0.html
Over 500 Hz should not be an issue but under 250 Hz it could. This pixel is just 270 Hz...
My phone is 2381 Hz and the phone I had before it had no flickering at all.

xperianotfun said:
May I ask you why you find Pixel so better?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Camera (and flash, which was ridiculous on the xperia) and audio are two of the main reasons.
Also battery is a huge improvement to me, cause I use to cover about 5 hours of SOT with the XZ2, now I get up to 7.
The only thing I miss is Dynamic Vibration, it was such a nice feature

xperianotfun said:
Thanks. That article is really intersting. But what is scaring me now about OLED is that often people get headache since the screen flickers.
Based on this review: https://www.notebookcheck.net/PWM-Ranking-Notebooks-Smartphones-and-Tablets-with-PWM.163979.0.html
Over 500 Hz should not be an issue but under 250 Hz it could. This pixel is just 270 Hz...
My phone is 2381 Hz and the phone I had before it had no flickering at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is news to me, so I did some research.
In case it's also news to someone else, these frequencies aren't related to display refresh rate, which flagship nowadays increase above 60hz.
From what I understand (as a layman) it's basically modulating the current or voltage to an average by switching the supply on and off within that frequency, effectively controlling brightness.
I can't say I did experience headaches or eye strain, so I might not be the best person to answer this, but I usually use my phones' display quite dim. Shouldn't the frequency decrease and make flickering more noticeable (more waves and longer intervals being off)? Maybe I'm getting it wrong though.
What also caught my attention in your linked table is how many other popular phones sit around these lower frequencies, and only one iPhone ranks slightly higher than the 3a. There are LCDs as well, maybe it's not limited to OLED. But there surely is someone more knowledgeable than me.

Just a quick review. The screen is not even comparable with the xz2c. It feels cheap. But the worst part is the view angle. If you are not in front of the screen the colors really change a lot. And you tend to see the colors changing while you use the phone. ?
You get used to it though. Is just weird if you compare them.
If the screen is all black there is some fading lighter on some side.
On really low light I notice that as example, the keyboard have a shade color instead of being unique.
Night light is less warm.
I don't get stressed by eyes or mind looking at it.
The pixel launcher doesn't allow me to even disable the "ok google" voice detection. I'm considering to swap it. But not sure what will happen with the app switcher.
(if you don't use google at all you can disable the google app and this will disable voice detection while the search bar will be still there as just a picture doing nothing)
Everything else is fine. The phone feels really great in hand and is lighter. Charging is faster.
I'm noticing how feature that are missing versus pixel 4 are not all relevant to hardward or whatever. And some of them are nonsense. Like live wallpapers. So I'm not sure how much really updated the Pixel will stay in time versus another phone except security patches.

I just got used to the screen. And now looks just fine. Except the angle view but I don't care enough. Also the touch is so responsive.
I think this phone is amzing. Is all around balanced, the experience is fluid and clean. So handy and light. Also doesn't attract dust at all. Fast charge.
I'm enjoing display ambient always on, I never thought that could be a good thing but it's really nice.
I just forgot I'm using this phone, it just doesn't distract me.
I would not say photos are so much better in general but they are just a lot better in not perfect light condition.

Checked my screen for a few minutes. There is indeed a *slight* variation in colors when viewing at an angle, which is noticeable only on white backgrounds (and I am in dark mode
Screen should last much longer than 2 years: especially in the EU where legal warranty is 2y.

jerome.jh said:
Checked my screen for a few minutes. There is indeed a *slight* variation in colors when viewing at an angle, which is noticeable only on white backgrounds (and I am in dark mode
Screen should last much longer than 2 years: especially in the EU where legal warranty is 2y.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it's not that much. It was just the first sight. If you come from lcd for like your life, oled is really weird. But you get used to it really easy and after that it's great.
I hope it last. This phone is perfect for basic use.

First Impressions

I was so excited that my Pixel 4a arrived yesterday, been shopping for a new phone for quite some times. My old phone is HTC U11, which I still love a lot, but it's getting a bit unreliable, and the picture quality is a bit lacking compared with phones these days.
So, my first impressions:
1. It is so small, almost too small! It's good and bad. Screen size on paper is bigger than my U11, but Pixel 4a screen is narrower, so it's taking some times to get used to.
2. The screen color is a little warm (yellowish) to my taste... I hope there will be tweaks in the future to fix that. Also, the brightness of the screen is not as strong as my U11. I need to set it to around 75% even indoor...
3. The Android 10 gesture navigation needs some getting used to as well. I run an app called "All in One Gestures" on the U11, it allows me to launch 3 different apps of choice on both edges of the screen, swiping in at different directions. So, I don't want to use the Android 10 gestures which take up the side edges for "back" function. Anyway, "All in One Gestures" keep crashing on Pixel 4a, I think maybe it needs root access, or it just won't run on Android 10... I found another app that is similar in functionalities that seems to work ok for now, it can run 4 apps (2 on each side, depending on short vs long swipe). So, I still prefer the traditional 3 button navigation.
4. I wish they have in screen fingerprint sensor, or power button fingerprint sensor, I usually have my phone lay down on a table and I want to unlock it.
5. I miss the edge sense on U11 - squeeze to launch cam, squeeze again to take pictures. I am ok to work with double-tab power to launch camera, but then there is no convenient way to take picture (like squeeze), have to press the shutter on screen. (Edit: just found out can use power down button to take picture, seems quite convenient...)
So sounds like a lot of negatives, but after setting it up to my taste, I am starting to like it. Every good things you heard from the Internet are true. Night mode cameras are magic. I weighted camera as an important feature and so I am expecting that the good camera would greatly offset the other negatives I listed.

My only complaint is the screen brightness. Anything less than 80% and stuff just starts dissapearing on the screen. At the lower levels you can't even tell the screen is on. Just going to have to turn adaptive off and set it to 100% brightness full time.

hmm... Comin from a op7pro, the screen brightness to me seems totally fine out of the box really. maybe 10 or so percent higher than what I kept the 7pro on, ~60% instead of ~50% but don't need it maxed or anything crazy. High brightness is a bit less than HBM mode on 7pro but it works, I also like how they alter the screen colors to help visibility when in direct sunlight. The OP devices don't do that.
My 4a screen looks pretty well calibrated, doesn't look too warm or cold at all to me. No tint issues at low brightness.
Audio quality is actually pretty good, especially for such an inexpensive device, I was having flashbacks of nexus devices and no, this 4a is better than those.
Not seen any stutter or lag at all really, maybe 3 times for a split second during all of phone setup/installing ~80 apps.
Camera takes pics fast, no lag on snapping to seeing the pic. Haven't tried with HDR+ but regular HDR for sure is quicker than anything else but other pixels. The camera preview is indeed garbage, not so much in good lighting but especially in dark/night shots, the picture you get looks a million times better than what the preview showed before you took it.

I got my 4a on 20th, Aug.
I don't have enough time, I haven't tried much yet.
But it's very smooth and fast. Good for me.
I found a Bug(?), NFC cannot ON/OFF by pressing NFC icon in QS Panel.
(NFC can be turned ON/OFF by following the setting menu)
a few functions I've confirmed:
aptX music playback with Bluetooth Headset (w/ Shure RMCE-BT2)
LTE Carrier aggregation by "4G+" sign
VoLTE (call and receive)
I will try various things from now on.

First evening of using. I agree with points already mentioned. But the one thing bothering me most I'm noticing is the adaptive brightness constantly jumping around. Anyone else with adaptive brightness issues?

More thoughts after 1st full day of use (work from home due to COVID-19):
1. Battery barely lasted my full day at home. I think my phone usage is less while working from home compared to a"normal" day at work. So a little disappointed, probably need to charge mid day.
2. I love the call screen function, it's so useful, can read what the other party on the line has to say.

I think it's too early to decide/discuss battery life.
At this moment, as you say, it feels like "keep one day".
But I don't think it's right for now.
I think that Currently the "Screen On Time" is longer than in normal(usual) use.
my previous phone (Motorola Moto G5 Plus) was kept for about 3 days with one full charge.
I would like to expect the same for my 4a....
About "Adapitive Brightness"
no problems found. my pixel4a looks like working properly.

andyshinn said:
First evening of using. I agree with points already mentioned. But the one thing bothering me most I'm noticing is the adaptive brightness constantly jumping around. Anyone else with adaptive brightness issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes! This has been driving me crazy. I can't always reproduce it but it seems to be the worst in a dimly lit room.

I am loving the phone so far. I was previously using a OnePlus 3T so this is my first new phone in 4 years. It's much snappier than the 3T (obviously) and I'm not having any problems with the apps I've migrated over. The only complaint I have is a lack of a pulsing notification light. I've seen a few alternatives that add a ring around the camera but would prefer to wait for an official app made specifically for the 4a.

Quick question,
I have the pixel 3a XL. I am looking for an overall smaller phone, and do not use the phone for gaming, etc. Am an average user at best, really use the phone more as a phone than a multimedia unit, etc.
on paper, the pixel 4a seems to meet my needs and is an upgrade in ram / memory, etc. I enjoy the simplicity of the pixel experience and appreciate the security update schedule.
I did pre-order and still have two / three weeks before they start shipping in Canada so am tracking feedbacks and issues reported. My intention is not to cancel the order with Google, but.....
Based on first impressions - would anyone see an immediate reason to not go ahead with the purchase ?
thanks in advance,
Sent from my coral using Tapatalk

I gave the battery a good test today. Constant Spotify pass through to bluetooth + constant GPS program running and tracking movement for 7.25 hours. The screen was off for most of this time, though screen-on time was ~40 minutes. Battery was at 50% and 18W car charger then charged it at about 1%/minute. My previous phone, a OnePlus 5, with a slightly larger capacity and running at three-years old, exact same setup running A10 except for a custom kernel that underclocks the CPUs and GPU, was giving me about 35% remaining several weeks in a row under the same usage. So, Pixel 4A was draining at 7%/hr and the OP5 was draining at 9% with an underclocked kernel.

HolyAngel said:
hmm... Comin from a op7pro, the screen brightness to me seems totally fine out of the box really. maybe 10 or so percent higher than what I kept the 7pro on, ~60% instead of ~50% but don't need it maxed or anything crazy. High brightness is a bit less than HBM mode on 7pro but it works, I also like how they alter the screen colors to help visibility when in direct sunlight. The OP devices don't do that.
My 4a screen looks pretty well calibrated, doesn't look too warm or cold at all to me. No tint issues at low brightness.
Audio quality is actually pretty good, especially for such an inexpensive device, I was having flashbacks of nexus devices and no, this 4a is better than those.
Not seen any stutter or lag at all really, maybe 3 times for a split second during all of phone setup/installing ~80 apps.
Camera takes pics fast, no lag on snapping to seeing the pic. Haven't tried with HDR+ but regular HDR for sure is quicker than anything else but other pixels. The camera preview is indeed garbage, not so much in good lighting but especially in dark/night shots, the picture you get looks a million times better than what the preview showed before you took it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the 7 pro and thought about getting a 4a. Does the 4a feel more like a side step or an actual upgrade? I can't imagine it's faster than the pro, but Google support would be nice.

This is def an upgrade from my Pixel 3a and I loved that phone! I kinda like the smaller form and the display seems as good as or better than previous iterations. For the price point you really cant beat this phone.

I recently bought a op 7t for 400$ on sale. I really like the specs, os, and performance but prefer the headphone jack an smaller size of the 4a. How do you both devices compare in terms of performance and experience overall? I'm worried that the 4a would lag or whatnot due to its processor. What do you guys think?

nickster1 said:
I have the 7 pro and thought about getting a 4a. Does the 4a feel more like a side step or an actual upgrade? I can't imagine it's faster than the pro, but Google support would be nice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Compared to the 7pro, the 4a is a downgrade in every way except for maybe the camera. And if the smaller size is a plus to you or not..
I made the switch for development as I'm tired of OP's crap sources and late af updates, in that regard, this phone is totally fine. But in no way does it feel like a side-grade much less an upgrade. It's a downgrade for sure, but you'll be on latest OS updates.. The phone is definitely worth it for the money though, no argument here.

I got a mi9t but it is too heavy and too big for me. Do you think performance and autonomy will be better with the 4a ? I got 8 hours sot with lineage actually..

andyshinn said:
First evening of using. I agree with points already mentioned. But the one thing bothering me most I'm noticing is the adaptive brightness constantly jumping around. Anyone else with adaptive brightness issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm having the same issue. adaptive brightness seems to be wonky. hopefully they will have a fix for this.
btw, don't use blokada app! it tracks your data and it borks the keyboard (it bugs out the keyboard)
overall i like it. i'm using this as an extra 'just in case' phone if needed for certain trips or need a better phone than the xs max.
comparing xs max and 4a side by side, clearly the display is better on the xs max (less blue tint, more natural colors), and brighter.
photos are much better on the 4a obviously. i like the smaller form factor. its a no frills phone so i'm content with what it can do and okay with the limitations.

Front camera is a big negative on this phone,the selfies are very very soft even with outstretched arm over 16 inches as said by Google experts,don't know why no one is highlighting this issue,this has been going on from pixel 3a ,the lens is set to infinity focus and it's so wide that face will never be in proper focus unless you use a selfie stick to hold it way further

Delete, please

Pixel 5 - Pros, Cons, what's left in between

So, according to the new store page, in comparison to the pixel 4/xl they cut
- Soli
- Faceunlock
- Pixel Neural Core (WHAT?! Why?!)
- Tele-Lens
- Highend Chipset
- Active Edge
- QHD+ Display (from 537 ppi down to 432 ppi )
- ip68 rating (ty u/kelderic, reddit)
And they 'gave' us
+ bigger battery
+ fingerprint (why not both?!)
+ 5G
+ wide (remember Google from last year? "We don't need wide, tele is good")
- Measly +2 GB Ram, still no storage available beyond 128 GB
What do you guys think 'bout that?
Compared to the Pixel 4/xl this just feels like a downgrade, even to the Pixel 3xl it's no real upgrade. Most people who think budget will not turn to this phone and the highend-spenders will not be pleased by this. I don't see googles angle hear, however they haven't shown any good angle recently anyway. And the heck did they remove the neural core? Plus getting a weaker soc.. just madnes.

Apparently neural core made face unlock work quicker so no loss there.
About the only thing I would prefer is higher ppi but I sure don't want to spend $1000 to get it.
My next phone will be 5G so pixel 4/xl aren't an option.
If it's not enough bang for the buck then just wait for black Friday and/or opt for the 4a 5G.
Google phones have never been the best phone for everyone.

Most likely the machine learning Ai stuff is included in the snapdragon 765 so no more dedicated chip is necessary. I would not worry too much

Benjamin_L said:
Most likely the machine learning Ai stuff is included in the snapdragon 765 so no more dedicated chip is necessary. I would not worry too much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it is not included. Where did you get that idea?

darkoroje said:
No it is not included. Where did you get that idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://www.androidauthority.com/qualcomm-snapdragon-765-specs-1059745/
"Finally, Qualcomm’s fifth-gen AI engine is ported over partially intact, with a Hexagon 696 DSP with a dedicated Tensor Accelerator. The setup sports 5.5TOPS of AI compute."
So still I don't know what Google are using but they wouldn't get rid of it if it impacts performance much. So I don't worry

The Samsung S20FE will be competition at the same MSRP, includes Snapdragon 865, 120hz display, 4500mah battery. Appears to be on sale for $599. Of course it isn't a clean google phone.

Benjamin_L said:
https://www.androidauthority.com/qualcomm-snapdragon-765-specs-1059745/
"Finally, Qualcomm’s fifth-gen AI engine is ported over partially intact, with a Hexagon 696 DSP with a dedicated Tensor Accelerator. The setup sports 5.5TOPS of AI compute."
So still I don't know what Google are using but they wouldn't get rid of it if it impacts performance much. So I don't worry
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems to be the case https://m.gsmarena.com/the_new_pixe...nt_mean_they_lack_the_features-news-45589.php

The pro is the camera will be brilliant and it's running stock android.
Pretty much everything else about the pixel 5 sucks

force70 said:
The pro is the camera will be brilliant and it's running stock android.
Pretty much everything else about the pixel 5 sucks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, good battery life, more than enough processing power for non gamers really sucks

Benjamin_L said:
Yeah, good battery life, more than enough processing power for non gamers really sucks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good battery life remains to be seen.
I stand by my original statement, however I suppose I could have made it more clear...for a mid ranger it's fine.
For a flagship (which it isnt). It sucks.
Better?

Pros:
A pure Google software experience
Fingerprint sensor is back( no more awful face unlock)
1080p screen
4080mAh battery
Aluminum back (well, mostly)
Cons:
That awful hole punch (that has me considering canceling my order)
Ultra wide camera replacing the telephoto
Too big
Slow processor
Active edge is gone
---------- Post added at 09:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:45 AM ----------
force70 said:
Good battery life remains to be seen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, we technically don't know what the battery life will be but just knowing a little bit about phone hardware and some common sense indicates that the battery life should be pretty good.
The biggest battery drain on any phone is the screen mainly due to the screen resolution. So take the Pixel 4 XL for example. The battery life wasn't too bad but not great either. Now increase the size of the battery 10%, decrease the number of pixels by 42%(that alone is huge), decrease the overall screen area by 11%, add in a slightly more power efficient processor, remove Soli and remove face unlock and you basically have the Pixel 5. The only thing really working against the Pixel 5 in terms of battery life is the 5G which I'm going to turn off anyways. I have no concerns about the battery life of the Pixel 5.

The more interesting comparison is to the 4a. A significant price difference but both are a similar size and real world performance would be similar too.
This just leaves wireless charging, IP and maybe 90hz as the tangible differences you would notice day to day. Maybe it will feel more premium in hand too but that is hard to know right now.
I got the 4a with the intention of giving it to one of my parents with the 5 landed, I am now hesitating though as the 4a is terrific and I am not sure the 5 is £250 better.

great battery life great phone.
I have only had my pixel 5 for a week and i am super impressed with the battery life. I have been getting 3 days out of it . At the moment it has 25 % left and it's used 8 hours and 26 minutes of screen use , that's using google to simply surf the net and as I am a distribution driver i use Google Maps daily, I also make multiple calls daily and use Bluetooth all day for my vans multi media unit and my zenwatch 3 all day I am 61 years old so I have had tons of phones and I have to say i think this phone stacks up with the best including the Asus rog 3

Pros: Battery, form factor/weight, software.
Con: Price for what is being offered. The speakers are just OK. The gap issue from production quality. Luckily I was able to get my P5 for net cost of about 461 including tax after stacking a bunch of promos, etc. Also no gap issue on mine.
I'm not an iPhone fanatic so I have nothing to say about the iPhone 12. The only phone that I currently have and would recommend is the S20FE, but not at MSRP AND if it doesn't have these touch screen issues that people are talking about. Only thing with Samsung phones is that you have to spend additional time to customize to your liking and reducing bloat. I was also pleasantly surprised with the camera qualify after making settings adjustments to reduce saturation and softening in photos.

After using mine for about a week, I am kind of regretting trading in my 4XL for one reason....the ear speaker quality. It is literally the worst sounding earpiece and is extremely quiet relative to my 4XL. I was driving on the highway yesterday and could barely hear my client on the other end. Had to plug in my wired headset. Unacceptable. I will probably send in for a new unit to see if its any better, but everyone seems to have the same comment as I.
I can settle with almost every concession Google took, and I do think the fingerprint is a big welcome back feature. I hate face unlock especially with having to wear masks. Never made sense to me. The hole punch doesnt both me.

As far as Active edge is concerned. I guess, apparently the feature isn't 'official' on the Pixel 5.
Check the apps,mods section here on xda.
Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/to...7&share_fid=3793&share_type=t&link_source=app

toneneuewin said:
Pros: Battery, form factor/weight, software.
Con: Price for what is being offered. The speakers are just OK. The gap issue from production quality. Luckily I was able to get my P5 for net cost of about 461 including tax after stacking a bunch of promos, etc. Also no gap issue on mine.
I'm not an iPhone fanatic so I have nothing to say about the iPhone 12. The only phone that I currently have and would recommend is the S20FE, but not at MSRP AND if it doesn't have these touch screen issues that people are talking about. Only thing with Samsung phones is that you have to spend additional time to customize to your liking and reducing bloat. I was also pleasantly surprised with the camera qualify after making settings adjustments to reduce saturation and softening in photos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've sold my FE for the Pixel. The screen issues are annoying albeit the last update seems to have sorted it, but I just cannot live with the Samsung nonsense like cannot delete Samsung photos app and playing a dance to get to Google Photos
It's a great phone the FE but not when you are Googled up for home and work and can't be bothered working around 2 of everything
Sent from my SM-G780F using Tapatalk

Davey Dual Sim said:
I've sold my FE for the Pixel. The screen issues are annoying albeit the last update seems to have sorted it, but I just cannot live with the Samsung nonsense like cannot delete Samsung photos app and playing a dance to get to Google Photos
It's a great phone the FE but not when you are Googled up for home and work and can't be bothered working around 2 of everything
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Pixel 5 is great. It just works out of the box. I'm enjoying mine and it has been a couple of weeks. You can debloat Samsung, but obviously that's additional steps. It's not hard, but quite frankly I just don't want to invest time with custom ROMs, adb commands, etc. Those days are long gone lol.

No me neither, I don't even want to root phones anymore can't be bothered
The FE would be a winner of Samsung ran stock Android
Sent from my SM-G780F using Tapatalk

Davey Dual Sim said:
No me neither, I don't even want to root phones anymore can't be bothered
The FE would be a winner of Samsung ran stock Android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A bit true..but this would never happen. Htc had 1 model with 2 versions ...one with htc software and one with google only ...

General XDA Article: The Google Pixel 7 Pro might have a big display problem

The Google Pixel 7 Pro might have a big display problem
The Google Pixel 7 Pro might have a pretty big display problem, and one that you won't notice until it's sunny. Read on to find out more.
www.xda-developers.com
My commentary: I'm not too worried about the high wattage at high display brightness. In the short term, I'm more worried about the fact that when you turn the screen off, you can still accidentally launch apps in the small amount of time before it's properly locked. For years, I've always set the lockscreen setting to lock immediately instead of the default 5 seconds when I press the power button, so I don't know if the default setting might be a factor here, but I'm sure this will be fixed in software before very long.
October 13, 2022 8:00am Comment Adam Conway
The Google Pixel 7 Pro might have a big display problemThe Google Pixel 7 series was released recently, and we’ve been spending a lot of time with both the Pro and the non-Pro. We’ve been loving the cameras, the software, and even the upgraded display. However, as it turns out, the display is a battery killer when used at higher brightness — much more of a battery killer than we’ve seen on pretty much any other flagship device.
I’ve been using the Pixel 7 Pro a lot since Monday, and I noticed that the battery life is much improved over the Google Pixel 6 Pro… until I step outside. I went out for coffee yesterday morning, and I was sitting at nearly three hours of screen on time at 50%. By all accounts, that’s really good battery life. However, stepping outside and using my phone while walking immediately dropped the battery life by about 10% in fifteen minutes. It quickly clicked with me that my brightness had been higher as I had been outside. I asked other members of the team, and Daniel Bader, Valnet’s Technical Brands Lead, mentioned that he had experienced the same.
The thing is, obviously using a display outside will draw more power. The problem is that the power draw seems really disproportionate. I spoke to other members of the XDA family and collected readings from their devices, and it seems that the Google Pixel 7 Pro might have a pretty big display problem. I investigated this with some help from XDA’s display analyst, Dylan Raga, and we’re using measurements from the Pixel 6 Pro and the Galaxy S22 Plus for building context around the Pixel 7 Pro’s extraordinary behavior.
What’s happening with the Pixel 7 Pro’s display?At 600 nits, all four of our Google Pixel 7 Pro devices are topping out between 3.5W and 4W. It gets even worse though: with maximum brightness (the Google Pixel 7 Pro is rated up to 1500 nits, and I triggered high-brightness mode), its power consumption shoots up to 6W. These display luminance ratings are usually measuring peak brightness at 1% APL — or in other words, a tiny portion of the screen lighting up. High brightness mode should be jumping to 1000 nits across the entire panel when a white screen is displayed (100% APL), and it does look to be about that.
For reference, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra would use about 2W at 600 nits, and 4W at about 1000. Dylan Raga told me that the numbers that I collected show that the Pixel 7 Pro display uses about 50% more power than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus comparatively.
We have taken power readings in our display reviews of both the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus and the Google Pixel 6 Pro. The Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus seems to drain up to 4.5W at 1100 nits, a fairly respectable figure. In contrast, the Google Pixel 6 Pro hits 4W at just shy of 800 nits. Dylan pointed out to me that if you were to extend his Google Pixel 6 Pro display power consumption graph in the same direction that it was already going, you would basically cross over the same values that we’re experiencing on the Google Pixel 7 Pro. This is indicative of a larger problem that Google has had in the past with its panels, and the Google Pixel 7 Pro appears to have only made the situation worse.
I spoke to Ben Sin, Daniel Bader, and Manuel Vonau of Android Police — three people who have Google Pixel 7 Pro units that are sourced from PR in different regions of the world. I sent all three of them instructions on how to measure that power usage from the display at maximum brightness. All of their values were roughly in line with mine. In the table below, you can see how the Google Pixel 7 Pro stacks up against the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus and the Google Pixel 6 Pro.
Power ConsumptionGoogle Pixel 6 ProGoogle Pixel 7 ProSamsung Galaxy S22 Plus600 Nits at 100% APL2.9W3.5W-4W2W800 Nits at 100% APL4W––1000 Nits at 100% APL–6W4W
How bad is the Google Pixel 7 Pro’s display power draw?To contextualize the problem, the Google Pixel 7 Pro’s Tensor G2 likely has a TDP of around 10-12W. We haven’t completed our testing yet, but this means that the display alone at full manual brightness is likely using just a bit less than half of the chipset’s maximum power. In high-brightness mode while playing an intensive game, it’s feasible that you could be drawing up to 18W of battery at any given time. That would kill any smartphone battery in just under three hours, and that’s only the display and the chipset. Your phone has other components, too, so expect to stick to the wall sooner if you are using the Pixel 7 Pro with high brightness than you would be doing so on a competing device under the same conditions.
What can Google do to fix this?It’s hard to say at this preliminary stage. We’ve tested this across multiple devices and spotted the same power draw across all of them. For what it’s worth, we also took readings on two Google Pixel 7 devices and it looks a lot more normal, so this seems to be an issue that may be exclusive to the Pro. It’s unclear if Google will be able to make the panel more efficient with a software update, though I suspect it won’t be able to. Still, that’s why we’re saying it “might” have a big display problem — Google could end up fixing it. Whether it’s a hardware or software problem is all up in the air currently — all we know is that there is a problem.
For what it’s worth, at lower brightness, the Pixel 7 Pro display functions closer to expectations. Dylan noted that the power values I collected for using the display at its lowest brightness are still on the high side, with it draining roughly 0.7W. Still, it’s a lot more manageable than touching off of 6W. If you’re on the fence about a Google Pixel 7 Pro, we’d recommend waiting to see what comes of this. The Google Pixel 7 also doesn’t appear to have the same issues, which may make it a better choice for people who spend a lot of time outdoors, in sunny environments, or just like having their display brightness high.
We’ve reached out to Google for comment, and we’ll be sure to update this article if we hear back.
Google’s Pixel 7 Pro has other display problems, tooIt’s not just the display power draw either. GSMArena’s Prasad Naik pointed out on Twitter that the display remains active for a small period of time even after turning it off.
I have noticed the same problem on my unit as well, and it was only when I saw this Tweet did I realise that it was the cause. A few times now I’ve been listening to music, using my phone, turned off the screen, and turned it around to put it in my pocket. I’ve skipped tracks a few times this way and it was incredibly frustrating, but I assumed it was just me doing something wrong. However, I’ve verified that I have the same problem and the display is staying on for roughly a second after I turn off the screen.
It’s unclear at this time whether or not this is a bug or if this can be fixed by disabling any particular settings. We’ll be sure to update this article if we hear more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Things like this and the mobile network bug concern me a bit. How were neither identified in testing? The mobile network bug appears to be at least sporadic and fixable by software so fine. But this appears to be widespread across all four of their devices. Does nobody testing these devices at Google use them outside lol

Same cr**, different year.

Even Apple has big bugs in their new phones.

roirraW edor ehT said:
Even Apple has big bugs in their new phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
P6P had this and was never "fixed".

Batfink33 said:
P6P had this and was never "fixed".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My wife and I never had any issues at all with our Pixel 6 Pros, including the fingerprint reader. We had ours since late October or early November last year.

roirraW edor ehT said:
My wife and I never had any issues at all with our Pixel 6 Pros, including the fingerprint reader. We had ours since late October or early November last year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 6Pro had a power hungry inefficient display, there's an article on Anandtech about it (if you want to search). The 7Pro still uses an LTPO 1.0 display so I imagine it's still pretty inefficient and power hungry.

Batfink33 said:
The 6Pro had a power hungry inefficient display, there's an article on Anandtech about it (if you want to search). The 7Pro still uses an LTPO 1.0 display so I imagine it's still pretty inefficient and power hungry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe you. Still, I only kept my Pixel 6 Pro charged between 25 and 75%, except on very rare occasions did I go lower or higher, and that 50% range still lasted me about 1 day of use, which is about how long my previous phones lasted me when kept in that range.

The title of this article seems pretty click bait-y to me.

Looks like the P7P’s brightness is lower than P6P’s. What a let down

Ghisy said:
The title of this article seems pretty click bait-y to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The research is done by XDA, not clickbait at all.

hello00 said:
Looks like the P7P’s brightness is lower than P6P’s. What a let down
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are they using an inferior panel this year or artificially lowering it(maybe because of heat).

Batfink33 said:
The research is done by XDA, not clickbait at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I said "seems", I didn't mean it 100% is.
I wonder: if you keep your display around 60/70% brightness, does it trigger the high power consumption?

Ghisy said:
I said "seems", I didn't mean it 100% is.
I wonder: if you keep your display around 60/70% brightness, does it trigger the high power consumption?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Needs more investigation I think. I'm sure Anandtech will do an in depth like they did last year.

Got a 7 Pro being delivered on Monday. Will hate to have to send it back because using it outside in reasonable brightness tanks the battery life. If it does have such an issue, the suspicion it can't be fixed by an update is pretty depressing.
This could explain the mixed reviews I've seen in terms of battery life, some saying it's toilet, whilst others say it's fantastic and they end the day after 6 hours SOT with 30%.

The Pixel 7 Pro runs into crucial display issues early on

Recieved mine today. Have not been able to replicate the ghost tap. Havent really been outside so cant comment on the brightness issue.

Batfink33 said:
Needs more investigation I think. I'm sure Anandtech will do an in depth like they did last year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately I do not think so. Andrei Frumusanu has left Anandtech almost a year ago and he was the main smart phone reviewer after Brian Klug left. With Anand lal Shimpi and Brian Klug (both went to Google) having left years ago and Dr Ian Cutress having left earlier this year (Ian Cutress did one smart phone overview this year) when it comes to in depth smart phone reviews (which no other site remotely approached) there really does not appear to be another source. Unfortunate.

Nestacres76 said:
Recieved mine today. Have not been able to replicate the ghost tap. Havent really been outside so cant comment on the brightness issue.
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You don't really need to be outside, you can manually increase the brightness to between 80% and 100% and see if it has a disproportionate effect on battery drain.

btw, the "starting apps while locking bug" doesn't happen here when using nova launchers double tap gesture for locking the device. maybe an other app with the same function can evade this problem too?
but when using power button it's replicable here too.

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welcome