Pixel 9 display gets praised by DXOMark despite PWM dimming miss

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DXOMARK tested the Google Pixel 9’s display and ended up praising it. I was interested the moment I saw the results, as the Pixel 9 has really low PWM dimming, unlike many of the competitors.

The Google Pixel 9 display got tested by DXOMARK, and it ranks high

The Pixel 9 scored 156 points in DXOMARK’s test, and it’s ranked 1st in ‘Premium Ranking’, while it sits at third place in ‘Global Ranking’. In other words, based on DXOMARK, this is one of the best displays out there.

It is placed behind the Pixel 9 Pro XL and HONOR Magic6 Pro in the ‘Global Ranking’ section, while it’s followed by Galaxy S24 (Exynos) and Pixel 8 on the ‘Premium Ranking’ list.

The Google Pixel 9 display received a very high rating in the ‘Color’ section, while the Readability, Touch, and Video were also rather high.

The display offers “faithful and well-rendered colors”

The company ended up praising “Faithful and well-rendered colors” in most tested conditions. DXOMARK also said that the display is well-adapted for readability in most environments. HDR10 videos also render well in low light and indoor situations, and it was highlighted that the display is “fast and accurate” to the touch.

In the ‘Cons’ section, DXOMARK said that the phone’s display offers undersaturated colors in dark environments. Slightly low luminance when viewing SDR video is also listed. DXOMARK also noted that you’ll get occasional unwanted touches when holding the device in landscape orientation.

DXOMARK did mention PWM dimming, but the company wasn’t as critical as expected

In regards to PWM dimming, DXOMARK didn’t skip it, but the company doesn’t deem it to be as important, unfortunately. As you can see below, PWM dimming is really bad on the Pixel 9, only 240Hz. The HONOR Magic6 Pro, for example, goes up to 4,320Hz. Many, many phones are better than the Pixel 9 in that regard.

Some individuals perceive screen flickering at low frequencies and it causes them discomfort. Some of them can’t even use phones with low PWM dimming. The higher, the better, it protects your eyes too.

We’re a bit surprised DXOMARK didn’t make a bigger deal about this and mentioned it separately in the ‘Cons’ section and also pushed the Pixel 9 a bit further down the pecking order for this.

If you’re interested in checking out DXOMARK’s Pixel 9 camera test, that has also been published.

2024-08-23 15:06:31