Even though the Google Pixel 2 XL has yet to hit consumers hands there is already a string of complaints regarding the colours on the display. Even though we thought the display on the Pixel 2 XL was “warm, it’s lush, and razor sharp” there are a lot of complaints about it being “dull” and had a “blueish” tinge present.
While the display is apparently accurately calibrated and according to The Verge’s Creative Director James Bareham “it presents natural colours in terms of photos” but the problem is that people are not used to “natural colours” on a phone with most manufacturers turning up the vibrancy and saturation of the colours. There is an option in the software to make the display more “vivid” but apparently this does not make much visual difference.
Even though the colours are accurate on the Pixel 2 XL Google have heard the complaints and have responded to 9to5Google saying:
We designed the Pixel 2 to take advantage of multiple facets of the innovative new POLED technology, including QHD+ resolution with 538 pixels per inch as well as a wide color gamut. One of our design intents was to achieve a more natural and accurate rendition of colors. We know that some people prefer more vivid colors, so we’ve added an option to boost colors by 10% for more saturation. We’ll continue to pay close attention to people’s responses to Pixel, and we will consider adding more display color options through software if that makes the product better.
Using software Google should be able to fix these issues that people have with the display on the Pixel 2 XL. The LG V30 has a very similar display and does not suffer from being dull so there is no doubt that Google will be able to adjust the colours on the display to give users the option of a more saturated display. Personally I have often used a custom kernel to change the vibrancy of my displays so it certainly can be done using software tweaks.
The Ausdroiders who have used the Pixel 2 XL say that it is a mountain out of a molehill and the issue is not as bad as some reviewers are making it out to be. It’s not Samsung-good but it is still a great display on an amazing phone. Either way it will be good if Google did add the option to make the display even more vivid should the user want that.
Is it because the phone is so expensive that people are being more nitpicky with it? Are you a fan of the saturated colours?
Great article Scott. Thanks a lot.
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Personally, I think that calibrating against SRGB makes little sense in today’s world of wide colour gamut displays. The SRGB profile is so narrow compared to what modern displays are capable of. At least Google could calibrate to Adobe RGB (often called AMOLED photo in Samsung device display mode settings) which is more pleasing to the eye due to the wider gamut coverage. From memory, the Basic display mode on Samsung devices is accurate to SRGB. Try it if you have a Samsung device. I bet you won’t keep it there! Display accuracy is about calibrating to a colour space… Read more »