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Google says Pixel 2 XL may get more display color options in a software update

Google’s Pixel 2 XL is a good phone, but between reviewers and early adopters, the general consensus is that it has one flaw — the display. Between a blue tint when the angle is shifted and pretty dull colors overall — both of which were pointed out in our initial review — people aren’t in love with the 6-inch OLED display. Google has heard those complaints, and now it’s apparently open to solving them.

In a statement to 9to5Google, Google confirmed that it recognizes people’s complaints and that it will “look into” adding more options to control the colors on its display.

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.

The Pixel 2 XL (and Pixel 2) both ship with a “vivid colors” option enabled by default. While that apparent 10% boost certainly helps, it still leaves the display far less vibrant compared to other OLED displays from Samsung, the original Pixel, and even LG’s V30 which uses a similar display.

Thankfully, it does seem the company is open to fixing the problem, whether real or perceived, through software by adding more display color options. This isn’t something that would be unique to the Pixel, as Samsung has been doing this with its AMOLED displays for quite a long time. Added customization is always appreciated, so we’re glad to see this might be on the way, eventually.


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