Google Pixel 8 Pro

Pixel 8 Pro mod improves the display for users sensitive to PWM refresh rate

Ben Schoon | Jul 29 2024 - 1:04 pm PT

Google’s Pixel 8 Pro is a solid smartphone with a great display, but for users sensitive to the PWM refresh rate used on many modern displays, it’s been bordering on unusable. Thanks to a new modification, though, this can be changed.

What is the PWM refresh rate? Especially common on OLED displays, the “pulse width modulation” rate is effectively what the display uses to brighten or dim the display. The rate gets lower as the display gets dimmer, and it’s something you’ll often see in photos (especially from a traditional camera) of an OLED display through black bands on the screen.

For more people, the difference between a display with a low PWM refresh rate and one with an ultra-high rate (like those from Honor, for example) is simply not there, but for others, a display with a low PWM refresh rate can literally make them sick. Google Pixel devices, unfortunately, fall into the former category, as has been documented.

But, thanks to a modification, the Pixel 8 Pro is actually capable of pushing its PWM refresh rate well beyond its default setting.

Nick Sutrich from Android Central embarked on the journey of tweaking the Pixel 8 Pro with a custom boot image that doubles the PWM refresh rate to 480Hz, requiring the device to be rooted, among other things, beforehand. Through further modification, Sutrich says he’s been able to run the Pixel 8 Pro at 3840Hz without any obvious issues besides a noticeable green tint and some other color oddities, which is presumably why Google doesn’t run the device like this out of the box.

As other brands continue to push PWM rates higher, one can only hope that Google will follow suit. But, in the meantime, it’s nice to know that, if you’re willing to take on the risk of flashing custom software (which is indeed quite a risk and roadblock), you can make the change yourself.