We put the Google Pixel 8a through our rigorous DXOMARK Display test suite to measure its performance across four criteria. In this test results, we will break down how it fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Overview
Key display specifications
- 6.1 inches OLED
- Dimensions: 152.1 x 72.7 x 8.9 mm (5.99 x 2.86 x 0.35 inches)
- Resolution: 1080 x 2400 pixels, (~430 ppi density)
- Aspect ratio: 20:9
- Refresh rate: 120 Hz
Scoring
Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.
Google Pixel 8a
145
display
154
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Best: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (164)
135
Google Pixel 8
Best: Google Pixel 8 (165)
141
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6
Best: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 (165)
152
Google Pixel 7 Pro
Best: Google Pixel 7 Pro (164)
Eye Comfort Label & Attributes
<10%
Flicker perception probability
% of population
1.4
Minimum Brightness
in nits
0.61
Circadian Action Factor
99%
Color
Consistency
vs Display-P3 color space
Position in Global Ranking
33
rd
5. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
155
6. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6
154
6. Samsung Galaxy S24+ (Exynos)
154
6. Samsung Galaxy S24 (Exynos)
154
12. Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
152
13. Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
151
18. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
150
18. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6
150
23. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
148
28. Samsung Galaxy A55 5G
147
31. Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
146
33. Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
145
37. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5
144
39. Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra
143
39. Samsung Galaxy A35 5G
143
44. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
142
44. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5
142
50. Samsung Galaxy S23 FE
140
55. Honor Magic4 Ultimate
138
66. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
135
66. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus 5G
135
71. Samsung Galaxy S22+ (Exynos)
134
74. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4
133
74. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
133
74. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Snapdragon)
133
74. Vivo X80 Pro (MediaTek)
133
79. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
132
84. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
131
84. Vivo X80 Pro (Snapdragon)
131
88. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4
130
88. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
130
88. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
130
99. Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
129
103. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
127
107. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
126
124. Motorola Edge 30 Pro
123
128. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
122
128. Motorola Edge 40 Pro
122
132. Apple iPhone SE (2022)
120
138. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
114
140. Motorola Razr 40 Ultra
113
143. Crosscall Stellar-X5
109
144. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
108
148. Crosscall Stellar-M6
101
151. Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
82
Position in High-End Ranking
4
th
9. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus 5G
135
13. Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
129
19. Apple iPhone SE (2022)
120
22. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
114
26. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
108
Pros
- Good brightness in outdoor conditions
- Good brightness and dark details when watching HDR10 videos in low light condition
- Good smoothness in every use cases
Cons
- Slight orange cast visible on most content
- Color bands when viewing the device at various angles
- Lack of brightness when watching SDR videos and viewing photos in indoor conditions
The Google Pixel 8a delivers a very satisfactory display experience, featuring high scores in all our sub-scores and evaluations. In the High end segment, it is ranking among the top five in this category. This device is suitable for most use cases, like browsing the web or watching videos.
One of the key aspects that distinguishes the Google Pixel 8a is its readability, especially in outdoor conditions. This is mainly due to its high peak brightness (measured at 2049 nits by our experts), giving it a considerable advantage against the competition. Photos and web contents will therefore be readable even if you’re outdoors, on a sunny day. When it comes to dynamic contents, the Pixel 8a provides a satisfactory HDR10 experience with a good level of brightness as well as good detail rendering in dark areas when viewed in lowlight. However, when shifting to standard indoor conditions, the device could be brighter to ensure a better viewing experience of the contents and the bright and dark details. While browsing the web or navigating through the photo gallery, the device is smooth, thanks to its 120Hz refresh rate. Our testers experienced some occasional unwanted touches, but overall it remains smooth in every use cases. While the device displays high color fidelity, when viewed at various angles, starting from 15°, the Google Pixel 8a shows a few color variations.
The Pixel 8a also earned itself the Eye Comfort label, which distinguishes devices that provide a high level of visual comfort. This is mainly due to its capability to manage blue light by default in addition to when the blue light filter is active.
Test summary
About DXOMARK Display tests: For scoring and analysis, a device undergoes a series of objective and perceptual tests in controlled lab and real-life conditions. The DXOMARK Display score takes into account the overall user experience the screen provides, considering the hardware capacity and the software tuning. In testing, only factory-installed video and photo apps are used. More in-depth details about how DXOMARK tests displays are available in the article “A closer look at DXOMARK Display testing.”
The following section focuses on the key elements of our exhaustive tests and analyses performed in DXOMARK laboratories. Full reports with detailed performance evaluations are available upon request. To order a copy, please contact us.
Readability
154
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
How Display Readability score is composed
Readability evaluates the user’s ease and comfort of viewing still content, such as photos or a web page, on the display under different lighting conditions. Our measurements run in the labs are completed by perceptual testing and analysis.
Luminance under various lighting conditions
This graph shows the screen luminance in environments that range from total darkness to outdoor conditions. In our labs, the indoor environment (250 lux to 830 lux) simulates the artificial and natural lighting conditions commonly seen in homes (with medium diffusion); the outdoor environment (from 20,000 lux) replicates a situation with highly diffused light.
Contrast under various lighting conditions
This graph shows the screen’s contrast levels in lighting environments that range from total darkness to outdoor conditions. In our labs, the indoor environment (250 lux to 830 lux) simulates the artificial and natural lighting conditions commonly seen in homes (with medium diffusion); the outdoor environment (from 20,000 lux) replicates a situation with highly diffused light.
Photo EOTF
The Electro-Optical Transfer Function (EOTF) defines how bits are converted into luminance out of the display. Gray levels (horizontal axis) represent the different shades from pure white (100% gray level) to pitch black (0% gray level). The standard for still images follows a 2.2 gamma. The flatter the curves, the harder it is to perceive differences between consecutive shades. This phenomenon is more frequent under intensive lighting conditions (20,000 lux) in the low gray level regions.
Photo EOTF
The Electro-Optical Transfer Function (EOTF) defines how bits are converted into luminance out of the display. Gray levels (horizontal axis) represent the different shades from pure white (100% gray level) to pitch black (0% gray level). The standard for still images follows a 2.2 gamma. The flatter the curves, the harder it is to perceive differences between consecutive shades. This phenomenon is more frequent under intensive lighting conditions (20,000 lux) in the low gray level regions.
Photo EOTF
The Electro-Optical Transfer Function (EOTF) defines how bits are converted into luminance out of the display. Gray levels (horizontal axis) represent the different shades from pure white (100% gray level) to pitch black (0% gray level). The standard for still images follows a 2.2 gamma. The flatter the curves, the harder it is to perceive differences between consecutive shades. This phenomenon is more frequent under intensive lighting conditions (20,000 lux) in the low gray level regions.
Luminance vs Viewing Angle
This graph presents how the luminance drops as viewing angles increase.
Skin-tone rendering in an indoor (1000 lux) environment
From left to right: Google Pixel 8a, Samsung Galaxy A55 5G, Xiaomi 14
(Photos for illustration only)
Skin-tone rendering in a sunlight (>90 000 lux) environment
From left to right: Google Pixel 8a, Samsung Galaxy A55 5G, Xiaomi 14
(Photos for illustration only)
Average Reflectance (SCI) Google Pixel 8a
Google Pixel 8a
Samsung Galaxy A55 5G
Xiaomi 14
SCI stands for Specular Component Included, which measures both the diffuse reflection and the specular reflection. Reflection from a simple glass sheet is around 4%, while it reaches about 6% for a plastic sheet. Although smartphones’ first surface is made of glass, their total reflection (without coating) is usually around 5% due to multiple reflections created by the complex optical stack.
Average reflectance is computed based on the spectral reflectance in the visible spectrum range (see graph below) and human spectral sensitivity.
Reflectance (SCI)
Wavelength (horizontal axis) defines light color, but also our capacity to see it; for example, UV is a very low wavelength that the human eye cannot see; Infrared is a high wavelength that the human eye also cannot see). White light is composed of all wavelengths between 400 nm and 700 nm, i.e. the range the human eye can see. Measurements above show the reflection of the devices within the visible spectrum range (400 nm to 700 nm).
Uniformity
This graph shows the distribution of luminance throughout the entire display panel. Uniformity is measured with a 20% gray pattern, with bright green indicating ideal luminance. An evenly spread-out bright green color on the screen indicates that the display’s brightness is uniform. Other colors indicate a loss of uniformity.
PWM Frequency Google Pixel 8a
240 Hz
Bad
Good
Bad
Great
Google Pixel 8a
Samsung Galaxy A55 5G
Xiaomi 14
Displays flicker for 2 main reasons: refresh rate and Pulse Width Modulation. Pulse width modulation is a modulation technique that generates variable-width pulses to represent the amplitude of an analog input signal. This measurement is important for comfort because flickering at low frequencies can be perceived by some individuals, and in the most extreme cases, can induce seizures. Some experiments show that discomfort can appear at a higher frequency. A high PWM frequency (>1500 Hz) tends to be less disturbing for users.
Temporal Light Modulation
This graph represents the frequencies of lighting variation; the highest peak gives the most important modulation. The combination of a low frequency and a high peak is susceptible to inducing eye fatigue.
Color
135
Google Pixel 8
Google Pixel 8
How Display Color score is composed
Color evaluations are performed in different lighting conditions to see how well the device manages color with the surrounding environment. Devices are tested with sRGB and Display-P3 image patterns. Both faithful mode and default mode are used for our evaluation. Our measurements run in the labs are completed by perceptual testing & analysis.
White point color under D65 illuminant at 830 lux
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