We put the Google Pixel 8 through our rigorous DXOMARK Display test suite to measure its performance across four criteria. In this summary of test results, we will break down how it fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Overview
Key display specifications:
- 6.2-inch OLED
- Dimensions: 150.5 x 70.8 x 8.9 mm (5.93 x 2.79 x 0.35 inches)
- Resolution: 1080 x 2400 pixels (~428 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 8
153
display
150
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Best: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (164)
146
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6
Best: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 (165)
155
Google Pixel 7 Pro
Best: Google Pixel 7 Pro (164)
Position in Global Ranking
9
th
4. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
155
5. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6
154
5. Samsung Galaxy S24+ (Exynos)
154
5. Samsung Galaxy S24 (Exynos)
154
11. Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
152
12. Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
151
17. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6
150
19. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
148
23. Samsung Galaxy A55 5G
147
26. Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
146
31. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5
144
33. Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra
143
33. Samsung Galaxy A35 5G
143
36. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
142
36. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5
142
40. Samsung Galaxy S23 FE
140
44. Honor Magic4 Ultimate
138
54. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
135
54. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus 5G
135
59. Samsung Galaxy S22+ (Exynos)
134
62. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4
133
62. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
133
62. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Snapdragon)
133
62. Vivo X80 Pro (MediaTek)
133
67. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
132
72. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
131
72. Vivo X80 Pro (Snapdragon)
131
76. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4
130
76. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
130
76. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
130
87. Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
129
91. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
127
95. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
126
111. Motorola Edge 30 Pro
123
115. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
122
115. Motorola Edge 40 Pro
122
119. Apple iPhone SE (2022)
120
125. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
114
127. Motorola Razr 40 Ultra
113
130. Crosscall Stellar-X5
109
131. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
108
137. Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
82
Position in Premium Ranking
3
rd
2. Samsung Galaxy S24 (Exynos)
154
9. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Snapdragon)
133
10. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
132
12. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
130
18. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
126
Pros
- Colors are well rendered in most tested conditions.
- The device is readable in all tested conditions.
- Brightness and contrast are well suited for watching HDR10 content.
- The device feels smooth and reactive when scrolling.
Cons
- A pinkish tint can be noticeable in a bright environment, depending on the direction of the light source.
- Unwanted touches with the palm on the borders of the device may occur when holding it with one hand.
The Google Pixel 8 showed a strong performance in all attributes, but especially for color, where it achieved a top score, and touch. With improved specifications and strong tuning, this versatile smartphone offers a nearly flagship-like experience in all lighting conditions and in nearly all use cases.
Like the Pro version, the Pixel 8 is readable outdoors and in direct sunlight, with a peak brightness that is just a bit lower than the Pixel 8 Pro. We measured its peak brightness when viewing typical photo content at 1600 nits in real outdoor conditions.
The Pixel 8 is slightly less bright than the iPhone 15 when viewing photos, but when it comes to viewing a web page, the Pixel 8 becomes brighter than the iPhone. The iPhone 15 showed a 50% brightness drop to 900 nits versus a drop of 7% to 1500 for the Pixel 8. As with previous generations of Google smartphones, the Pixel 8 also put in a solid performance in angular readability and in uniformity.
The flicker level of the Pixel 8 was similar to that of Apple and Samsung smartphones.
In color performance, the Pixel 8, provided very pleasant colors and especially good skin tone rendering. Colors in the natural mode were accurate in all tested conditions. The Pixel 8 showed a slight pink cast outdoors when there was a strong light source coming in from the upper angle side; otherwise, it showed a more pronounced color shift on angle than the Pro version.
Putting in a strong showing for HDR10 video playback performance, the Google Pixel 8 (along with the 8 Pro) offered a video rendering that closely matched that of the Sony reference screen in our laboratory. The Pixel 8 had a very good brightness level in a dark viewing environment, and a pleasant color rendering. Peak brightness during HDR10 viewing was well adapted in both low light and indoor conditions, but just like with the Pixel 8 Pro, overall brightness was slightly low when watching HDR10 videos indoors.
The tone curve was adapted for midtones when viewing HDR10 videos in low light and indoors, and dark details were occasionally hard to see in indoor viewing.
The Pixel 8 showed no frame drops during testing.
The Google Pixel 8 achieved high marks for touch, with very good touch-to-response time and very smooth web navigation (thanks to its 120 Hz screen). Also, unwanted touches would occasionally occur when holding the device in one hand.
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
150
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 8, Samsung Galaxy S23, Honor Magic5 Pro, Apple iPhone 15
(Photos for illustrations only)
Readability in a sunlight (>90 000 lux) environment
From left to right: Google Pixel 8, Samsung Galaxy S23, Honor Magic5 Pro, Apple iPhone 15
(Photos for illustration only)
Readability of a web page in a sunlight (>90 000 lux) environment
From left to right: Google Pixel 8, Apple iPhone 15
(Photos for illustration only)
Average Reflectance (SCI) Google Pixel 8
Google Pixel 8
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
Google Pixel 8 Pro
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 8
240 Hz
Bad
Good
Bad
Great
Google Pixel 8
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
Google Pixel 8 Pro
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.
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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