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Pixel 4 XL OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out

 

Dr. Raymond M. Soneira

President, DisplayMate Technologies Corporation

 

Copyright © 1990-2019 by DisplayMate Technologies Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

This article, or any part thereof, may not be copied, reproduced, mirrored, distributed or incorporated

into any other work without the prior written permission of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation

 

 

Pixel 4 XL

 

Introduction and Overview

The key element for a great Smartphone has always been a truly innovative and top performing display, and the best leading edge Smartphones have always flaunted their super high tech displays. It is the display performance that determines how good and how beautiful everything on the Smartphone looks, including the camera photos, videos, movies, web content, plus all of your Apps, and also how readable and how usable the screen is in high ambient lighting. The Display is the crown jewel of the Smartphone!

 

In this Display Technology Shoot-Out article series we only cover the Very Best State-of-the-Art Top Performing and Top Tier Smartphone Displays. The articles are designed to promote Display Performance so that consumers, reviewers, and journalists all recognize and appreciate Display Excellence, and also to reward and encourage manufacturers to produce top performing displays for their products.

 

The Pixel 4 XL is Google’s third generation Flagship Smartphone, with an OLED display that improves on the excellent display performance of the Pixel 3 XL. As we will show in detail below, the Pixel 4 XL has a number of notable improvements over the Pixel 3 XL including:10% higher Peak Brightness, much higher Absolute Color Accuracy, and improved Display Power Efficiency.

 

In this article we lab test, measure, analyze, and evaluate in depth the display on the Pixel 4 XL. This is an independent scientific objective lab test and analysis of OLED displays written for consumers and journalists. It is the latest edition in our nine year article series that has lab tested, tracked and analyzed the development of mobile OLED displays and display technology, from its early beginnings in 2010, when OLED displays started out in last place, into a rapidly improving and evolving display technology that now has a commanding first place lead and continues pushing ahead aggressively.

 

We’ll cover all of the these display performance topics and much more, with in-depth comprehensive display tests, measurements, and analysis that you will find nowhere else.

 

The Move to OLED Displays

LCDs are a great cutting edge high performance display technology for Tablets to TVs, but for small handheld Smartphones, OLED displays provide a number of significant advantages over LCDs including: being much thinner, much lighter, without needing a bezel, providing a rimless edge-to-edge design. They can be made flexible and into curved screens, plus they have a very fast response time, better viewing angles, and an always-on display mode.

 

Many of the OLED performance advantages result from the fact that every single sub-pixel in an OLED display is independently directly electrically powered to emit light, so only the active image sub-pixels draw power based on their individual brightness levels. OLEDs can also provide better color accuracy, image contrast accuracy, and screen uniformity because the irregularities and variations in LCD Backlights introduce color and brightness irregularities and variations over the screen.

 

As the result of their very versatile power management capabilities, OLEDs are not only more power efficient than LCDs for most image content, but they now deliver much higher Peak Brightness than LCDs because the maximum power can be delivered to just the sub-pixels that are needed for producing the current image. However, for mostly all White screen content LCDs are likely to remain brighter and more power efficient for a while.

 

OLED displays now have tremendous performance advantages over LCDs, so high-end and flagship Smartphones need OLED displays in order to compete at state-of-the-art performance levels, securing OLED as the definitive premier display technology for Top Tier Smartphones in the foreseeable future over the next 3-5 years. With the continuing improvements in OLED hardware performance, picture quality, and precision accuracy, it will be much harder for new display technologies to challenge OLED.

 

Article Overview

This article has the following major sections:

 

· Pixel 4 XL Display Highlights and Performance Results

 

· Pixel 4 XL Conclusions

 

· Pixel 4 XL Display Performance Functions and Features

 

· Pixel 4 XL Display Performance Records

 

· DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Award

 

· Improving Display Performance for Real World Ambient Light

 

· Improving the Next Generation of Mobile Displays

 

· Pixel 4 XL Lab Measurements and Comparison Table

 

The Display Shoot-Out

To examine the performance of the new Pixel 4 XL OLED Display we ran our in-depth series of Mobile Display Technology Shoot-Out Lab tests and measurements in order to determine how the latest OLED displays have improved. We take display quality very seriously and provide in-depth objective analysis based on detailed laboratory tests and measurements and extensive viewing tests with both test patterns, test images and test photos. To see how far OLED and LCD mobile displays have progressed in just nine years see our 2010 Smartphone Display Shoot-Out, and for a real history lesson see our original 2006 Smartphone Display Shoot-Out.

 

Google provided DisplayMate Technologies with a pre-announcement production unit of the Pixel 4 XL so that we could perform our well known objective and comprehensive DisplayMate Lab tests, measurements, and analysis, explaining in-depth the new display performance results for consumers, reviewers, and journalists as early as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Color Gamuts

Click to Enlarge

 

Color Accuracy

Click to Enlarge

 

Color Shifts

Click to Enlarge

 

Intensity Scales

Click to Enlarge

 

Display Spectra

Click to Enlarge

 

 

Pixel 4 XL Display Highlights and Performance Results

In this section we review and explain the principal results from the extensive DisplayMate Lab Tests and Measurements

in the following categories:  Display SpecificationsOverall AssessmentsScreen ReflectionsBrightness and Contrast,

Colors and IntensitiesAbsolute Color AccuracyViewing AnglesOLED SpectraDisplay Power.

 

Lab Tests and Measurement Data Table

See the Display Shoot-Out Lab Measurements Comparison Table for the complete set of DisplayMate Lab Tests and Measurements.

 

Main Topics Covered

This Display Highlights and Performance Results section has detailed information and analysis on the Pixel 4 XL display for the main topics listed below.

You can skip this section and go directly to the Pixel 4 XL Conclusions for a Summary of the Display Test Results.

 

· Large 6.3 inch Full Screen Display

 

· 3K High Resolution Quad HD+ Display

 

· Smooth Display Feature with Refresh Rates up to 90 Hz

 

· Industry Standard Color Gamuts

 

· Automatic Color Management

 

· Very High Contrast Accuracy and Intensity Scale Accuracy

 

· Peak Brightness that is Independent of the on-screen Image Content

 

· Very High Absolute Color Accuracy

 

· Color Accuracy and Intensity Scales Independent of the Image Content

 

· High Screen Brightness and Performance in High Ambient Light

 

· High Dynamic Range Mobile HDR Display

 

· Night Light Mode for Better Night Viewing

 

· Always On Display Mode

 

· Super Dim Setting

 

· Dark Theme

 

· Ambient EQ Viewing Mode

 

· Diamond Sub-Pixels

 

· Viewing Angle Performance

 

· Viewing Tests Performance

 

· Display Power Efficiency

 

· Display Related Enhancements

 

· Large 6.3 inch Full Screen Display with a higher Aspect Ratio of 19 : 9

The Pixel 4 XL has a large 6.3 inch display that fills almost the entire front face of the phone from edge-to-edge. The display also has a higher form factor with a taller height to width Aspect Ratio of 19 : 9 = 2.11, which is 22% larger than the 16 : 9 = 1.78 on most Smartphones (and widescreen TVs) because the display now has the same overall shape as the entire phone. It is taller in Portrait mode and wider in Landscape mode. This provides extra space for Notifications and for displaying multiple Apps and content simultaneously on-screen side-by-side.

 

· 3K High Resolution Quad HD+ 3040x1440 Display with 537 pixels per inch

As a result of its larger display size and larger Aspect Ratio, the Pixel 4 XL has a 3K High Resolution Quad HD+ display with 3040x1440 pixels and 537 pixels per inch, with 4.4 Mega Pixels, more than double the number on an HDTV. The display has Diamond Sub-Pixels (see below) and Sub-Pixel Rendering with 537 pixels per inch (ppi), providing significantly higher image sharpness than can be resolved with normal 20/20 Vision at the typical viewing distances of 12 inches or more for Smartphones, so the display appears perfectly sharp. As a result, for Smartphones it is absolutely pointless to further increase the display resolution and pixels per inch (ppi) up to 4K (3940x2160 pixels) for a silly marketing wild goose chase into the stratosphere, with no visual benefit for humans!

 

· Smooth Display Feature with Refresh Rates up to 90 Hz

Most Smartphones refresh their screens 60 times per second (Hz) or less. The Pixel 4 XL has a selectable Smooth Display mode that provides a higher 90 Hz Refresh Rate for some content (which can increase display power). The Smooth Display feature automatically adjusts the Refresh Rate between 60 and 90 Hz for optimum viewing and battery use.

 

The 50% higher Refresh Rate provides several important advantages, including much smoother scrolling of screen content, and smoother videos and animation. The higher refresh rate also helps with touch latency and improves the responsiveness of the Pixel 4 XL.

 

In addition, some people can sense screen flicker on some Smartphone displays, which can result in visual fatigue, eye strain, and headaches. The 50% higher Refresh Rate and higher Pulse Width Modulation Rate may reduce or eliminate this effect for some users that are affected by display flicker.

 

· Industry Standard Color Gamuts

The Pixel 4 XL supports the two most important Industry Standard Color Gamuts: the sRGB / Rec.709 Color Gamut that is used for most current consumer content, and the new Wide DCI-P3 Color Gamut that is used in 4K Ultra HD TVs. The DCI-P3 Gamut is 26 percent larger than the sRGB / Rec.709 Gamut. But Automatic Color Management provides many more Gamuts...

 

· Automatic Color Management

Most Smartphones and Tablets generally provide only one to up to several fixed Color Gamuts. The Pixel 4 XL has Automatic Color Management that automatically switches to the proper Color Gamut for any displayed image content within the Wide DCI-P3 Color Space that has an ICC Profile, so images automatically appear with the correct colors, neither over-saturated or under-saturated. Automatic Color Management with multiple and varying Color Gamuts are a very useful and important state-of-the-art capability that all manufacturers will need to provide in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Color Gamuts

Click to Enlarge

 

Color Accuracy

Click to Enlarge

 

Color Shifts

Click to Enlarge

 

Intensity Scales

Click to Enlarge

 

· Very High Contrast Accuracy and Intensity Scale Accuracy

The Intensity Scale (sometimes called the Gray Scale) not only controls the Image and Picture Contrast within all displayed images but it also controls how the Red, Green and Blue primary colors mix to produce all of the on-screen colors. So if the Intensity Scale doesn't accurately follow the Standard that is used to produce virtually all consumer content then the Image Colors, Image Contrast, and their Brightness Intensities will be wrong everywhere in all images. Unfortunately, many manufacturers are quite sloppy with the Intensity Scale on their displays (because it is logarithmic and not linear). Fortunately, the Intensity Scale on the Pixel 4 XL (with a Gamma of 2.19) is a close to perfect match of the Standard Intensity Scale (with a Gamma of 2.20), which is essential for High Absolute Color Accuracy. See Figure 3 for a plot of the measured Intensity Scales and the Contrast and Intensity Scale section for the measurements and details.

 

· Peak Brightness that is Independent of the on-screen Image Content

The Average Picture Level (APL) for on-screen image content is the Average Brightness (Luminance) over the entire screen, which varies from 0% for an all Black screen, to 100% for an all White screen at Peak Brightness.

 

On almost all existing OLED displays the Peak Brightness (Luminance) changes with the Average Picture Level APL of the on-screen image, with the Peak Brightness increasing by up to 50 percent or more between High APL and Low APL. This increasing High Brightness with Low APL effect can be very useful in improving screen readability in High Ambient Light, and also to highlight certain on-screen image content. But the resulting variations in display Brightness can distort the brightness relationships when viewing photos, in videos, and other images, so for High Accuracy the Luminance variation with APL should be as small as possible.

 

On the Pixel 4 XL the Luminance variation with picture content APL is a Record Low of 0.5 to 1 percent. But as we discuss next, the actual reason for doing this is to improve the Absolute Color Accuracy and Absolute Contrast Accuracy of the display. See the Screen Brightness section for the measurements and details.

 

· Very High Absolute Color Accuracy

Delivering great color with high Absolute Color Accuracy is incredibly difficult because everything on the display has to be done just right. In order to deliver accurate image colors, a display needs to closely match the standard Color Gamut that was used for producing the content being viewed – not more and not less. In addition the display also needs an accurate (pure logarithmic power-law) Intensity Scale, and an accurate White Point.

 

Each Pixel 4 XL display is individually calibrated at the factory for both Color Accuracy and Contrast Accuracy. Since the Pixel 4 XL supports two Standard Color Gamuts it needs to also implement Color Management in order to get the second smaller sRGB / Rec.709 Gamut to also appear correctly, which is generated from the wider native DCI-P3 Gamut.

 

The Absolute Color Accuracy of the Pixel 4 XL is Truly Impressive as shown in these Figures. It has an Absolute Color Accuracy of 0.5 JNCD (Just Noticeable Color Difference) for the sRGB / Red.709 Color Gamut that is used for most current consumer content, and 0.5 JNCD for the Wider DCI-P3 Color Gamut that is used for 4K UHD TVs and Digital Cinema, which are both Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and very likely considerably better than any mobile display, monitor, TV or UHD TV that you have.

 

Note that to obtain this High Absolute Color Accuracy both Ambient EQ and Night Light need to be Off because they change the White Point of the display from the 6,500 K Standard, which then changes the Absolute Color Accuracy throughout the Color Gamut. See this Figure for an explanation and visual definition of Just Noticeable Color Difference JNCD and the Color Accuracy Plots with 41 Reference Colors showing the measured display Color Errors. See the Color Accuracy section and the Color Accuracy Plots for the measurements and details.

 

· Color Accuracy and Intensity Scales that are Independent of the on-screen Image Content APL

The Absolute Color Accuracy and Intensity Scale of the display should not change as the on-screen image content changes.

 

With the continuing improvements in display performance we have added a new set of advanced tests that measure the variations in the Absolute Color Accuracy and the Intensity Scales with changing Average Picture Level APL, comparing the Color Shifts between Low APL and 50% High APL. Previous generation displays with large Peak Luminance changes with APL will show large Shifts in the Intensity Scale and large Shifts in Absolute Color Accuracy with APL.

 

Figure 3 shows the variation in the Intensity Scales between Low APL and 50% APL. Any change in the Intensity Scale will affect the Absolute Color Accuracy. There is only a small Shift in the Intensity Scales, with the Gamma varying from 2.19 for Low APL to 2.20 for 50% APL. As a result, the Image Contrast remains unchanged with varying APL content.

 

Figure 4 shows the variation in the Absolute Color Accuracy between Low APL and 50% APL. The Color Shifts with APL are very small, with a Record Low Average Color Shift of just 0.2 JNCD, and the Largest Color Shifts are only 0.5 JNCD, also a Record Low. The White Point Shifts with APL are just 0.2 JNCD.

 

All of the Shifts with APL are small, Visually Indistinguishable, and rated Excellent. See this Figure for an explanation and visual definition of JNCD and the Color APL Shifts section for the measurements and details.

 

· High Screen Brightness and Performance in High Ambient Light

Mobile displays are often used under relatively bright ambient lighting, which washes out the image color saturation and contrast, reducing picture quality and making it harder to view or read the screen. To be usable in high ambient light a display needs a dual combination of high Screen Brightness and low Screen Reflectance – the Pixel 4 XL has both. This is extremely important for screen readability, picture quality, and color accuracy in ambient light.

 

The Pixel 4 XL has a 100% APL Calibrated Full Screen Brightness of 444 cd/m2 (nits) for the sRGB/Rec.709 and DCI-P3 Color Gamuts. On its Home Screen the Pixel 4 XL also produces 444 nits. See the Screen Brightness section for the measurements and details.

 

The measured Pixel 4 XL Screen Reflectance is 4.4 percent, close to the lowest that we have ever measured for a Smartphone. Our Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light quantitatively measures screen visibility and image contrast under bright Ambient Lighting – the higher the better. As a result of its high Brightness and low Reflectance, the Pixel 4 XL has a Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light that ranges up to 102, among the highest that we have measured for Calibrated sRGB/Rec.709 and DCI-P3 Gamuts. See the Screen Reflectance section for the measurements and details.

 

· HDR High Dynamic Range Mobile HDR Display

The Pixel 4 XL provides High Dynamic Range Mobile HDR, with support for HDR10, which allows it to play 4K High Dynamic Range content made for 4K UHD TVs. High Dynamic Range (HDR) is the newest performance enhancement feature developed for the latest 4K Ultra HD TVs. HDR provides expanded the Color, Contrast, and Brightness of video content. In order to provide Mobile HDR, the Pixel 4 XL has the required Digital Cinema DCI-P3 Wide Color Gamut, High Peak Luminance, plus perfect Blacks and an Infinite Contrast Ratio from its OLED display.

 

· Night Light Mode for Better Night Viewing

The Night Light mode on the Pixel 4 XL is designed to change the color balance of the display in order to reduce the amount of Blue light produced by the display, which some recent research indicates can affect how well users sleep afterwards. In a separate article we explain and analyze the Blue Light issue for displays. The Pixel 4 XL includes a user adjustable slider to vary the amount of Blue light produced by the display, and a timer that allows the Night Light to be turned on and off automatically every day. The measured variation in the display light spectrum with the adjustable Night Light slider is shown in this Figure and below.

 

As the Night Light slider setting is increased, the amount of Blue light emitted by the display decreases. When that happens, White and all screen colors take on an increasing yellowish tint and color cast. At the Middle setting the measured White Color Temperature decreases to 4,100 K, and at the Maximum setting it decreases to 2,700 K, the Color Temperature of traditional incandescent lighting, which is yellowish. With Night Light at its Maximum setting, the measured Blue Light component from the Pixel 4 XL is reduced by 80 percent. Turning down the screen Brightness will further decrease the amount of Blue Light.

 

Note that as the Night Light mode changes the White Point of the display from the 6,500 K Standard, the Absolute Color Accuracy throughout the entire Color Gamut is affected and reduced. The measured display spectra for several of the Night Light settings are included in this Figure and below.

 

 

 

Display Spectra

Click to Enlarge

 

· Always On Display Mode

The Pixel 4 XL has an Always On Display mode that takes advantage of the very low power capability of an OLED display when most of the image pixels are Black, because every sub-pixel is independently powered, and therefore doesn’t use any power when Black. The Always On mode is super power efficient and typically requires only a few percent of the maximum display power. So when the phone is off (in standby) it is possible to always display some text and graphics on a Black background all day and all night without a significant power drain that would reduce the battery running time.

 

The Always On Display produces an illuminated main screen image 24 hours a day so you can always discreetly check it with just a glance. It shows the time, date, battery level, and notifications on the main screen when the phone is off (in standby). The Brightness (Luminance) depends on the Ambient Light level. The day mode has a measured Luminance of about 50 cd/m2 (nits) on a Black background, which is very readable but not distracting for normal indoor ambient lighting, and is visible outdoors if you shade the screen with your hand. The night mode is entered for very low Ambient Light lux levels and has a measured Luminance of 3 nits, so it makes a great Night Clock that won’t disturb you if it’s on your bedside table. In addition, the Always On Display mode is turned off when it senses a dark confined space so the battery isn’t wasted in a pocket or pocketbook.

 

· Super Dim Setting

The Pixel 4 XL also has a Super Dim Setting that allows the Maximum Screen Brightness to be set all the way down to just 2 cd/m2 (nits) using the Brightness Slider. This is perfect for night use on a beside table, and useful for working comfortably without eye strain or bothering others in very dark environments, or affecting the eye’s dark adaptation, such as when using a telescope. The display still provides full 24-bit color and the picture quality remains excellent.

 

· Dark Theme

Google has introduced a new Dark Theme display setting that inverts the typical White Background with Black Text to a Black Background with White Text. This significantly reduces the overall Brightness of the entire display for most applications, and should reduce eye strain when viewing the display in low to dark ambient light. An additional bonus is that switching to a Black Background will in most cases significantly reduce the battery power used by the OLED display. For example, for the Calendar application, at the Maximum Brightness setting, switching to the Dark Theme reduces the Display Power from 2.4 watts down to 0.4 watts, which will significantly increase the Running Time on Battery.

 

· Ambient EQ Viewing Mode

The Pixel 4 XL Ambient EQ viewing mode automatically adjusts the display based on the surrounding color and lighting conditions, making it easier to view content as the color temperature adapts to the environment.

 

The Ambient EQ viewing mode automatically changes the White Point and color balance of the display based on real-time measurements of the Ambient Light falling on the screen. The idea is to make the display behave more like paper reflecting ambient light and taking on its color. It is implemented with an Ambient Light sensor that measures the Color of the Ambient Light in addition to its Brightness. Note that as the display White Point changes from the 6,500 K Standard the Absolute Color Accuracy throughout the entire Color Gamut is affected and reduced.

 

· Diamond Sub-Pixels

A Diamond Sub-Pixel layout is used on most Smartphone OLED displays rather than an RGB Stripe pattern that is used for most LCDs. The Red, Green, and Blue sub-pixels have very different sizes -- Blue is by far the largest because it has the lowest light emission efficiency, and Green is by far the smallest because it has the highest efficiency. The alternating Red and Blue sub-pixel arrangement leads to a 45 degree diagonal diamond symmetry in the sub-pixel layout. This allows vertical, horizontal, and particularly diagonal line segments and vectors to be drawn with reduced aliasing and artifacts. In order to maximize the sub-pixel packing and achieve the highest possible pixels per inch (ppi), that leads to a Diamond rather than Square or Striped arrangement of the Sub-Pixels.

 

· Viewing Angle Performance

While Smartphones are primarily single viewer devices, the variation in display performance with viewing angle is still very important because single viewers frequently hold the display at a variety of viewing angles. The angle is often up to 30 degrees, more if the phone is resting on a table or desk.

 

While LCDs typically experience a 55 percent or greater decrease in Brightness at a 30 degree Viewing Angle, the OLED Pixel 4 XL display shows a much smaller 24 percent decrease in Brightness at 30 degrees. This also applies to multiple side-by-side viewers as well, and is a significant advantage of OLED displays.

 

All displays have Color Shifts with Viewing Angle

OLED displays generally have smaller Color Shifts with Viewing Angle than most LCDs (except for IPS and FFS based LCD displays). For OLEDs the Color Shifts with Viewing Angle result primarily from the Cavity Effect that that is used to increase the Brightness efficiency of the display. The Color Shifts throughout the Color Gamut then vary as combinations of the Primary Red, Green, and Blue Color Shifts.

 

The Color Shift of White, which is the most common background color is particularly noticeable on many OLED and LCD displays.

The Pixel 4 XL has a relatively small White Shift of 2.1 JNCD at 30 degrees, which is unlikely to be noticeable for typical Viewing Angles.

 

The Color Shift for the Green Primary is 2.4 JNCD at 30 degrees, which is unlikely to be noticeable for typical Viewing Angles. The Color Shift for the Red Primary is 4.4 JNCD at 30 degrees, which is somewhat larger than the 3.5 JNCD needed for a Very Good Green rating, and may be noticeable for some color content but not objectionable.

 

The Color Shift for the Blue Primary is 4.2 JNCD at 30 degrees. But as explained in our Absolute Color Accuracy Display Technology Shoot-Out article, the color accuracy of Blue Region covering the entire range from Cyan to Magenta is generally less critical for visual color accuracy. While the eye can still detect color differences and color errors in the Blue Region, for the most part we are less likely to notice or be troubled by color differences and discrepancies with colors in the Blue Region. So a larger Blue Color Shift is less noticeable than the Red and Green Color Shifts found in many Smartphone displays.

 

See the Viewing Angles section for the measurements and details.

 

· Viewing Tests Performance

The Pixel 4 XL provides very nice, pleasing and very accurate colors and picture quality. The very challenging set of DisplayMate Test and Calibration Photos that we use to evaluate picture quality looked absolutely stunning and Beautiful, even to my experienced hyper-critical eyes.

 

The Pixel 4 XL excels due to its impressive Absolute Color Accuracy (0.5 JNCD), which is Visually Indistinguishable from Perfect, and is very likely considerably better than any mobile display, monitor, TV or UHD TV that you have. So photos, videos, and online content and merchandise will appear correct and beautiful. See the Color Accuracy Figures and the Colors and Intensities section for quantitative details.

 

· Display Power Efficiency

The Display’s Power Efficiency is extremely important for Battery Running Time because the display can use up to 60% of the Total Pixel 4 XL Power for an all White Screen at the Maximum Brightness setting. For Maximum Brightness and Display Power the Pixel 4 XL has a 6% higher Display Power Efficiency compared to the Pixel 3 XL.

 

While LCDs remain more power efficient for images with mostly full screen White content (like all text screens on a White background, for example), OLEDs are more power efficient for typical mixed image content because they are emissive displays so their power varies with the Average Picture Level (average Brightness) of the image content over the entire screen. For OLEDs, Black pixels and sub-pixels don’t use any power so screens with Black or dark backgrounds are very power efficient for OLEDs. For LCDs the display power is fixed and independent of image content. Currently, OLED displays are more power efficient than LCDs for Average Pictures Levels of 70 percent or less, and LCDs are more power efficient for Average Picture Levels above 70 percent. Since both technologies are continuing to improve their power efficiencies, the crossover will continue to change with time. See the Display Power section for the measurements and details.

 

· Display Related Enhancements

 

· The Pixel 4 XL has a water protection rating of IP68, which means you can comfortably view the display in typical wet indoor and outdoor conditions – even carefully use it in a tub or shower, and it should be fine if you accidentally drop it in a sink or toilet. Note that water resistance may be reduced over time from normal wear and tear.

 

· The Pixel 4 XL can be used with Polarized Sunglasses in both the Portrait and Landscape orientations unlike many LCDs, which generally work in only one of the two orientations.

 

· The Pixel 4 XL has Gorilla Glass 5, which provides much higher resistance to scratching and breakage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Color Gamuts

Click to Enlarge

 

Color Accuracy

Click to Enlarge

 

Color Shifts

Click to Enlarge

 

Intensity Scales

Click to Enlarge

 

Display Spectra

Click to Enlarge

 

 

Pixel 4 XL Conclusions:

The primary goal of this Display Technology Shoot-Out article series has always been to publicize and promote display excellence so that consumers, journalists and even manufacturers are aware of and appreciate the very best in displays and display technology. We point out which manufactures and display technologies are leading and advancing the state-of-the-art for displays by performing comprehensive and objective scientific Lab tests and measurements together with in-depth analysis. We point out who is leading, who is behind, who is improving, and sometimes (unfortunately) who is back pedaling… all based solely on the extensive objective careful Lab measurements that we also publish, so that everyone can judge the data for themselves as well.

 

Summary of the Pixel 4 XL Display Functions, Features, and Performance Records:

The Pixel 4 XL has many major and important state-of-the-art display performance enhancements, features and functions, including a number of Display Performance Records, which are summarized below.

 

See the Display Shoot-Out Comparison Table section below for the complete DisplayMate Lab measurements and test details.

 

See the Display Highlights and Performance Results section above for a detailed overview with expanded discussions and explanations.

 

See the Display Assessments section for the evaluation details.

 

The Pixel 4 XL has the following State-of-the-Art Display Performance Functions and Features:

 

· A state-of-the-art OLED display that is manufactured on a flexible plastic substrate. While the OLED display itself is flexible, the screen remains rigid under an outer hard cover glass.

 

· A Full Screen design with a large 6.3 inch OLED display that fills almost the entire front face of the Pixel 4 XL from edge-to-edge, providing a significantly larger display for the same phone size.

 

· A display form factor with a taller height to width Aspect Ratio of 19 : 9 = 2.11, which is 19% larger than the 16 : 9 = 1.78 on most Smartphones (and widescreen TVs) because the display now has the same overall shape as the entire phone. It is taller in Portrait mode and wider in Landscape mode.

 

· A 3K High Resolution 3040 x 1440 Quad HD+ Display with 537 pixels per inch, and Diamond Sub-Pixels with Sub-Pixel Rendering for enhanced sharpness and higher Peak Brightness.

 

· The Pixel 4 XL display appears Perfectly Sharp for normal 20/20 Vision at Typical Smartphone Viewing Distances of 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 cm).

 

· A Full Screen Peak Brightness of 444 nits for 100% APL, which improves screen visibility in high Ambient Light.

 

· Peak Brightness that is Independent of the on-screen Image Content.

 

· Each Pixel 4 XL display is individually calibrated at the factory for both Color Accuracy and Contrast Accuracy.

 

· Very High Absolute Color Accuracy (0.5 JNCD) that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.

 

· Very High Image and Picture Contrast Accuracy and Intensity Scale Accuracy (2.19 Gamma) that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.

 

· Color Accuracy and Intensity Scales that are Independent of the Image Content APL.

 

· Automatic Color Management that automatically switches to the proper Color Gamut for any displayed image content within the Wide DCI-P3 Color Space that has an ICC Profile, so images automatically appear with the correct colors, neither being over-saturated or under-saturated.

 

· 2 Industry Standard Color Gamuts: the sRGB / Rec.709 Color Gamut that is used for most current consumer content, and the new Wide DCI-P3 Color Gamut that is used in 4K Ultra HD TVs. The DCI-P3 Gamut is 26 percent larger than the sRGB / Rec.709 Gamut.

 

· A full 100% DCI-P3 Color Gamut that is also used for 4K Ultra HD TVs, so the Pixel 4 XL can display the latest high-end 4K video content.

 

· A High Dynamic Range Mobile HDR Display which allows the Pixel 4 XL to play 4K High Dynamic Range content produced for 4K UHD TVs.

 

· A Very Low Screen Reflectance of 4.4 percent.

 

· An Always On Display with day and night modes.

 

· A Night Light Mode that allows the user to adjust and reduce the amount of Blue Light from the display for better night viewing and improved sleep.

 

· A Dark Theme setting that inverts the typical White Background with Black Text to a Black Background with White Text, which significantly reduces the overall Brightness of the entire display for most applications, and should reduce eye strain when viewing the display in low to dark ambient light.

 

· An Ambient EQ viewing mode that automatically changes the White Point and color balance of the display based on real-time measurements of the Ambient Light falling on the screen to make the display behave more like paper reflecting Ambient Light and taking on its color.

 

· Small to Medium Color Shifts and Small Brightness Shifts with Viewing Angle.

 

· Vision Accessibility Display Modes to help people with vision impairments.

 

· The Pixel 4 XL can be used with Polarized Sunglasses in both the Portrait and Landscape orientations unlike many LCDs, which generally work in only one of the two orientations.

 

The Pixel 4 XL matches or sets new Smartphone Display Performance Records for:

Note that Numerical Performance Differences that are Visually Indistinguishable are considered Matched and Tied Performance Records.

 

·  Highest  Absolute Color Accuracy  (0.5 JNCD)  –  Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.

 

·  Highest  Image Contrast Accuracy and Intensity Scale Accuracy  (2.19 Gamma)  –  Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.

 

·  Smallest  Shift in Color Accuracy with the Image Content APL  (0.2 JNCD)  –  Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.

 

·  Smallest  Shift in Image Contrast and Intensity Scale with the Image Content APL  (0.01 Gamma)  –  Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.

 

·  Smallest  Change in Peak Luminance with the Image Content Average Picture Level APL  (1 percent)  –  Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.

 

·  Highest  Contrast Ratio  (Infinite).

 

·  Lowest  Screen Reflectance  (4.4 percent).

 

·  Smallest  Brightness Variation with Viewing Angle  (24% at 30 degrees).

 

·  Highest  Visible Screen Resolution 3K (3040x1440)  –  4K Does Not appear visually sharper on a Smartphone.

 

DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Award

OLED has evolved into a highly refined and mature display technology that now produces the best and highest performance displays for Smartphones.

OLED Display Performance continues to provide major Record Setting improvements with every new generation.

 

With consumers now spending rapidly increasing amounts of time watching content on their Smartphones, the shift in emphasis from primarily improving Display Hardware Performance to enhancing the overall Display Picture Quality and Color Accuracy is an important step that DisplayMate Technologies has been pushing for many years in our Display Technology Shoot-Out article series, so it is great to see manufactures improving and then competing on these metrics.

 

The Pixel 4 XL has a Very Impressive Top Tier Display with close to Text Book Perfect Calibration and Performance!

Google has continued to raise the on-screen Absolute Picture Quality and Absolute Color Accuracy of their displays by implementing Precision Factory Display Calibration, moving the overall Pixel 4 XL display performance up to Record Setting Outstanding levels, and setting or matching many Display Performance Records, including Absolute Color Accuracy at a very impressive 0.5 JNCD that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and almost certainly considerably better than your existing Smartphone, 4K UHD TV, Tablet, Laptop and computer monitor. Compared to the Pixel 3 XL, the Pixel 4 XL has a number of notable improvements including 10% higher Peak Brightness, much higher Absolute Color Accuracy, and improved Display Power Efficiency.

 

The Pixel 4 XL delivers uniformly consistent all around Top Tier display performance and receives All Green (Very Good to Excellent) Ratings in all of the DisplayMate Lab Test and Measurement Categories except Yellow (Good) for larger Color Shifts at 30 degrees Viewing Angle (4.2 JNCD and 4.4 JNCD).

 

See the links below for all of the measurements, analysis and assessments:

 

Data Tables:    See the Display Shoot-Out Lab Measurements Comparison Table section below for all of the measurements and details.

 

Highlights:       See the Display Highlights and Performance Results section above for expanded discussions and explanations.

 

Features:         See the Display Performance Functions and Features section above.

 

Records:          See the Display Performance Records section above.

 

Assessments:   See the Display Assessments section below for the evaluation details.

 

Based on our extensive Lab Tests and Measurements the Pixel 4 XL receives our DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Award earning DisplayMate’s highest ever A+ grade by providing considerably better display performance than other competing Smartphones.

 

Top Tier of Smartphone Displays

The Pixel 4 XL joins the very select Top Tier of Smartphone Displays which all provide Close to Text Book Perfect Calibration Accuracy and Performance that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, so they received and maintain Concurrent DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Awards. All are Excellent State-of-the-Art Displays, each is better in some Display Performance Categories, but None are Best in All the Display Performance Categories. Note that measured numerical display performance differences that are Visually Indistinguishable are equivalent.

 

As Display Performance continues to improve we have and will continue to raise the Performance Levels necessary to receive a DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Award, so the Top Tier of Smartphone Displays will continue to evolve and change with each new generation.

 

OLED displays now have tremendous performance advantages over LCDs, so high-end and flagship Smartphones need OLED displays in order to compete at state-of-the-art performance levels, securing OLED as the definitive premier display technology for Top Tier Smartphones in the foreseeable future over the next 3-5 years. With the continuing improvements in OLED hardware performance, picture quality, and precision accuracy, it will be much harder for new display technologies to challenge OLED.

 

Follow DisplayMate on Twitter to learn about our upcoming Smartphone display technology coverage.

 

Improving the Next Generation of Mobile Displays

The Pixel 4 XL has a very high resolution 3K 3040x1440 pixel display with 537 pixels per inch (ppi) producing images that look perfectly sharp with normal 20/20 Vision under all normal viewing conditions, which always includes some ambient light that always lowers the visible image contrast and perceived image sharpness (Modulation Transfer MTF). Note that displays are almost never viewed in absolute darkness under perfect viewing conditions with ideal image content. Some clueless reviewers have been pining for 4K 3840x2160 Smartphones, which would require almost double the pixels, memory, and processing power of the 3040x1440 display on the Pixel 4 XL, but there would be no visual benefit for humans! As a result, it is absolutely pointless to further increase the display resolution and pixels per inch (ppi) for a marketing wild goose chase into the stratosphere, with no visual benefit for humans!

 

Improving Display Performance for Real World Ambient Light Viewing Conditions

With screen size and resolution already functionally maxed out, manufacturers should instead dedicate their efforts and resources into improving real world display performance in ambient light by using advanced technology to restore and compensate for the loss of color gamut, color saturation, and image contrast due to ambient light, something that every consumer will benefit from, and will also immediately notice and appreciate – providing a true sales and marketing advantage…

 

Currently all existing displays are Accurate only when viewed in Absolute Darkness 0 lux. The most important improvements for OLED and LCD mobile displays will come from improving their image and picture quality and screen readability in Real World Ambient Light, which washes out the screen images, resulting in Reduced Image Contrast, Reduced Color Saturation, and Reduce Color Accuracy. The key will be in lowering the Screen Reflectance and implementing Dynamic Color Management with automatic real-time modification of the display’s native Color Gamut and Dynamic Intensity Scales based on the measured Ambient Light level in order to have them compensate for the reflected light glare and image wash out that causes a loss of color saturation and image contrast from ambient light as discussed in our Innovative Displays and Display Technology and SID Display Technology Shoot-Out articles.

 

The displays, technologies, and manufacturers that succeed in implementing this new real world high ambient light performance strategy will take the lead in the next generations of mobile displays… Follow DisplayMate on Twitter to learn about these developments and our upcoming display technology coverage.

 

DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology

All Smartphone, Tablet, Monitor and TV displays can be significantly improved using DisplayMate’s proprietary very advanced scientific analysis and mathematical display modeling and optimization of the display hardware, factory calibration, and driver parameters. We help manufacturers with expert display procurement, prototype development, display performance improvement and optimization, testing displays to meet contract specifications, and production quality control so that they don’t make mistakes similar to those that are exposed in our public Display Technology Shoot-Out series for consumers. This article is a lite version of our advanced scientific analysis – before the benefits of our DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology, which can correct or improve all of these issues. If you are a display or product manufacturer and want to significantly improve display performance for a competitive advantage then Contact DisplayMate Technologies.

 

Pixel 4 XL

 

Pixel 4 XL Display Shoot-Out Lab Measurements Comparison Table

Below we examine in-depth the OLED display on the Google Pixel 4 XL based on objective Lab measurement data

and criteria in the following sections:  Display SpecificationsOverall AssessmentsScreen ReflectionsBrightness and Contrast,

Colors and IntensitiesAbsolute Color AccuracyViewing AnglesOLED SpectraDisplay Power.

 

For additional background information see this earlier article covering the Flagship OLED 2017 Smartphones.

 

Detailed Test and Measurement Comparisons between the Pixel 4 XL, the Pixel 3 XL, and the Galaxy Note10+ Displays

You can directly compare the data and measurement results for the Pixel 4 XL with the Pixel 3 XL and Galaxy Note10+ displays

in detail by using a Tabbed web browser with our comprehensive Lab measurements and analysis for each of the displays.

For each Tab click on a Link below. The entries are mostly identical with only minor formatting differences,

so it is easy to make detailed side-by-side comparisons by simply clicking through the Tabs.

Google Pixel 4 XL Lab Measurements Comparison Table

Google Pixel 3 XL Lab Measurements Comparison Table

Samsung Galaxy Note10+ Lab Measurements Comparison Table

 

For comparisons with the other leading Smartphone, Tablet, and Smart Watch displays see our Mobile Display Technology Shoot-Out series.

 

Categories

 Google Pixel 4 XL

Comments

Display Technology

Flexible OLED Display with Diamond Sub-Pixels

6.3 inch Diagonal  / 15.9 cm Diagonal

Excluding the Rounded Corners

Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode

Diamond Sub-Pixels with Diagonal Symmetry.

 

Screen Shape

19 : 9 = 2.11

New Higher Aspect Ratio

Most Smartphones and Widescreen TVs have 16 : 9 = 1.78

Height to Width Aspect Ratio

Pixel 4 XL display screen is 19% longer than

most Smartphones and widescreen 16:9 TV content.

Screen Size

   2.68 x 5.66 inches

6.81 x 14.38 cm

Display Width and Height in inches and cm.

Screen Area

15.2 square inches  / 98 square cm

Excluding the Rounded Corners

A better measure of size than the diagonal length.

Supported Color Gamuts

Wide Gamut  –  DCI-P3 Digital Cinema Color Gamut

Standard Gamut  –  sRGB / Rec.709 Standard Color Gamut

The Pixel 4 XL supports 2 Color Gamuts including

the new wider DCI-P3 Color Gamut that is

used in the 4K Ultra HD TV content.

Display Resolution

3040 x 1440 pixels

3K  Quad HD+

Screen Pixel Resolution.

Quad HD can display four 1280x720 HD images.

Total Number of Pixels

4.4 Mega Pixels

Total Number of Pixels.

Pixels Per Inch

537 PPI with Diamond Sub-Pixels

Excellent

Sharpness depends on the viewing distance and PPI.

See this on the visual acuity for a true Retina Display

Sub-Pixels Per Inch

    Red  380 SPPI

 Green  537 SPPI

   Blue  380 SPPI

Diamond Sub-Pixel displays have only half the number

of Red and Blue Sub-Pixels as RGB Stripe displays.

See Diamond Sub-Pixels

Total Number of Sub-Pixels

   Red  2.2 Million Sub-Pixels

Green  4.4 Million Sub-Pixels

  Blue  2.2 Million Sub-Pixels

Number of Mega Sub-Pixels for Red, Green, Blue.

Diamond Sub-Pixel displays have only half the number

of Red and Blue Sub-Pixels as RGB Stripe displays.

At High PPI this is generally not visible due to the

use of Sub-Pixel Rendering.

20/20 Vision Distance

where Pixels or Sub-Pixels

are Not Resolved

        6.4 inches / 16.3 cm for White and Green Sub-Pixels with 20/20 Vision

   9.1 inches / 23.0 cm for Red and Blue Sub-Pixels with 20/20 Vision

For 20/20 Vision the minimum Viewing Distance

where the screen appears perfectly sharp to the eye.

Display Sharpness

at Typical Viewing Distances

 Pixel 4 XL Display appears Perfectly Sharp

Pixels are not Resolved with 20/20 Vision

at Typical Viewing Distances of

     12 to 18 inches

30 to 46 cm

The Typical Viewing Distances for this screen size

are in the range of 12 to 18 inches or 30 to 46 cm.

 

Also note that eye’s resolution is much lower for

Red and Blue color content than White and Green.

Appears Perfectly Sharp

at Typical Viewing Distances

 Yes

Typical Viewing Distances are 12 to 18 inches

or 30 to 46 cm for this screen size.

Photo Viewer Color Depth

 Full 24-bit Color

No Dithering Visible

256 Intensity Levels

Some Smartphones and Tablets still have some

form of 16-bit color depth in the Gallery Viewer.

The Google Pixel 4 XL does not have this issue.

 

Overall Assessments

This section summarizes the results for all of the extensive Lab Measurements and Viewing Tests performed on the display.

See  Screen ReflectionsBrightness and ContrastColors and IntensitiesViewing AnglesOLED SpectraDisplay Power.

 

The Pixel 4 XL Color Management automatically switches to the appropriate Color Gamut for the current on-screen content.

Note that all of the tests and measurements are with the Natural Color Mode which provides the Highest Accuracy.

 

The DCI-P3 Digital Cinema Gamut is used in 4K Ultra HD TVs, and other advanced imaging applications.

The sRGB / Rec.709 Gamut is used for most current consumer photo, video, web, and computer content.

 

Categories

Wide Gamut

DCI-P3 Digital Cinema

Standard Gamut

sRGB / Rec.709 Content

Comments

Viewing Tests

in Subdued Ambient Lighting

 

 

 

 Excellent Images

Photos and Videos

have Excellent Color

and Accurate Contrast

 

Accurate Wide Gamut

Excellent Images

Photos and Videos

have Excellent Color

and Accurate Contrast

 

Accurate Standard Gamut

The Viewing Tests examine the accuracy of

photographic images by comparing the displays

to an calibrated studio monitor and TV.

 

 

 

Variation with Viewing Angle

Colors and Brightness

 

See Viewing Angles

 

 Small to Medium Color Shifts

with Viewing Angle

 

Small Brightness Shifts

with Viewing Angle

Small to Medium Color Shifts

with Viewing Angle

 

Small Brightness Shifts

with Viewing Angle

The Pixel 4 XL display has a relatively small

decrease in Brightness with Viewing Angle and

relatively small Color Shifts with Viewing Angle.

 

See the Viewing Angles section for details.

Overall Display Assessment

Lab Tests and Measurements

 

 Excellent OLED Display

Accurate Wide Gamut

Excellent OLED Display

Accurate Standard Gamut

The Pixel 4 XL OLED Display performed

very well in the Lab Tests and Measurements.

 

Absolute Color Accuracy

Measured over Entire Gamut

 

See Figure 2 and Colors

Excellent Color Accuracy

Color Errors are Very Small

Accurate Wide Gamut

 

Excellent Color Accuracy

Color Errors are Very Small

Accurate Standard Gamut

 

Absolute Color Accuracy is measured with a

Spectroradiometer for 41 Reference Colors

uniformly distributed within the entire Color Gamut.

 

See Figure 2 and Colors for details.

Image Contrast Accuracy

 

See Figure 3 and Contrast

Excellent Accuracy

Image Contrast

Very Accurate

Excellent Accuracy

Image Contrast

Very Accurate

The Image Contrast Accuracy is determined by

measuring the Log Intensity Scale and Gamma.

 

See Figure 3 and Contrast for details.

Performance in Ambient Light

Display Brightness

Screen Reflectance

Contrast Rating

 

See Brightness and Contrast

See Screen Reflections

High Display Brightness

Very Low Reflectance

 

High Contrast Rating

for Ambient Light

 

 

High Display Brightness

Very Low Reflectance

 

High Contrast Rating

for Ambient Light

 

 

Smartphones are seldom used in the dark.

Screen Brightness and Reflectance determine

the Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light.

 

See the Brightness and Contrast section for details.

See the Screen Reflections section for details.

 

Overall Display Calibration

Image and Picture Quality

Lab Tests and Viewing Tests

Excellent Calibration

Accurate Wide Gamut

Excellent Calibration

Accurate Standard Gamut

Pixel 4 XL display delivers accurately calibrated

colors and images for both the Wide Gamut and

the Standard Gamut.

 

Overall Display Grade

Overall Assessment

 

Overall Pixel 4 XL Display Grade is Excellent A+

DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Award

An Excellent Top Tier World Class Smartphone Display

Major Display Performance Improvements to the Pixel 3 XL

 

The Pixel 4 XL display delivers excellent

image quality, has both Wide Color Gamut

and Standard Color Gamut modes, with

high Screen Brightness and low Reflectance,

has good Viewing Angles, and is an all around

top performing Smartphone display.

 

Accurate Wide Gamut

For Viewing 4K UHD TV

DCI-P3 Cinema Content

Accurate Standard Gamut

For Viewing Most Content

Photo Video Movie Web

Categories

Wide Gamut

DCI-P3 Digital Cinema

Standard Gamut

sRGB / Rec.709 Content

Comments

 

Screen Reflections

All display screens are mirrors good enough to use for personal grooming – but that is actually a very bad feature…

We measured the light reflected from all directions and also direct mirror (specular) reflections, which are much more

distracting and cause more eye strain. Many Smartphones still have greater than 10 percent reflections that make the

screen much harder to read even in moderate ambient light levels, requiring ever higher brightness settings that waste

precious battery power. Hopefully manufacturers will reduce the mirror reflections with anti-reflection coatings and

matte or haze surface finishes.

 

Our Lab Measurements include Average Reflectance for Ambient Light from All Directions and for Mirror Reflections.

We use an Integrating Hemisphere and a highly collimated pencil light beam together with a Spectroradiometer.

Note the Screen Reflectance is exactly the same for both Color Gamuts.

 

The Pixel 4 XL has one of the lowest Screen Reflectance levels that we have ever measured for a Smartphone.

These results are extremely important for screen readability, picture quality, and color accuracy in ambient light.

 

Categories

 Pixel 4 XL

Comments

Average Screen Reflection

Light From All Directions

4.4 percent

for Ambient Light Reflections

Excellent

Measured using an Integrating Hemisphere and

a Spectroradiometer.

The lowest value we have ever measured

for a Smartphone is 4.3 percent.

Mirror Reflections

Percentage of Light Reflected

 5.7 percent

for Mirror Reflections

Very Good

These are the most annoying types of Reflections.

Measured using a Spectroradiometer and a narrow

collimated pencil beam of light reflected off the screen.

The lowest value we have ever measured

for a Smartphone is 5.4 percent.

 

Brightness and Contrast

The Contrast Ratio is the specification that gets the most attention, but it only applies for low ambient light, which is seldom

the case for mobile displays.

 

Much more important is the Contrast Rating, which indicates how easy it is to read the screen under

high ambient lighting and depends on both the Maximum Brightness and the Screen Reflectance. The larger the better.

The display’s actual on-screen Contrast Ratio changes with the Ambient Light lux level and is proportional to the Contrast Rating.

 

Categories

Wide Gamut

DCI-P3 Digital Cinema

Standard Gamut

sRGB / Rec.709 Content

Comments

Home Screen Peak Brightness

Measured for White

Brightness 444 cd/m2

Very Good

Brightness 444 cd/m2

Very Good

The Peak Brightness for White on the Home Screen.

Varies with the Wallpaper selected.

Measured Average Brightness

50% Average Picture Level

Brightness 445 cd/m2

Very Good

Brightness 446 cd/m2

Very Good

This is the Brightness for typical screen content

that has a 50% Average Picture Level.

Measured Full Brightness

100% Full Screen White

Brightness 442 cd/m2

Very Good

Brightness 446 cd/m2

Very Good

This is the Brightness for a screen that is entirely

all white with 100% Average Picture Level.

Measured Peak Brightness

1% Average Picture Level

Brightness 445 cd/m2

Very Good

Brightness 448 cd/m2

Very Good

This is the Peak Brightness for a screen that

has only a tiny 1% Average Picture Level.

Dynamic Brightness

Change in Luminance with

Average Picture Level

1 percent Decrease

Excellent

0.5 percent Decrease

Excellent

This is the percent Brightness decrease with APL,

Average Picture Level. Ideally should be 0 percent.

 

Low Ambient Light

Lowest Peak Brightness

Super Dim Setting

Brightness Slider to Minimum

2 cd/m2

For Very Low Light

2 cd/m2

For Very Low Light

This is the Lowest Brightness with the Slider set to

Minimum. This is useful for working in very dark

environments. Picture Quality remains Excellent.

Black Brightness at 0 lux

at Maximum Brightness Setting

0 cd/m2

Outstanding

0 cd/m2

Outstanding

Black Brightness is important for Low Ambient Light,

which is seldom the case for mobile devices.

Contrast Ratio at 0 lux

Relevant for Low Ambient Light

Infinite

Outstanding

Infinite

Outstanding

Only relevant for Low Ambient Light,

which is seldom the case for mobile devices.

 

High Ambient Light

Measured Auto Brightness

in High Ambient Light

with Automatic Brightness On

 

Auto Brightness

in High Ambient Light

442 – 445 cd/m2

Very Good

Auto Brightness

in High Ambient Light

446 – 448 cd/m2

Very Good

The Maximum Brightness is the same

for both the Manual and Auto Brightness modes.

Contrast Rating

for High Ambient Light

 

The Higher the Better

for Screen Readability

in High Ambient Light

 100 – 101

Very Good

 

 

 101 – 102

Very Good

 

 

Depends on the Screen Reflectance and Brightness.

Defined as Maximum Brightness / Average Reflectance.

 

The display’s actual on-screen Contrast Ratio

changes with the Ambient Light lux level and

is proportional to the Contrast Rating.

Screen Readability

in High Ambient Light

 

 Excellent:  A

 

 

Excellent:  A

 

 

Indicates how easy it is to read the screen

under High Ambient Lighting. Depends on

both the Screen Reflectance and Brightness.

See High Ambient Light Screen Shots

 

Colors and Intensities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1

Color Gamuts

Click to Enlarge

 

Figure 2

Color Accuracy

Click to Enlarge

 

Figure 3

Intensity Scales

Click to Enlarge

 

Figure 4

Color Shifts

Click to Enlarge

 

 

The Color Gamut, Intensity Scale, and White Point determine the quality and accuracy of all displayed images and all

the image colors. Bigger is definitely Not Better because the display needs to match all the standards that were used

when the content was produced.

 

The Pixel 4 XL Color Management automatically switches to the appropriate Color Gamut for the current on-screen content.

 

Categories

Wide Gamut

DCI-P3 Digital Cinema

Standard Gamut

sRGB / Rec.709 Content

Comments

Color of White

Color Temperature in degrees

 

Measured in the dark at 0 lux

See Figure 1

 6,610 K

0.4 JNCD from D65 White

 

Very Close to Standard

Accurate Wide Gamut

 

See Figure 1

6,640 K

0.5 JNCD from D65 White

 

Very Close to Standard

Accurate Standard Gamut

 

See Figure 1

D65 with 6,500 K is the standard color of White

for most Consumer Content and needed for

accurate color reproduction of all images.

 

JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.

White Point accuracy is more critical than other colors.

 

See Figure 1 for the plotted White Points.

See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD.

Color Gamut

Measured in the dark at 0 lux

 

See Figure 1

 102 percent

DCI-P3 Cinema Gamut

with Natural Color Mode

Very Close to Standard

Accurate Wide Gamut

 

108 percent

DCI-P3 Cinema Gamut

with Boosted Color Mode

Intentionally Over Saturated

 

See Figure 1

103 percent

sRGB / Rec.709 Gamut

with Natural Color Mode

Very Close to Standard

Accurate Standard Gamut

 

119 percent

sRGB / Rec.709 Gamut

with Boosted Color Mode

Intentionally Over Saturated

 

See Figure 1

Most current consumer content uses sRGB / Rec.709.

The new 4K UHD TVs and Digital Cinema use DCI-P3.

 

A Wide Color Gamut is useful in High Ambient Light

and for some applications. It can be used with Color

Management to dynamically change the Gamut.

See Figure 1

 

Absolute Color Accuracy

Absolute Color Accuracy

Natural Color Mode

Average Color Error at 0 lux

 

For 41 Reference Colors

Just Noticeable Color Difference

See Figure 2

 Average Color Error

From DCI-P3

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0018

0.5 JNCD

with Natural Color Mode

Excellent Color Accuracy

Accurate Wide Gamut

 

See Figure 2

Average Color Error

From sRGB / Rec.709

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0018

0.5 JNCD

with Natural Color Mode

Excellent Color Accuracy

Accurate Standard Gamut

 

See Figure 2

JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.

 

See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD and for

Accuracy Plots showing the measured Color Errors.

 

Color Errors below 3.5 JNCD are Very Good.

Color Errors  3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are Good.

Color Errors above 7.0 JNCD are Poor.

 

Absolute Color Accuracy

Natural Color Mode

Largest Color Error at 0 lux

 

For 41 Reference Colors

Just Noticeable Color Difference

See Figure 2

Largest Color Error

From DCI-P3

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0056

1.4 JNCD

for 100% Cyan-Blue

with Natural Color Mode

Excellent Accuracy

Accurate Wide Gamut

 

See Figure 2

Largest Color Error

From sRGB / Rec.709

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0082

2.1 JNCD

for 100% Red

with Natural Color Mode

Very Good Accuracy

Accurate Standard Gamut

 

See Figure 2

JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.

 

See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD and for

Accuracy Plots showing the measured Color Errors.

 

Color Errors below 3.5 JNCD are Very Good.

Color Errors  3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are Good.

Color Errors above 7.0 JNCD are Poor.

 

 

Shifts in Absolute Color Accuracy with Average Picture Level APL

Shifts in Absolute Color Accuracy with Image Content from Low 1% APL to High 50% APL

Shift in the Color of White

Natural Color Mode

 

Just Noticeable Color Difference

 

See Figure 4

White Point Color Shift

from Low to High APL

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0009

0.2 JNCD

Excellent

 

See Figure 4

White Point Color Shift

from Low to High APL

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0008

0.2 JNCD

Excellent

 

See Figure 4

JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference

 

See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD.

See Figure 4 for the measured Color Shifts.

 

Color Shifts below 3.5 JNCD are Very Good.

Color Shifts  3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are Good.

Color Shifts above 7.0 JNCD are Poor.

Average Color Shift

Natural Color Mode

 

For 41 Reference Colors

Just Noticeable Color Difference

 

See Figure 4

Average Color Shift

from Low to High APL

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0008

0.2 JNCD

Excellent

 

See Figure 4

Average Color Shift

from Low to High APL

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0009

0.2 JNCD

Excellent

 

See Figure 4

JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.

 

See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD.

See Figure 4 for the measured Color Shifts.

 

Color Shifts below 3.5 JNCD are Very Good.

Color Shifts  3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are Good.

Color Shifts above 7.0 JNCD are Poor.

Largest Color Shift

Natural Color Mode

 

For 41 Reference Colors

Just Noticeable Color Difference

 

See Figure 4

Largest Color Shift

from Low to High APL

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0015

0.4 JNCD

for 50% Red

Excellent

 

See Figure 4

Largest Color Shift

from Low to High APL

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0021

0.5 JNCD

for 75% Magenta-Red

Excellent

 

See Figure 4

JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference

 

See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD.

See Figure 4 for the measured Color Shifts.

 

Color Shifts below 3.5 JNCD are Very Good.

Color Shifts  3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are Good.

Color Shifts above 7.0 JNCD are Poor.

 

Intensity Scale and Image Contrast Accuracy

Intensity Scale and

Image Contrast

 

See Figure 3

 Very Smooth and Straight

Excellent

Very Accurate

See Figure 3

Very Smooth and Straight

Excellent

Very Accurate

See Figure 3

The Intensity Scale controls image contrast needed

for accurate Image Contrast and Color reproduction.

See Figure 3

Gamma for the Intensity Scale

Larger has more Image Contrast

 

See Figure 3

Gamma 2.19

Excellent

Gamma Very Accurate

 Gamma 2.19

Excellent

Gamma Very Accurate

Gamma is the log slope of the Intensity Scale.

Gamma of 2.20 is the standard and needed for

accurate Image Contrast and Color reproduction.

See Figure 3

Image Contrast Accuracy

 Excellent

Excellent

See Figure 3

 

Viewing Angles

The variation of Brightness, Contrast, and Color with Viewing Angle is especially important for Smartphones because

of their larger screen and multiple viewers. The typical manufacturer 176+ degree specification for LCD Viewing Angle

is nonsense because that is where the Contrast Ratio falls to a miniscule 10. For most LCDs there are substantial

degradations at less than ±30 degrees, which is not an atypical Viewing Angle for Smartphones and Tablets.

 

Note that the Viewing Angle performance is also very important for a single viewer because the Viewing Angle can vary

significantly based on how the Smartphone is held. The Viewing Angle can be very large if resting on a table or desk.

 

The Pixel 4 XL display has a Brightness (Luminance) fall off with Viewing Angle that is much smaller than the best LCD displays.

 

The Pixel 4 XL has a relatively small White Shift of 2.1 JNCD at 30 degrees, which is unlikely to be noticeable for typical Viewing Angles.

 

The Color Shift for the Green Primary is 2.4 JNCD at 30 degrees, which is unlikely to be noticeable for typical Viewing Angles.

 

The Color Shift for the Red Primary is 4.4 JNCD at 30 degrees, which may be noticeable for some color content but not objectionable.

 

The Color Shift for the Blue Primary is 4.2 JNCD at 30 degrees. Blue Color Shifts are less visually noticeable than the

Red and Green Color Shifts found in many Smartphone displays. See the Viewing Angle section for details.

 

Note that for 2019 we now list the Color Shifts for each individual Primary Color instead of only listing the Maximum Color Shift,

which had up to a higher 5.0 JNCD threshold for receiving a Very Good Green Rating. With this new metric all current model

OLED Smartphone Displays that we have tested would receive a Yellow Rating for at least one Primary Color.

 

Categories

Wide Gamut

DCI-P3 Digital Cinema

Standard Gamut

sRGB / Rec.709 Content

Comments

Brightness Decrease

at a 30 degree Viewing Angle

24 percent Decrease

Small Decrease

Very Good

Most screens become less bright when tilted.

OLED decrease is due to optical absorption.

LCD decrease is generally greater than 50 percent.

Contrast Ratio at 0 lux

at a 30 degree Viewing Angle

Infinite Contrast Ratio

Outstanding

A measure of screen readability when the screen

is tilted under low ambient lighting.

White Point Color Shift

at a 30 degree Viewing Angle

Small Color Shift

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0084 Shift towards Blue

 2.1 JNCD  Very Good

JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.

See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD.

Color Shifts below 3.5 JNCD are Very Good.

 

Color Shifts for the Primaries

Red Primary Color Shift

at a 30 degree Viewing Angle

Medium Color Shift

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0177

 4.4 JNCD  Good

JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.

See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD.

Color Shifts  3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are Good

Green Primary Color Shift

at a 30 degree Viewing Angle

Small Color Shift

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0097

 2.4 JNCD  Very Good

JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.

See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD.

Color Shifts below 3.5 JNCD are Very Good.

Blue Primary Color Shift

at a 30 degree Viewing Angle

Medium Color Shift

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0167

 4.2 JNCD  Good

JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.

See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD.

Color Shifts  3.5 to 7.0 JNCD are Good.

 

Color Shifts for Color Mixtures

at a 30 degree Viewing Angle

Reference Brown (255, 128, 0)

 Small Color Shift

Δ(u’v’) = 0.0109

2.7 JNCD  Very Good

JNCD is a Just Noticeable Color Difference.

Color Shifts for non-IPS LCDs are about 10 JNCD.

Reference Brown is a good indicator of color shifts

with angle because of unequal drive levels and

roughly equal luminance contributions from Red

and Green. See Figure 2 for the definition of JNCD.

 

Display Spectra

The Display Spectra for the Pixel 4 XL including the Night Light mode are measured in Figure 5 below.

 

The Night Light mode is designed to change the color balance of the display in order to reduce the amount of Blue Light

produced by the display, which some recent research indicates can affect how well users sleep afterwards.

The measured display spectra for several of the Night Light settings are included in Figure 5b.

 

 

 

Figure 5

Display Spectra

Click to Enlarge

 

 

Display Power Consumption

The display power was measured using a Linear Regression between Luminance and AC Power with a fully charged battery.

 

Since the displays can have different screen sizes and maximum brightness, the display power values below are also scaled

to the same screen Brightness (Luminance) and same Screen Area in order to compare their Relative Power Efficiencies.

 

Comparison with LCDs

While LCDs remain more power efficient for images with mostly full screen white content (like all text screens on a

white background, for example), OLEDs are more power efficient for typical mixed image content because they are

emissive displays so their power varies with the Average Picture Level (average Brightness) of the image content over

the entire screen. For OLEDs, Black pixels and sub-pixels don’t use any power so screens with Black backgrounds are

very power efficient for OLEDs. For LCDs the display power is fixed and independent of image content.

 

Currently, OLED displays are more power efficient than LCDs for Average Pictures Levels of 70 percent or less, and

LCDs are more power efficient for Average Picture Levels above 70 percent.

Since both technologies are continuing to improve their power efficiencies, the crossover will continue to change with time.

 

For OLEDs the Display Power depends on the Picture Content.

An entirely Black OLED Screen uses 0 watts of Display Power.

 

For Maximum Brightness and Display Power the Pixel 4 XL has a 6% higher Relative Display Power Efficiency

compared to the Pixel 3 XL.

 

When the display is at Full Screen White at Maximum Brightness the display uses 60% of the total Pixel 4 XL power,

so the display settings are a major factor in the Battery Running Time.

 

Categories

Pixel 3 XL

Pixel 4 XL

Comments

Average Display Power

Maximum Brightness at

50% Average Picture Level

50% Average Picture Level

 

1.05 watts

with 416 cd/m2

15.2 inch2 Screen Area

50% Average Picture Level

 

1.10 watts

with 446 cd/m2

15.2 inch2 Screen Area

This measures the Average Display Power for

a typical range of image content.

 

 

 

Relative Power Efficiency

50% Average Picture Level

Compared to Pixel 3 XL

For the same 416 cd/m2

For the same Screen Area

Relative Average Power 100%

 

 1.05 watts

 with the same 416 cd/m2

with the same 15.2 inch2 Screen Area

Relative Average Power 93%

 

0.98 watts

 with the same 416 cd/m2

with the same 15.2 inch2 Screen Area

This compares the Relative Power Efficiency

by scaling the measured Display Power to the

same Screen Brightness and same Screen Area

as the Pixel 3 XL.

 

Maximum Display Power

Full White Screen

at Maximum Brightness

Maximum Power

Full Screen White

 

2.10 watts

 with 405 cd/m2

15.2 inch2 Screen Area

Maximum Power

Full Screen White

 

2.15 watts

 with 446 cd/m2

15.2 inch2 Screen Area

This measures the Maximum Display power for

a screen that is entirely Peak White.

 

 

 

 

Relative Power Efficiency

Maximum Display Power

Compared to Pixel 3 XL

For the same 405 cd/m2

For the same Screen Area

Relative Maximum Power 100%

 

2.10 watts

 with the same 405 cd/m2

with the same 15.2 inch2 Screen Area

Relative Maximum Power 94%

 

1.97 watts

 with the same 405 cd/m2

with the same 15.2 inch2 Screen Area

This compares the Relative Power Efficiency

by scaling the measured Display Power to the

same Screen Brightness and same Screen Area

as the Pixel 3 XL.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

Dr. Raymond Soneira is President of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation of Amherst, New Hampshire, which produces display calibration, evaluation, and diagnostic products for consumers, technicians, and manufacturers. See www.displaymate.com. He is a research scientist with a career that spans physics, computer science, and television system design. Dr. Soneira obtained his Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Princeton University, spent 5 years as a Long-Term Member of the world famous Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, another 5 years as a Principal Investigator in the Computer Systems Research Laboratory at AT&T Bell Laboratories, and has also designed, tested, and installed color television broadcast equipment for the CBS Television Network Engineering and Development Department. He has authored over 35 research articles in scientific journals in physics and computer science, including Scientific American. If you have any comments or questions about the article, you can contact him at dtso.info@displaymate.com.

 

DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology

All Smartphone, Tablet, Monitor and TV displays can be significantly improved using DisplayMate’s proprietary very advanced scientific analysis and mathematical display modeling and optimization of the display hardware, factory calibration, and driver parameters. We help manufacturers with expert display procurement, prototype development, display performance improvement and optimization, testing displays to meet contract specifications, and production quality control so that they don’t make mistakes similar to those that are exposed in our public Display Technology Shoot-Out series for consumers. This article is a lite version of our advanced scientific analysis – before the benefits of our DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology, which can correct or improve all of these issues. If you are a display or product manufacturer and want to significantly improve display performance for a competitive advantage then Contact DisplayMate Technologies.

 

About DisplayMate Technologies

DisplayMate Technologies specializes in proprietary advanced scientific display calibration and mathematical display optimization to deliver unsurpassed objective performance, picture quality and accuracy for all types of displays including video and computer monitors, projectors, TVs, mobile displays such as Smartphones and Tablets, and all display technologies including LCD, OLED, 3D, LED, LCoS, Plasma, DLP and CRT. This article is a lite version of our intensive scientific analysis of Smartphone and Smartphone mobile displays – before the benefits of our advanced mathematical DisplayMate Display Optimization Technology, which can correct or improve many of the display deficiencies. We offer DisplayMate display calibration software for consumers and advanced DisplayMate display diagnostic and calibration software for technicians and test labs.

 

For manufacturers we offer Consulting Services that include advanced Lab testing and evaluations, confidential Shoot-Outs with competing products, calibration and optimization for displays, cameras and their User Interface, plus on-site and factory visits. We help manufacturers with expert display procurement, prototype development, and production quality control so they don’t make mistakes similar to those that are exposed in our Display Technology Shoot-Out series. See our world renown Display Technology Shoot-Out public article series for an introduction and preview. DisplayMate’s advanced scientific optimizations can make lower cost panels look as good or better than more expensive higher performance displays. If you are a display or product manufacturer and want to turn your display into a spectacular one to surpass your competition then Contact DisplayMate Technologies to learn more.

 

Article Links:  Google Pixel 3 XL OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out

Article Links:  Samsung Galaxy Note10+ OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out

 

Article Links:  Display Color Gamuts Shoot-Out NTSC to Rec.2020

Article Links:  Absolute Color Accuracy Display Technology Shoot-Out

Article Links:  Watching Displays at Night

 

Article Links:  Mobile Display Shoot-Out Article Series Overview and Home Page

Article Links:  Display Technology Shoot-Out Article Series Overview and Home Page

 

 

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