Pixel 3 XL OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out

Dr. Raymond M. Soneira

President, DisplayMate Technologies Corporation

Copyright © 1990-2018 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 3 XL

Introduction

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 and 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 analysts all recognize and appreciate Display Excellence, and also to reward and encourage manufacturers to produce top performing displays for their products.

Based on our extensive Lab Tests and Measurements the display on the Google Pixel 3 XL delivers uniformly consistent all around Top Tier Display Performance and receives Very Good to Excellent Ratings in All of the DisplayMate Lab Test and Measurement Categories. The Pixel 3 XL is only the third display we have ever tested to do so, and receives our highest ever Overall Display Assessment Grade of A+ together with a DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Award. Google has improved the on-screen Absolute Picture Quality and Absolute Color Accuracy of their displays by implementing Precision Factory Display Calibration, moving the overall Pixel 3 XL display performance up to Record Setting Outstanding levels, and setting or matching a number of Display Performance Records, including Absolute Color Accuracy that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect. This demonstrates that Google recognizes the importance of Display Excellence and has made a major commitment to improving Smartphone Display Performance.

In this article we lab test, measure, analyze, and evaluate in depth the display on the Pixel 3 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 eight 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 Shift from LCD 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 of variations in the Backlights of LCDs.

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 Main Sections:

· Pixel 3 XL Display Highlights and Performance Results

· Pixel 3 XL Display Conclusions

· Improving the Next Generation of Mobile Displays

· Pixel 3 XL Display Lab Measurements Comparison Table

The Display Shoot-Out

To examine the performance of the new Pixel 3 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 eight 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 3 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.

Pixel 3 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 Specifications, Overall Assessments, Screen Reflections, Brightness and Contrast,

Colors and Intensities, Absolute Color Accuracy, Viewing Angles, OLED Spectra, Display Power.

Display Lab Tests and Measurement Data Table

See the Display Shoot-Out Lab Measurements Comparison Table for the complete set of Pixel 3 XL DisplayMate Lab Tests and Measurements.

Main Topics Covered

This Display Highlights and Performance Results section has detailed information and analysis on the Pixel 3 XL Display for the topics listed below.

You can also skip this section and go directly to the Pixel 3 XL Display Conclusions for a Summary of the Display Test Results.

· Large Full Screen Display

· 3K High Resolution Display

· Industry Standard Color Gamuts

· Automatic Color Management

· Selectable Color Modes

· Very High Absolute Color Accuracy

· Color Accuracy and Intensity Scales Independent of APL

· 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

· Diamond Sub-Pixels

· Viewing Angle Performance

· Viewing Tests Performance

· Display Power Efficiency

· Display Related Enhancements

· Large Full Screen Display with an Aspect Ratio of 18.5 : 9

The Pixel 3 XL has a large 6.3 inch full screen display that fills almost the entire front face of the phone from edge-to-edge. The Home button and Navigations buttons are incorporated within the touchscreen display.

The display has a form factor with a taller height to width Aspect Ratio of 18.5 : 9 = 2.06, which is 16% 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.

The very top of the screen has an Black Slot cutout area from the display 0.35” high (9 mm) that holds the two front facing cameras, ambient light and proximity sensors, and ear speaker. It’s noticeable but also easy to get used to because it takes up just 2.3% of the total Screen Area. The left and right tabs on either side of the Slot are typically used to show App data that would otherwise need to be shown in the primary display area.

· 3K High Resolution Quad HD+ 2960x1440 Display with 523 pixels per inch

As a result of its larger display size and larger Aspect Ratio, the Pixel 3 XL has a 3K High Resolution Quad HD+ display with 2960x1440 pixels and 523 pixels per inch, with 4.2 Mega Pixels, double the number on your HDTV. It can display more than four complete HD 1280x720 images at once. The display has Diamond Pixels (see below) and Sub-Pixel Rendering with 523 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.

The Pixel 3 XL uses Sub-Pixel Rendering, which further improves image sharpness because the individual Red, Green and Blue Sub-Pixels are treated as independent addressable image elements and are not bound together into fixed Pixels, so the closest sub-pixel is used when rendering the image. In some cases Sub-Pixel Rendering can make the screen appear to have up to 3 times the resolution of traditional Pixel Rendering. 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!

· Industry Standard Color Gamuts

The Pixel 3 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 3 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.

· Selectable Color Modes

The Pixel 3 XL provides 3 user selectable Color Modes that provide control of the Vividness of displayed images for each Color Gamut. They are the Natural Mode, which provides the most Accurate Colors, the Boosted Mode, which increases the Color Saturation of images by using an enlarged Color Gamut, and the Adaptive Mode, which provides an adjustable Color Gamut up to the Full Native Color Gamut of the OLED display.

Note that all of the tests and measurements below are with the Natural Mode.

Use Display Settings to switch between the Selectable Color Modes.

See this Figure for the Color Gamuts and Color Modes and the Colors and Intensities 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 particularly important is an accurate White Point.

Each Pixel 3 XL OLED display is individually calibrated at the factory. Since the Pixel 3 XL supports two Standard Color Gamuts it performs Calibrated Color Management so the colors appear correctly and accurately based on the on-screen image content.

The Absolute Color Accuracy of the Pixel 3 XL is Truly Impressive as shown in these Figures. It has an Absolute Color Accuracy of 1.1 JNCD (Just Noticeable Color Difference) for the sRGB / Red.709 Color Gamut that is used for most current consumer content, and 1.0 JNCD for the Wider DCI-P3 Color Gamut that is used for 4K UHD TVs and Digital Cinema, which are Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and very likely considerably better than any mobile display, monitor, TV or UHD TV that you have.

Note that in order to obtain this High Absolute Color Accuracy the Color Mode must be set to Natural in Display Settings, and the Night Light mode must also be Off because it changes the White Point of the display from the 6500 K Standard, which then changes the Absolute Color Accuracy throughout the Color Gamut. See this Figure for an explanation and visual definition of J ust N oticeable C olor D ifference 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 measurements and details, and also this regarding lots of Bogus Color Accuracy Measurements.

· 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 Shifts between Low APL and 50% High APL. Previous generation displays with large Peak Luminance changes with APL typically show Large Shifts in the Intensity Scale and Large Shifts in Absolute Color Accuracy with APL. Since the Pixel 3 XL has a small 6 percent change in Luminance with APL, we expect Small Shifts with APL, which we analyze next...

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 2.23 for Low APL to 2.30 for 50% APL. As a result, the Image Contrast remains relatively unchanged with APL.

Figure 4 shows the Variation in the Absolute Color Accuracy between Low APL and 50% APL. The Color Shifts with APL are small, with an Average Color Shift of just 0.5 to 0.7 JNCD and the Largest Color Shifts are only 1.4 to 1.6 JNCD. In addition, the White Point Shift with APL is just 0.3 to 0.4 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 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 3 XL has both. This is extremely important for screen readability, picture quality, and color accuracy in ambient light.

The Pixel 3 XL has a 100% APL Calibrated Full Screen Brightness of 405 nits for the Calibrated Color Gamuts, which improves screen visibility in high Ambient Light. On its Home Screen the Pixel 3 XL produces 424 nits. See the Screen Brightness section for the measurements and details.

The Pixel 3 XL has a Record Low Screen Reflectance of 4.3 percent, 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 3 XL has a Contrast Rating for High Ambient Light that ranges from 94 to 101, among the highest that we have measured for the Calibrated sRGB/Rec.709 and DCI-P3 Color Gamuts. See the Screen Reflectance and High Ambient Light sections for the measurements and details.

· High Dynamic Range Mobile HDR Display

The Pixel 3 XL is certified for Mobile HDR, which allows it to play the same 4K H igh D ynamic R ange content produced for 4K UHD TVs, including streamed HDR10 videos. HDR provides expanded the Color, Contrast, and Brightness of video content. In order to provide Mobile HDR, the Pixel 3 XL has the required Digital Cinema DCI-P3 Wide Color Gamut, High Peak Luminance (up to 680 nits for HDR, which exceeds the 540 nits requirement for Mobile HDR), plus perfect Blacks and Infinite Contrast Ratio from its OLED display.

· Night Light Mode for Better Night Viewing

The Night Light mode on the Pixel 3 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 3 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 3,400 K, and at the Maximum setting it decreases to 2,600 K, the Color Temperature of traditional incandescent lighting, which is yellowish. With Night Light at its Maximum setting, the measured Blue Light is reduced by 80 percent. Turning down the screen Brightness will further decrease the amount of Blue Light.

Note that since Night Light changes the White Point of the display from the 6500 K Standard, the Absolute Color Accuracy throughout the entire Color Gamut is also 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

· Super Dim Setting

The Pixel 3 XL also has a Super Dim Setting that allows the Maximum Screen Brightness to be set all the way down to just 3 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.

· Always On Display Mode

The Pixel 3 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.

· 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 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 it 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 3 XL display shows a much smaller 28 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.

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 because it affects the Red, Green, and Blue Primaries differently. For the Pixel 3 XL this produces a small Color Shift in the direction of Cyan for increasing Viewing Angles, which is due to the Larger Color Shift of the Red Primary [Cyan is the Complementary Color to Red]. At 30 degrees Viewing Angle the Largest Color Shift is 5.0 JNCD for Red, which is noticeable but not objectionable. The White Shift at 30 degrees Viewing Angle is 2.0 JNCD. See the Viewing Angles section for the measurements and details.

· Viewing Tests Performance

The Pixel 3 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 3 XL excels due to its High Absolute Color Accuracy (1.1 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

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 65 percent or less, and LCDs are more power efficient for Average Picture Levels above 65 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 3 XL is IP68 water resistant in up to 2 meters (6.6 feet) of water for up to half an hour, 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.

· The Pixel 3 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 3 XL has Gorilla Glass 5, which provides much higher resistance to scratching and breakage.

Pixel 3 XL Display 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 3 XL Display Functions, Features, and Performance Records:

The Pixel 3 XL has many major and important State-of-the-Art Display Performance Functions and Features, including a number of Display Performance Records, which are summarized below.

See the Display Shoot-Out Lab Measurements Comparison Table section below for the complete set of Lab tests and measurements.

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 3 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 3 XL from edge-to-edge, providing a significantly larger display for the same phone size.

· A display form factor with a tall height to width Aspect Ratio of 18.5 : 9 = 2.06, which is 16% 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 2960 x 1440 Full HD+ Display with 523 pixels per inch, and Diamond Sub-Pixels with Sub-Pixel Rendering for enhanced sharpness and higher Peak Brightness.

· The Pixel 3 XL display appears Perfectly Sharp for normal 20/20 Vision at Typical Smartphone Viewing Distances of 10 to 18 inches (25 to 46 cm).

· A High 100% APL Calibrated Full Screen Brightness of 405 nits, which improves screen visibility in high Ambient Light. On its Home Screen the Pixel 3 XL produces a very bright 424 nits.

· Very Low Screen Reflectance of 4.3 percent.

· Very High Absolute Color Accuracy (1.1 JNCD), which is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and almost certainly considerably better than your existing Smartphone, UHD TV, Tablet, Laptop, and computer monitor.

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

· 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.

· Automatic Color Management that 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.

· 3 Selectable Color Modes for Color Gamuts that provide user control of the color Vividness from Natural to Boosted and Adaptive.

· High Dynamic Range Mobile HDR, which allows the Pixel 3 XL to play 4K High Dynamic Range content produced for 4K UHD TVs.

· 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.

· Small Color Shifts and Small Brightness Shifts with Viewing Angle, including White, which is the most used background color.

· The Pixel 3 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 3 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 (1.1 JNCD) – Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect.

· Smallest Shift in Color Accuracy with Change in Image Content APL (0.7 JNCD).

· Highest Contrast Ratio (Infinite).

· Lowest Screen Reflectance (4.3 percent).

· Smallest Brightness Variation with Viewing Angle (28 percent at 30 degrees).

· Highest Visible Screen Resolution 3K (2960x1440) – 4K Does Not appear visually sharper on a Smartphone.

Pixel 3 XL Display Performance Summary:

Data Tables: See the Display Shoot-Out Lab Measurements Comparison Table section below for the complete set of the Lab tests.

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

Performance: See the State-of-the-Art Display Performance Functions and Features section above.

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

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 each 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’s great to see manufactures improving and then competing on these metrics.

The Pixel 3 XL has a Very Impressive Top Tier Smartphone Display

The Pixel 3 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. The Pixel 3 XL is only the third display we have ever tested to get All Green in All Categories – the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note9 were the first. The Pixel 3 XL receives an Overall Display Assessment Grade of A+.

Google has improved the on-screen Absolute Picture Quality and Absolute Color Accuracy of their displays by implementing Precision Factory Display Calibration, moving the overall Pixel 3 XL display performance up to Record Setting Outstanding levels, and setting or matching a number of Display Performance Records, including Absolute Color Accuracy that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and almost certainly considerably better than your existing Smartphone, 4K UHD TV, Tablet, Laptop and computer monitor.

DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Award for the Pixel 3 XL

The Pixel 3 XL has a very impressive Top Tier display with close to Text Book Perfect Calibration Accuracy and Performance that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect. Based on our extensive Lab Tests and Measurements the Pixel 3 XL receives a DisplayMate Best Smartphone Display Award earning DisplayMate’s highest ever Overall Display Assessment Grade of A+ by providing considerably better display performance than other competing Smartphones. This demonstrates that Google recognizes the importance of Display Excellence and has made a major commitment to improving Smartphone Display Performance.

Google Joins the Top Tier of Smartphone Displays that now includes Samsung, Apple, and Google

The Pixel 3 XL joins four Top Tier Smartphone Displays: the Galaxy S9, Galaxy Note9, iPhone X, and iPhone XS Max, that all provide close to Text Book Perfect Calibration Accuracy and Performance that is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, so they All 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 is best in everything. 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 3 XL has a very high resolution 3K 2960x1440 pixel display with 523 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 double the pixels, memory, and processing power of the 2960x1440 display on the Pixel 3 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!

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…

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, color saturation, and 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 3 XL

Pixel 3 XL Display Shoot-Out Lab Measurements Comparison Table

Below we examine in-depth the OLED display on the Google Pixel 3 XL based on objective Lab measurement data and criteria

in the following sections: Display Specifications, Overall Assessments, Screen Reflections, Brightness and Contrast,

Colors and Intensities, Absolute Color Accuracy, Viewing Angles, OLED Spectra, Display Power.

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

Detailed Test and Measurement Comparisons between the Pixel 3 XL, the iPhone XS Max, and Galaxy Note9 Displays

You can directly compare the data and measurement results for the Pixel 3 XL with the iPhone XS Max and Galaxy Note9 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 3 XL Display Lab Measurements Comparison Table

Apple iPhone XS Max Display Lab Measurements Comparison Table

Samsung Galaxy Note9 Display Lab Measurements Comparison Table

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

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: Apple iPhone XS Max OLED Display Technology Shoot-Out

Article Links: Samsung Galaxy Note9 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: Display Technology Shoot-Out Article Series Overview and Home Page

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