Google unveiled the newPixel 8and Pixel 8 Pro to the world earlier this month, andwe had high hopesthe devices would fix issues like overheating, poor cellular reception, and several launch-day bugs which ruin the user experience. Several Pixel 8 Pro units have now made their way to buyers, and unfortunately, a weird display tinting issue has come to light, but a fix remains unavailable.
The newPixel 8 Prouses an OLED display with a variable refresh rate that can change from 1Hz to 120Hz. This feature isn’t available on the vanilla Pixel 8 or the other Pixel phones before it. It appears Google’s first rodeo with this technology is off to a bumpy start.Several reportsonReddit highlightthat portions of the Always On Display’s white text turns yellow after a few seconds, and turns reddish-pink after another two to three seconds (via9to5Google). People have seen the discoloration appear on the Android 14 stable software and theQPR1 beta builds as well, suggesting this could be a hardware-level issue. Other members of the Android Police team with a Pixel 8 Pro also confirm the issue is visible.
Some Pixel 8 Pro owners facing this issue tried forcing 120Hz mode on their AOD, with some success. This points to two potential triggers — the 1Hz refresh rate mode, and super-low brightness requirements for the AOD.One Redditor theorizesthe display of the Pixel 8 Pro, like any other AMOLED panel, doesn’t have 100% grayscale uniformity, meaning the red, green, or blue pixels in some bands of the panel may overshadow other colors. Low brightness makes this bias more obvious and a lower refresh rate keeps pixels in that discolored state for longer, together showing up as non-white pixels in the AOD.
The discoloration disappears at higher brightness because the pixels on the display work in sync to minimize the perception of LED flicker, which may result in banding visible to the naked eye. A higher refresh rate like 120Hz or 60Hz also helps matters because it corrects input to individual pixels multiple times every second. Although most of the telltale signs suggest this is a hardware-level issue, Google reduced the severity of asimilar green tint problemwith the Pixel 4XL using a software update.
Google hasn’t publicly acknowledged the pink AOD tint issue on the Pixel 8 Pro, even though it is widespread. So, we are still clueless about the official cause of the problem — typical low-power behavior of the OLED panels used, or an issue with the software or firmware for the display controller.
However, a fewowners on Reddit from the UKsay Google offered to replace the defective devices or issue a refund. The Pixel 8 Pro is one of the best Android phones available today, but such an issue could be a dealbreaker for some buyers. However, the Redditor suggesting this is a hardware issue cautions against playing “(display) panel roulette” with replacement units because they may all have the same issue.
If you have a Pixel 8 Pro, we suggest turning off the AOD feature completely if you cannot unsee the pinkish tint. In case the discoloration is mild, like it was on our devices, you could cling to the hope of a software fix. However, in cases you’re seeing vibrant discoloration when the AOD is enabled, we suggest reaching out to Google for advice on how to proceed.
Google Pixel 8 Pro
Despite the display tint problems, the Pixel 8 Pro is a solid new Android phone. It comes with Google’s new Tensor G3 chip, plenty of Pixel-exclusive software features, and one of the best camera arrays on an Android phone.
