Pixel 10 Professional’s new show tackles eye pressure, but it surely’s not the leap I needed

Google Pixel 10 rumors are coming thick and quick lately as we shut in on the launch date in just some months. Final week, we realized the upcoming telephone’s Professional fashions will seemingly ship with a 480Hz PWM show — a primary for the Pixel collection.

Excessive PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation) charges aren’t new to smartphone shows; we’ve already seen telephones boasting hundreds of Hz. The Xiaomi 15 Extremely presents a 1,920Hz PWM fee, the OnePlus 13 clocks in at 2,160Hz, and the HONOR Magic 7 Professional tops out at a whopping 4,320Hz PWM. Even the budget-friendly Nothing Telephone 3a manages 2,160Hz PWM.

The Pixel 10 Professional and Professional XL gained’t match these heavyweights, however a bump to 480Hz will not less than put them on par with the model’s closest rivals within the US, Apple and Samsung. In that sense, it’s a major transfer — however what does all this PWM stuff even imply, and must you truly care?

If a bit about shows, you’ve seemingly come throughout Hz and refresh fee, which measures what number of occasions per second (in Hz) the display screen updates. 120Hz seems to be smoother than 60Hz, for instance. PWM can also be measured in Hz, but it surely’s unrelated to how shortly your content material refreshes. As a substitute, the PWM fee controls the brightness of the hundreds of particular person LEDs lighting up your fancy OLED show.

Going again to some primary electronics: making use of 0 V turns an LED off, whereas making use of the utmost allowed voltage makes it shine at full brightness. There are two methods to attain a brightness that isn’t zero or full. Essentially the most intuitive is to scale the voltage someplace between off and max.

Nevertheless, this isn’t all the time sensible for cell shows, because of the LEDs’ temperamental on-threshold voltage, the wasted energy from sustaining an intermediate DC stage, and the complexity of managing exact voltages throughout hundreds of thousands of sub-pixels. This isn’t an issue for older LCD-type shows, the place direct present dimming can simply management your complete backlight in a single go.

As a substitute, shows management LED brightness utilizing fast on–off pulses. Every LED toggles a whole bunch or hundreds of occasions per second, so shortly that your eye perceives a gradual brightness reasonably than flicker. That is achieved effectively with a clock driver embedded within the show controller, and it’s much more power-friendly since little vitality is wasted — essential for cell units. The top result’s equal from a brightness perspective, as the common output of those on–off pulses matches what a continuing dimmed stage would produce.

In case you’re curious, recording slow-motion video in your telephone digital camera can typically reveal PWM flicker, showing as rolling bands throughout the display screen.

That stated, a number of telephones now use a hybrid method to dimming. For instance, the Samsung Galaxy S24  FE and Xiaomi 14T Professional supply “DC dimming” at excessive brightness ranges nicely above the on-threshold, then change again to PWM at decrease brightness settings. Right here, DC dimming actually means dropping the drive present in a single shot reasonably than true per-pixel scaling.

OK, so now this begs the query: why do totally different smartphones have totally different PWM charges? Properly, every show panel comes paired with its personal driver IC. Larger‑finish panels typically embrace driver chips able to a lot increased PWM frequencies proper out of the manufacturing unit, however even high-end panels don’t all the time race to the most important potential numbers.

Even with the identical show driver chip, producers can tweak their PWM clock settings in firmware to hit particular targets — buying and selling off PWM fee in opposition to total energy draw (together with switching losses vs peak brightness), regulator overhead, BOM price, and typically the precision of distinction and gamma management. Very excessive PWM frequencies, for instance, can cut back the variety of obtainable brightness steps, barely affecting clean gradients and tonal transitions. These trade-offs are balanced otherwise relying on every model’s priorities for battery life, show high quality, and eye consolation.

Right here’s the catch: what in case your eyes or mind can truly detect that sparkle from a low PWM fee?

Properly, that is very a lot an actual concern, typically referred to as PWM sensitivity. It impacts everybody otherwise — some individuals in no way, others would possibly finally really feel eye fatigue, and the unfortunate can find yourself with migraines or nausea.

In case you’re vulnerable, PWM sensitivity is most frequently seen when viewing a tool in a darkish atmosphere at low show brightness. That’s as a result of at decrease brightness ranges, PWM dimming runs at a low responsibility cycle: the LEDs spend most of their time turned off, solely pulsing on for temporary moments to emit simply sufficient mild. Mixed with a dimly lit room, these brief bursts may not register as seen flicker, however the nerves in your eyes — and finally your mind — can nonetheless decide up on them.

There’s no precise science on the best PWM frequency, partly as a result of there are such a lot of variables with regards to particular person sensitivity, atmosphere, and the way any modulation is applied. For many individuals, 480Hz doesn’t trigger any noticeable points, and telephones have been getting away with 240Hz with out triggering a wave of returns. Nevertheless, a rising physique of analysis means that these comparatively low values can nonetheless set off undesirable physiological responses in a large portion of the inhabitants.

As such, choosing a 1,000Hz or 2,000Hz show typically pushes you additional away from potential hurt, and these telephones are clearly the higher selection for anybody who has skilled fatigue or worse from their units. However do victims proceed to learn from ever-higher values like 4,000Hz? That’s much less sure, as there’s sure to be a regulation of diminishing returns. Even so, larger numbers are typically “safer” from an eye fixed well being perspective, and there aren’t any actual downsides from the standpoint of show high quality.

As with most issues, there are extra nuances at play. PWM show waveforms don’t need to be sharp on–off pulses; superior driver ICs can form the modulation to ease eye pressure. Gradual ramping up and down (like a sawtooth or triangle wave) is an efficient different that goals to cut back PWM’s opposed results with out merely cranking up the frequency.

Likewise, most smartphones use multi-phase PWM, making certain your complete show isn’t off on the similar time to assist common out the luminance your eyes detect. Then there are the aforementioned DC-dimming firmware tips that allow manufacturers promote “flicker-free” or “low-flicker” modes for enhanced eye consolation, despite the fact that they nonetheless depend on PWM at low brightness.

In fact, the very best answer might be to have a little bit of all the things. Simply consider it’s not all the time a clear-cut case of larger numbers being higher — although it actually doesn’t damage to have the next PWM show in your subsequent telephone. Whether or not the Pixel 10 Professional’s new show does sufficient right here remains to be very a lot up for debate.

PWM fee actually isn’t the be-all and end-all of what makes a fantastic show, however for some customers, it’s a massively vital shopping for issue. Whereas eye-fatigue options are staple applied sciences throughout the trade, some main producers nonetheless fall brief with regards to tackling the precise discomfort attributable to low-frequency PWM at dim brightness ranges.

Traditionally, Google’s Pixel collection has made no significant strides to handle these issues. Fortunately, the Pixel 10 Professional and Professional XL look set to supply a slight reprieve with their leap to 480Hz — a welcome enchancment that lastly begins to shut the hole. Nonetheless, it’s arduous to disregard that this advance solely brings Google in keeping with what’s already grow to be a baseline elsewhere, and stays removed from the best requirements now potential.

Maybe extra irritating is that this upgraded show is predicted to be unique to the Professional-tier fashions, which means anybody eyeing the usual Pixel 10 — or a future Pixel 10a — can be left ready but once more. For a lot of, this gained’t be a dealbreaker. However for these delicate to show flicker or just hoping to attenuate long-term eye pressure, Google’s cautious step ahead could really feel like too little, too late.

In the long run, it’s a optimistic transfer, however one which highlights how far more may nonetheless be carried out. Right here’s hoping it gained’t take one other technology or two earlier than these enhancements grow to be customary throughout your complete Pixel lineup.