We put the Google Pixel 8a through our rigorous suite of SBMARK Display tests to measure its performance across four criteria. In this test results, we look at how it performed across a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Overview
Key Display Specifications
- 6.1 inch OLED
- Dimensions: 152.1 x 72.7 x 8.9 mm (5.99 x 2.86 x 0.35 inches)
- Resolution: 1080 x 2400 pixels, (~430 ppi density)
- Aspect ratio: 20:9
- Refresh rate: 120Hz
Pros
- Good brightness in outdoor conditions
- Good brightness and dark details when watching HDR10 videos in low light conditions
- Good smoothness in any use case
Against
- Slight orange tint visible on most content
- Colored bands when looking at the device from different angles
- Lack of brightness when watching SDR videos and viewing photos in indoor conditions
The Google Pixel 8a offers a very satisfying viewing experience, with high scores in all of our sub-scores and evaluations. In the High-end segment, it ranks among the top five in this category. This device is suitable for most use cases, such as browsing the web or watching videos.
One of the key aspects that sets the Google Pixel 8a apart is its readability, especially in outdoor conditions. This is mainly due to its high peak brightness (measured at 2049 nits by our experts), which gives it a significant advantage over the competition. Photos and web content will therefore be readable even if you are outdoors on a sunny day. When it comes to dynamic content, the Pixel 8a offers a satisfactory HDR10 experience with a good level of brightness and good rendering of details in dark areas when viewed in low-light conditions. However, when switching to standard indoor conditions, the device could be brighter to ensure a better viewing experience of light and dark content and details. When browsing the web or browsing the photo gallery, the device is smooth, thanks to its 120Hz refresh rate. Our testers did encounter some occasional unwanted taps, but overall it remains smooth in all use cases. While the device exhibits high color accuracy, when viewed from various angles, starting from 15°, the Google Pixel 8a exhibits some color shifts.
The Pixel 8a has also earned the Eye Comfort label, which distinguishes devices that offer a high level of visual comfort. This is mainly due to its ability to manage blue light by default, as well as when the blue light filter is active.
Test summary
About SBMARK Display Tests: For evaluation and analysis, a device is subjected to a series of objective and perceptual tests under controlled laboratory and real-life conditions. The SBMARK Display Score takes into account the overall user experience provided by the display, considering hardware capability and software tuning. Only factory-installed video and photo apps are used in the tests. More in-depth details on how SBMARK tests displays can be found in the article “A Closer Look at the SBMARK Display Tests”.
The following section focuses on key elements of our extensive testing and analysis in the SBMARK labs. Full reports with detailed performance evaluations are available upon request. To order a copy, please contact us.
How the display readability score is composed
Readability measures how easy and comfortable it is for a user to view fixed content, such as a photo or web page, on a display under different lighting conditions. Our lab measurements are complemented by perceptual testing and analysis.
Skin tone rendering in an indoor environment (1000 lux)
From left to right: Google Pixel 8a, Samsung Galaxy A55 5G, Xiaomi 14
(Photo for illustration purposes only)
Skin tone rendition in a sunlight environment (>90,000 lux)
From left to right: Google Pixel 8a, Samsung Galaxy A55 5G, Xiaomi 14
(Photo for illustration purposes only)
SCI stands for Specular Component Included, which measures both diffuse and specular reflection. The reflection from a simple glass pane is about 4%, while it reaches about 6% for a plastic pane. Although the first surface of smartphones is made of glass, their total reflection (without coating) is usually about 5% due to the multiple reflections created by the complex optical stack.
The average reflectance is calculated based on the spectral reflectance in the visible spectrum range (see graph below) and the human spectral sensitivity.
Uniformity
This graph shows the distribution of luminance across the entire display panel. Uniformity is measured with a 20% gray pattern, with bright green indicating ideal luminance. A bright green color evenly distributed across the screen indicates that the display is uniformly bright. Other colors indicate a loss of uniformity.
Displays flicker for 2 main reasons: refresh rate and pulse width modulation. Pulse width modulation is a modulation technique that generates pulses of variable width to represent the amplitude of an analog input signal. This measurement is important for comfort because flickering at low frequencies can be perceived by some individuals and, in extreme cases, can induce seizures. Some experiments show that discomfort can occur at a higher frequency. A high PWM frequency (>1500 Hz) tends to be less annoying to users.
How the displayed color score is composed
Color evaluations are performed under different lighting conditions to see how well the device handles color with its surroundings. Devices are tested with sRGB and Display-P3 image patterns. Both the true and default modes are used for our evaluation. Our lab measurements are complemented by perceptual tests and analyses.
Circadian clock factor is a metric that defines the impact of light on the human sleep cycle. It is the ratio of light energy that contributes to sleep disruption (centered at 450 nm, representing blue light) to light energy that contributes to our perception (covering 400 nm to 700 nm and centered at 550 nm, representing green light). A high circadian clock factor means that the ambient light contains strong blue light energy and is likely to affect the body’s sleep cycle, while a low circadian clock factor means that the light has weak blue light energy and is less likely to affect sleep patterns.
How the Display Video Score is Composed
The video attribute evaluates the Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) and High Dynamic Range (HDR10) video handling in indoor and low-light conditions. Our laboratory measurements are complemented by perceptual tests and analyses.
Video rendering in a low light environment (0 lux)
Clockwise from top left: Google Pixel 8a, Samsung Galaxy A55 5G, Xiaomi 14
(Photo for illustration purposes only)
These indicators show the percentage of frame irregularities in a 30-second video. These irregularities are not necessarily noticeable to users (unless they are all in the same timestamp), but they are an indicator of performance.
How the Display Touch Score is Composed
We evaluate touch attributes across many types of content where touch is critical and requires different behaviors, such as games (quick taps for responsiveness), web (smooth page scrolling), and images (precise and fluid navigation from one image to another).
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