We put the Google Pixel 9 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 common use cases.
Overview
Key display specifications
- 6.3 inch OLED
- Dimensions: 152.8 x 72 x 8.5mm (6 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches)
- Resolution: 1080 x 2424 pixels, (~422 ppi density)
- Aspect ratio: 20:9
- Refresh rate: 120Hz
Pros
- Faithful and well rendered colors in most of the tested conditions
- Well suited for readability in most environments
- HDR10 videos are well reproduced in low light and indoors.
- Fast and precise touch
Against
- Low saturated colors in a dark environment
- Slightly low brightness when viewing SDR videos
- Occasional unwanted touches when holding the device in landscape orientation
The Google Pixel 9’s display performed excellently in our tests, placing just behind Google’s flagship model, the Pixel 9 Pro XL, in our rankings.
As the base model of the Pixel 9 series, the device delivered exceptionally strong performance across the board, especially color, making it a solid performer across all use cases, from scrolling the Internet to watching videos in a variety of lighting conditions. While the Pixel 9 didn’t quite beat the Pixel 8’s high color score, the Pixel 9’s natural colors were accurate and very well rendered in most conditions. In other conditions, however, such as in the dark, colors could occasionally appear a bit desaturated, which reduced the gamut a bit.
The device’s readability was good overall, as luminance adjusted well in most of the conditions we tested. In extremely bright outdoor conditions (over 90,000 lux), such as sunlight, we measured a peak luminance of 2,670 cd/m² with the high brightness mode enabled, compared to 1,600 cd/m² on the Pixel 8, making the screen content readable.
HDR10 videos were pleasant to watch on the Pixel 9’s screen in low-light and indoor conditions. The videos contained plenty of natural detail, and the device handled frame drops very well. When playing SDR videos, however, the screen lacked a bit of brightness at the default settings.
In touch, the Pixel 9’s interactions were quick and precise. But when holding the device in landscape orientation, the screen is susceptible to occasional unwanted touches from the palm. The Pixel 9’s screen was also quite smooth in all of our tests, including web browsing and web browsing, especially at the 120Hz refresh rate, which must be manually set from the default 60Hz.
Test summary
About SBMARK Display Tests: For scoring 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
take into account the overall experience offered to the user by the screen, taking into account the hardware capabilities and software tuning.
Only factory-installed video and photo apps are used in the tests. More in-depth details on how SBMARK performs its tests
The displays are available in the article “A closer look at SBMARK display tests”.
The following section focuses on the key elements of our comprehensive tests and analyses performed in SBMARK
laboratories. 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 the ease and comfort of the user
to view still content, such as photos or a web page, on the display in different lighting conditions. Our
The measurements carried out in the laboratories are complemented by perceptual tests and analyses.
Skin tone rendering in an indoor environment (1000 lux)
From left to right: Google Pixel 9, Samsung Galaxy S24, Apple iPhone 15
(Photo for illustration purposes only)
Skin tone rendition in a sunlight environment (>90,000 lux)
From left to right: Google Pixel 9, Samsung Galaxy S24, Apple iPhone 15
(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 the ideal luminance. A bright green color evenly distributed
on the screen indicates that the display brightness is uniform. 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
conditions to see how well the device handles color with its surroundings. Devices are tested with sRGB and
Display-P3 image models. Both the faithful and default modes are used for our evaluation. Our measurements are performed in
The workshops are completed 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 management in indoor and low-light conditions. Our measurements are performed in
The laboratories are completed by perceptual tests and analyses.
Video rendering in a low light environment (0 lux)
Clockwise from top: Google Pixel 9, Samsung Galaxy S24, Apple iPhone 15
(Photo for illustration purposes only)
Indoor video rendering (1000 lux)
Clockwise from top: Google Pixel 9, Samsung Galaxy S24, Apple iPhone 15
(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 tactile attributes based on many types of
contents where touch is essential and requires different behaviors such as gaming (quick touch for response time), web (fluid
page scrolling) and images (precise and smooth navigation from one image to another).
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