What you need to know
- Users have continuously reported strange color tinting problems with the Pixel 8 Pro's Always-On display.
- Visible in dark rooms, the device's bug is causing users to experience orange, yellow, green, and pink tints.
- Google states it is aware and a software patch should correct, which could arrive later this year in December.
The latest flagship phone isn't having the best start, but it looks like a frustrating screen problem can be solved with a software patch.
Soon after the launch of the Pixel 8 series, a user took to the Android IssueTracker to address a problem with the device's Always-On display (via Android Police). The report stated that when AOD is enabled, the device will slowly but surely adopt a "noticeable and uneven color banding."
In the user's experience, their display gained a truly odd orange and pink tint that affected the displayed text, becoming more noticeable toward the bottom of the device. What's more, is that this only appears to happen around five seconds after the AOD is activated as it drops down to a 1Hz refresh rate.
The IssueTracker thread mentioned additional Pixel 8 Pro owners who've encountered a similar problem, although some displays have turned yellowish or even green. An apparent running theory is that this is happening due to the Pixel 8 Pro's usage of an AMOLED panel that does not offer 100% grayscale uniformity.
Whatever the real issue is, a member of Google responded to the thread (marking it as fixed), stating the problem should be addressed "in a future Android release." For now, it looks like those with an affected device can force the AOD to operate a 120Hz refresh rate at all times instead of adapting to a lower number.
The Googler encouraged users to keep their eyes on the release notes for any upcoming Android QPR1 betas on its official page. It looks like a fix could turn up there before observing a stable rollout, potentially during the December 2023 Android feature drop, if not a part of next month's security patch.
Unfortunately, this isn't the only problem the Pixel 8 Pro has been facing since its arrival earlier this month. While older devices are included, the company's latest launch is wrapped up in a frustrating Android 14 bug, where users are unable to access storage if there are multiple users present on the device.
Google has formally discussed this problem and vows to fix it. Although, it wasn't clear when users can expect a fix for a problem that is likely to cause them to lose all of their data.
