Some Pixel phones are acting up with a weird display glitch

What you need to know

• Pixel users are dealing with a screen brightness glitch after the March update, mostly when watching videos in fullscreen.
• Some Pixel 9 Pro users also noticed wallpapers dimming while icons stay bright, hinting at a broader display bug.
• A temporary fix is turning off Smooth Display, but that means losing the 120Hz refresh rate, making scrolling less smooth.

A growing number of Pixel users are speaking up about a screen brightness glitch hitting their phones after the March update, and it seems to kick in mostly when they’re watching videos in fullscreen.

Google’s March Pixel Feature Drop rolled out some handy upgrades and fixed a few key bugs, but as usual with software updates, there’s always a chance for new quirks to pop up after the fact.

Reddit users are now flagging a screen brightness glitch presumably tied to the March Feature Drop, mostly messing with video playback (via Android Authority). One Pixel 8 Pro owner shared their experience, mentioning constant, annoying shifts in brightness while streaming Netflix, with the screen cycling between too bright and too dim.

The user specifically blamed the March Feature Drop for the display glitch, noting it wasn’t an issue before the update. Many others backed this up, pointing to the update as the cause. And even with adaptive brightness turned off, the problem stuck around, so that feature’s definitely not the culprit.

A Pixel 9 Pro XL user also confirmed the brightness issue, noticing the same flickering on Prime Video, not just Netflix. Other Pixel users have reported similar problems on Disney+ and YouTube, making it clear this isn’t just an app-specific bug.

Another user noticed that on the Pixel 9 Pro XL, wallpapers look dim even at max brightness, while icons stay as bright as expected. Several Pixel 8 users chimed in with the same issue, suggesting this might be a wider problem across multiple models.

It looks like the brightness glitch is popping up across a bunch of Pixel models, from the Pixel 6 series all the way to the Pixel 9. One Pixel 7 Pro user even figured out a specific trigger on Netflix where the flickering only happens when subtitles are turned on.

One Pixel 9 user found a quick fix, though it comes with a trade-off. Turning off the Smooth Display setting stops the flickering, but it also locks the screen to a 60Hz refresh rate instead of the smoother 120Hz. That means scrolling and animations won’t feel as fluid, but at least the brightness issue is gone.

We’ve reached out to Google for comment and will update this story as soon as we hear back.