What is Google's Pixel Super Actua Display?

We dive into the details of Google's Pixel Super Actua Display to explore how the Pixel 8 Pro's screen stacks up against other flagship phones

Google introduced an advanced screen technology called the Pixel Super Actua Display in 2023. It's only available on the Google Pixel 8 Pro. Sometimes, a fancy name is marketing hype, but the Pixel Super Actua Display is an exciting development for Google Pixel fans. Let's delve into how this display technology works and how it compares to the screens on flagship Android phones and the latest iPhone.

What's a Super Actua Display?

Google called its newest and best screen technology the Pixel Super Actua Display. While Google didn't share the reason for the name, some parts are easily deciphered.

The Pixel Super Actua Display is only available on the Pixel 8 Pro and is one of the best displays available. Describing it as "Super" makes sense. "Actua" is Google's branding for the new displays, and the word has no inherent meaning in English.

The Google Pixel 8 has an Actua Display, suggesting the screens share some details in common. The Pixel 8 series features improved OLED display technology that's brighter than that of the Pixel 7 series. The Pixel 8's screen is 43% brighter than the Pixel 7. The Pixel 8 Pro outshines the Pixel 7 Pro's peak brightness by 60%.

The Pixel 8 series phones also have dynamic refresh rates that increase when needed to smooth scrolling and improve gaming performance. When speed isn't required, the refresh rate can drop to preserve battery life.

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Pixel 8 Pro Super Actua Display specifications

The Pixel 8 Pro is Google's best phone, featuring wider-aperture cameras, stronger Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, and the improved Super Actua Display. Here are the screen specifications:

Is the Pixel 8 Pro's display the best?

Google gave the Pixel 8 Pro one of the best screens available in 2023. Several months into 2024, the Pixel Super Actua Display still stands out as one of the brightest and sharpest available.

It's debatable which phone has the best screen technology. The display experts at DxOMark place the Pixel 8 Pro's display in the same league as Samsung's S24 Ultra and rate Google's display significantly higher than Apple's iPhone 15 Pro Max.

With a high pixel density, accurate colors, high brightness levels, and variable refresh rate, these flagship phones give a good reason for premium pricing. The Pixel 8 Pro is relatively inexpensive compared to the best phones from Samsung and Apple.

Top-rated phone displays usually use a variation of organic LED technology. For more information, check out our detailed guide that explains the difference between AMOLED, OLED, and POLED.

Limitations of the Pixel Super Actua Display

The Pixel 8 Pro's Super Actua Display provides clear and bright screens even outdoors. Google's advanced display also smooths animations and supports gaming at up to 120 frames per second.

Despite the intense energy demands of the Pixel 8 Pro's high-performance display, battery usage is minimized by lowering the refresh rate to as low as one screen update per second when activity is low.

That sounds great, but developers must update apps to take advantage of this feature. Since the Pixel 8 Pro launched in October 2023, some apps might not support this advanced display technology.

The Pixel Super Actua Display requires optimized apps to enjoy the longest battery life, the fastest refresh rate, and the brightest screens. The Android operating system and Google system apps should offer the best support.

While there isn't an easy way to identify optimized apps, Google, Samsung, Apple, and other phone manufacturers have offered similar capabilities for many years. The code required to implement a dynamic refresh rate should be incorporated into the most demanding games and apps.

The brightness also varies depending on the content displayed, the ambient lighting, and your brightness settings. That's why Google shows a brightness of "up to 1600 nits" and a peak brightness of "up to 2400 nits," meaning portions of the screen may reach the peak brightness, but the overall intensity will be 1600 nits or lower.

Pixel displays keep getting better

Since the first Pixel, Google has ensured its phones offered a great user experience while specifications were less important. Even though the Pixel has always excelled at photographs, the camera hardware wasn't that impressive.

That has changed in the last few years. Since the Pixel 6 series, Google has shipped flagship phones with specifications to match. The cameras and displays of Google's Pixel 8 series compete well with the best Android phones. It seems likely that this trend of top-tier technology and comfortable user interface design will continue with the Pixel 9 series and beyond.