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According to a new report on Reddit, the Pixel 7a is not exactly a fan of sunshine. The phone’s display starts acting rather odd when facing the sun, and it’s definitely not something it should be happening.
The Pixel 7a display acts a bit odd when in contact with sunshine
This is either a problem of Google’s own making, or simply a bug. As many of you know, the Pixel 7a comes with a 90Hz display. That panel can jump between 60 and 90Hz refresh rate, and the change is noticeable.
It basically goes down to 60Hz when you’re checking out an image or something, something static. When you start scrolling or watching a video, the refresh rate will go up. The change between 60 and 90Hz refresh rates is rather noticeable, which is why a user noticed a problem with the phone’s display.
A Reddit user that goes by ‘pawlikx_iron’, claims that its Pixel 7a reduces refresh rate down to 60Hz when being used in the sun. And no, the phone’s temperature is not the reason. Some of you may have jumped to conclusions immediately.
He says that this happens even when the phone is cold, so it’s not triggered by power management. Well, it could be, actually, but not because of the temperature.
This problem does not seem to be exclusive to this unit
The user claims that the phone stays in 60Hz mode until you move to a shaded area. Using the phone does not change the refresh rate when he’s in direct contact with the sun. And no, this problem does not seem to be exclusive to that unit. Unfortunately we cannot check ours at the moment.
Mishaal Rahman actually noticed this post, and replied. He said that it seems like other Pixels are doing this too. They drop down to 60Hz when in bright areas of over 50,000 lux. Well, at least based on their configs. He promised to look into it more. It is not something that should be happening, though. Google is possibly using it to preserve battery life, or it was simply a mistake on the company’s part.