Google Pixel 9 range tipped for major display brightness upgrade

Google’s Pixel 9 range of flagship phones could be set for a huge display upgrade across the board.

The next Google Pixel range will be announced on August 13, but we’ve already seen a fair amount of them – quite literally, thanks to a host of hands-on leaks.

This latest claim relates to a the displays that Google is going to be using in its new phones. According to Android Authority (among other sources), all Pixel 9 phones will use Samsung’s M14 display material in the make-up of their AMOLED screens.

The most noticeable benefit of using this material (which the iPhone 16 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S25 should also use) will be a much higher brightness. Apparently, the base Pixel 9 will hits 1,800 nits. By way of a comparison, the Pixel 8 Pro (pictured) ‘only’ hits around 1,600 nits.

Meanwhile, the two Pixel 9 Pro phones (that’s an XL model and a smaller one) will have displays that hit an eye-scorching 2,050 nits. These are all figures for full-screen HDR scenarios, so expect them to have ridiculous ‘peak’ brightness figures for localised HDR scenarios.

The report also confirms that the new smaller Pixel 9 Pro will come with a 6.34-inch screen, which will be fractionally larger than the Pixel 9’s 6.24-inch display. The main difference here will be one of resolution, with the Pixel 9 Pro hitting 1,280 x 2,856 for 494ppi versus the Pixel 9’s 1,080 x 2,424 and 425ppi.

That leaves the Pixel 9 Pro XL to top out at 6.73 inches and 1,344 x 2,992, which is itself a slight (and we do mean slight) size increase on the Pixel 8 Pro’s 6.71 inches and 1,344 x 2,992.