Some Pixel 2 XL displays don’t have color issues, but it’s hard to get one

When the Pixel 2 XL launched in October it received a ton of criticism from reviewers. The LG-made display was panned for being splotchy and having a massive blue color shift. To a lot of users, this wasn’t as big of a deal as reviewers were making it out to be, but it was still clearly a problem. OLED displays generally have similar issues, but on the Pixel 2 XL they were cranked up to 11.

Since this is a hardware issue, you might wonder if all units are affected. It turns out some Pixel 2 XLs aren’t nearly as bad, but finding one is basically a crapshoot. The video above shows how a newer Pixel 2 XL has almost no color shifting and the display is warmer. Other people have reported the same findings. However, it’s not as easy as saying newer Pixel 2 XLs are fixed.

Users have reported phones made in October that seem fine, while some made as late as December still have issues. Finding a perfect display doesn’t seem like an easy quest. Once again, it boils down to a lack of quality control at Google. There shouldn’t be such a big disparity in the display quality. Every Pixel 2 XL should be exactly the same.