Leaks have been tracking Google’s work on adopting a new display panel for the Pixel 7 Pro – the new S6E3HC4 panel will have the same 3,120 x 1,440px resolution and same 10-120Hz refresh rate, so what has actually changed from the S6E3HC3 of the Pixel 6 Pro? That question is partially answered by source code that is part of the Android 13 betas.
The new display panel will be brighter. Based on the code shown below, the Pixel 7 Pro will let the user go up to 600 nits in Manual mode, 100 nits higher than the 6 Pro offered.
In Auto mode, the display will top out at 1,000 nits, up from 800 nits. Note that these values are for 100% APL, i.e. an all-white display. At lower APL (which is a much more common case), the brightness could probably hit 1,200 nits.
The hardware capabilities of the S6E3HC4 display panel for the Pixel 7 Pro
The source code also describes some additional features for the display panel, including support for HDR10 and HLG imagery. Still no HDR10+ or a lower minimum refresh rate, though. That said, there is a native 1080p mode, which should help reduce power usage.
The Pixel 7 series is “coming soon”, but Google has not set an official launch date yet (it will be in October, according to rumors). Whether the smaller Pixel 7 gets a display upgrade is unclear at this point too.
