An Android ROM developer has crafted a way to downscale the Pixel 6 Pro’s screen to 1080p, a feature we’ve seen should be coming to the Pixel 7 Pro this fall.
While digging into the many Android 13 Beta releases from this year, our team previously reported that the Pixel 7 Pro would be getting a dedicated toggle between the default 1440p output and 1080p. The same feature is available on a few other high-end Android phones, including Samsung flagships, and acts as a way to conserve battery.
At the time, we noted how the Pixel 7 Pro was set to use the exact same Samsung-made display as the Pixel 6 Pro. That being the case, it means there should be no reason why the Pixel 6 Pro shouldn’t be able to use the same 1080p toggle, with a bit of modification.
Developers rapidly set out to do so, with early modifications popping up within weeks of that initial report. Today, Freak07 shared an updated version of the Kirisakura kernel mod for Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, which brings full support for switching to 1080p on Android 13. In fact, you’ll even use the new toggle that Google introduced in Android 13, which we believe will officially launch on this fall’s Pixel 7 Pro.
This mod is the product of significant testing and tweaking, as changing the raw display settings of a phone can lead to issues with brightness levels, colors, and more. And even despite all of that testing, things are still not quite perfect with the mod installed. Freak07 notes that sometimes Android’s UI act in weird ways or icons will overlap with one another.
More importantly, if you have certain features enabled when switching to 1080p, like “Show frame rate” from Android’s developer options, your Pixel 6 Pro will need to be forcibly restarted. Other than these bits of wonkiness, Freak07 suggests that the mod is more or less ready to be used on a daily basis.
Of course, like any mod for your device, you’re taking a risk by installing it. To even install this kernel mod, your device needs to already be rooted with Magisk, and you’ll be flashing code to one of the most security sensitive parts of your device. While mods like these can be fun for Android enthusiasts, we don’t recommend them for most Pixel owners.
That said, it should in theory be a bit safer for your hardware than the recently shared mod to run the Pixel 6a at a higher 90Hz refresh rate. Where that Pixel 6a mod is built to make your device do more than it’s intended to do, this 1080p mod for Pixel 6 Pro is safely within the phone’s hardware capabilities.
More on Pixel:
- New Pixel At a Glance feature can show status of ‘Food and household orders’
- Pixel 7 series arrives at FCC with UWB only on 7 Pro
- Google running Pixel wallpaper contest with free Pixel 6 as prize
Author: Kyle Bradshaw
Source: 9TO5Google
