A new Pixel 6 Pro mod brings a display resolution toggle

Android OEMs have offered the ability to change display resolutions for years now, but this wasn’t actually supported by stock Android. Fortunately, Android 13 finally brings this feature, and a developer has managed to unofficially bring it to the Pixel 6 Pro.

XDA developer Freak07 has updated their Kirisakura-Kernel mod so Pixel 6 Pro users on stable Android 13 can switch from the native QHD+ screen resolution to FHD+ instead (h/t: XDA-Developers and Mishaal Rahman).

The developer says features like brightness scaling and the dynamic refresh rate are working fine right now. They add that there aren’t any issues related to contrast at high brightness or the display tint.

It’s not perfect though, as Freak07 adds that there are minor issues (e.g. icons overlapping or UI glitches). Another issue is that the display blacks out when you switch resolutions while having the “show refresh rate” developer toggle enabled, necessitating a reboot.

This isn’t an official solution though, so we’d expect a more polished experience if Google decides to bring this option to the Pixel 6 Pro. But we’re still glad to see the community step in and bring a long-overdue feature to Pixels, even if it requires some in-depth tinkering.

Resolution adjustments have been a fixture on devices from Android OEMs since the early to mid-2010s thanks to Samsung and Huawei, allowing device owners to reduce screen resolution in order to save battery life. We’ve since seen some brands offer automatic display resolution adjustments too, dynamically switching between resolutions based on a variety of factors. This doesn’t seem to be present on the Pixel 6 Pro mod, but we hope to see it on Pixel phones in the future.