Earlier this year, Pixel phones got several interesting new features. Apart from finally giving the Now playing features its own app, there were also a number of updates to Gemini, but hidden under all those additions was one little feature that noticeably improved the experience of using my Pixel phone: Comfort View.
What is Comfort View?
Softens the palette
Comfort View is another display filter that Google added to the current selection, along with options like Night Light and Adaptive Tone. Once enabled, it tones down vibrant colors and tones down high-intensity tones, turning the image into a less “noisy” mix of softer, pastel-like colors, which, in theory, should reduce eye strain when using your Pixel.
This isn’t a subtle effect like Adaptive Hue, which shifts colors a bit toward the warmer or cooler end of the spectrum depending on the ambient lighting. As soon as you enable Comfort View, you will immediately notice that the entire screen becomes softer and less saturated, which I ultimately liked.
How to enable Comfort View on your Pixel phone
At the moment, you can only use it on the Pixel 10 series
The good news is that you can enable Comfort View in a second. The bad news is that, at the time of writing, only the Pixel 10 family has access to it, not including those on a budget. Pixel 10a. I see no reason to limit the feature to the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro phones, and I’m pretty sure Comfort View will come to the rest of the Pixel line with active support sooner or later.
To enable Comfort View, go to Settings > Display and tap > Comfort Filters. Once there, you can enable Comfort View and choose whether you want to adjust the intensity manually or let the system take care of it. Alternatively, you can add the Comfort filters icon to the Quick Settings panel. By tapping on it, you can toggle between Comfort View and Night Light.
Comfort View did wonders for my eyestrain
Especially when combined with Night Light
March Pixel Drop downloaded immediately after I finished setting up my Pixel 10 Pro, so I had access to Comfort View right from the start. Like someone whose eyes are dry as sand and who constantly looks for ways to reduce eye strainI found that Comfort View was just what the doctor ordered.
However, for the first few days, I stuck with my usual combination: night light during the day, augmented by the monochrome color filter at night (which is part of Android Bedtime mode). I also enabled an option called “Adjust brightness for sensitive eyes”, which increases the brightness of the screen. Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) Flicker from 240Hz to 480Hz, which you can find in the Accessibility menu. But I quickly found that the Comfort View and Night Light combination was more effective than Night Light alone or Night Light combined with the monochrome filter.
In the mornings, Comfort View is much easier on the eyes than Night Light alone, even when combined with manual brightness reduction. This is because Night Light only reduces the intensity of blue light without touching other colors, which can still make things look a little “noisy”, especially if you’re like me and can barely keep your eyes open after waking up.
At night, when I inevitably scroll before bed, I found that this combination strains my eyes much less than Night Light plus the monochrome filter. That’s probably because those muted, pastel-like colors feel less intense than a black and white view. Nowadays, I typically keep Comfort View on throughout the day and only turn it off when viewing photos, watching videos, or when I simply want to enjoy the Pixel 10 Pro’s vibrant, lively display.
Comfort View is an option far from greatness
Just let me program it
As much as I like the Comfort View, there is one small flaw that prevents it from achieving greatness: it cannot be programmed. Unlike Night Light, there is no way for it to turn on automatically.
It may seem insignificant, but it can be a bit annoying. Relatively often I turn it off during the day and then when night comes I forget to turn it on and end up with vivid colors exploding on my retinas until I remember that Comfort View is off.
Being able to schedule it manually, or at least having the option to automatically enable it at dusk, would be great. To be fair, Google delivered the feature recently, so I hope in the future the Pixel Drop equips Comfort View with scheduling options.
Its singular flaw didn’t stop Comfort View from becoming one of my favorite Pixel features
Even without programming, Comfort View has quickly become one of my favorite features of the Pixel. Between this, Night Light, a higher PWM flicker rate (480Hz vs. 247.5Hz on the S21 FE), and a minimum brightness that drops to just a few nits, the Pixel 10 Pro is much easier on the eyes than the Galaxy S21 FE.
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- Brand
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Google
- SoC
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Google Tensor G5
- Show
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6.3-inch OLED, 20:9 ratio
- RAM
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12GB RAM
- Storage
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128GB/256GB
- Battery
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4970mAh
Are you looking to upgrade to a Pixel but aren’t sure if you need all the bells and whistles of the more expensive models? You won’t be disappointed with the standard Pixel 10 model. With bold colors, Gemini features, and seven years of updates, you can’t go wrong with this purchase.
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- Brand
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Google
- SoC
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Google Tensor G5
- Show
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6.3-inch Super Actua, 20:9
- RAM
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16GB RAM
- Storage
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128 GB / 256 GB / 512 GB with UFS by zones / 1 TB with UFS by zones
- Battery
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4870mAh
The Pixel 10 Pro offers an upgrade from the base model with the powerful Google Tensor G5 chip, more RAM, and more storage (if you need it).
