Google’s Pixel 9 Pro is one of the best Android phones out there, according to most reviews. According to AP Phones Editor Will, this is Google’s best phone yet (despite the silly AI features). If you ignore these (which isn’t difficult), the 9 Pro’s great hardware and mature software make it an easy choice. Samsung and Apple both offer options with always-on display wallpapers, but this one is missing. The hardware is there, but the software is lacking.
Pixel 9 Pro’s LTPO display
OLED smartphones have always-on displays, which display information like notifications, the time, and local weather even if you’re not active. Several phones with more advanced displays have taken it to the next level in recent years. You can set your always-on display to display a darkened version of your wallpaper if you have one of the newer iPhone Pro models or a Samsung Galaxy S24 series device.
In my Samsung Galaxy S24+ review, I admit that I wasn’t a fan of the feature at first. My S24+’s always-on display makes all the wallpapers I want to use on its home screen distracting. It doesn’t really affect battery life either. However, the feature uses your lock screen wallpaper, so choosing a subtler AOD wallpaper is as easy as picking a subtle lock screen wallpaper. As soon as that clicked, I was able to find simpler images and graphics to make my AOD stand out.
AOD wallpapers are a nice-to-have feature, but shouldn’t be the deciding factor in buying a phone. The feature is fun, and if you don’t want it, you can easily disable it. In the case of a phone’s hardware that supports wallpapering an always-on display, I can’t see any downside to its software adding that option.
There is nothing wrong with the Pixel 9 Pro’s hardware. In OLED screens, the blank spaces in a locked phone that only display a clock and some icons are powered off, so you never have to worry about power consumption. On most OLED displays, displaying a static image would drain batteries more quickly than a persistent wallpaper.
In recent years, premium phones have become available with LTPO OLED displays (Google’s take is called the Super Actua display) that can dynamically adjust their refresh rate down to 1 Hz, or once per second. A display’s full refresh rate range is rarely used in practice. However, phones like the standard Pixel 9 use significantly less power when using a lower refresh rate than non-LTPO screens that operate at 60 Hz. The Pixel 9 Pro doesn’t have AOD wallpapers available, but I found that the S24+ lasted more than a full day even with AOD wallpaper enabled all the time.
In normal use, LTPO panels save battery life versus LTPS panels; keeping the screen refreshed less often reduces battery drain, which is why your phone’s battery saver mode caps the refresh rate. Google’s Pixel phones could be differentiated by showing wallpapers on the always-on display – the standard Pixel 9 lacks an LTPO panel, so AOD wallpapers would be an exclusive Pro feature.
AOD wallpapers for Pixel 9 Pro are still available
It appears that the Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and the Pixel 8 Pro all have the right display hardware for showing wallpapers on the always-on display, but the option isn’t available in the software. AOD wallpapers are a great feature, but they are not part of Android, they are a custom One UI feature. In light of the increasing popularity of LTPO screens, AOD wallpaper functionality in AOSP is only a matter of time before it is added to compatible Pixel phones.
LTPO screens give Android users a new canvas for personalization, which has always been one of Android’s strongest points. The next update to Android will be here before you know it – I haven’t heard anything about changes to AOD (yet), but maybe we’ll be lucky.
