A disappointing color quality on google laptops using OLED screens. All because of software limitations. If you were hoping to see beautiful colors with deep black shades, your dreams will be crushed by the lack of performance of these displays. This problem is present on both Intel and Snapdragon based versions of the new Googlebook series.
Software limits prevent full color coverage on new laptops
Reviewers have tried a couple of specific models. One of them is Asus Googlebook 14 and another one is HP Googlebook 14c. They both have high-resolution OLED displays that should provide a top-notch visual experience. But the operating system is just limiting these screens to sRGB only.
Spec comparison
| Spec | Asus Googlebook 14 | HP Googlebook 14c |
|---|---|---|
| Display Technology | OLED | OLED |
| Color Space Support | sRGB only | sRGB only |
| HDR Support | Not specified | Not supported |
| Black Level | 0.42 | Not specified |
| Contrast Ratio | ~1200:1 | Not specified |
This software limitation stops you from using other color spaces such as P3. Which is the norm these days with any modern OLED based laptops. Both devices have very poor color accuracy according to the reviewers. There's no way you can change anything in the OS to modify the color profiles or unlock full color coverage.
What's more, HDR is not even supported at the moment for the HP Googlebook 14c. Black level is dramatically higher for the Asus Googlebook 14. It's 0.42.
And that's where you get the contrast of around 1200:1. The contrast that is more common with IPS displays and definitely not with OLED ones.
Clearly, the software setup of Google is not fully taking advantage of the OLED hardware. It's not like there is some hardware issue. It's just the overall system setup that needs to be fixed. You'll only get faded colors and poor contrast until this software issue gets fixed with an update.
Source: NotebookCheck
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