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The Pixel 8 series supports display output over USB-C despite what Google says
- The Pixel 8 series supports DisplayPort functionality on a hardware level.
- The feature is disabled in the phones’ software.
- You can root the devices to enable display output over USB-C.
The Google Pixel 8 series is now confirmed to support DisplayPort Alternate Mode, also known as DP Alt Mode. That means the phones have a USB-C port capable of transferring DisplayPort signals and broadcasting video to external display devices over a USB-C connection. The findings were confirmed by Mishaal Rahman, who, with the help of a tester, shared a video showing a Pixel 8 Pro successfully connected to a display.
The discovery of the Pixel 8 series supporting DisplayPort functionality comes after Google confirmed to Android Authority that the phones lack the feature. Answering an emailed questionnaire, Google explicitly told us, “The Pixel 8 and 8 Pro currently do not support DisplayPort connection.”
Turns out, the function is disabled at a software level on the Pnew Pixels, unlike previous Google phones, which didn’t support DisplayPort on a hardware level.
Rahmaan recently suggested a method that involves rooting a Pixel 8 and tinkering with some configurations to enable display output over USB-C. The process works with the right combination of USB-C cables and monitors/other displays. The tester who managed to make this work used a USB-C-to-USB-C cable that’s claimed to be DisplayPort compatible.
It’s unclear why Google hasn’t officially enabled DisplayPort functionality on the new Pixels when the hardware is capable of performing the task. The new iPhone 15 series also supports 4K HDR video output to an external display through DisplayPort. Google could have easily enabled the same, but perhaps the company is still working on perfecting the feature.