If you look closely, the Pixel 3's screen corners are digitally altered

If there’s one unanimous complaint about the Pixel 3 XL, it’s that the phone’s notch doesn’t look symmetrical with the device’s chin. While Google can’t really do anything about that other than offer to hide the entire notch, a user on Reddit (via The Verge) did notice that the smaller Pixel 3 does adjust the top corners so that the radius matches the bottom corners.

You can see this software adaptation in action below:

According to a handful of users on Reddit who have looked into this claim, it appears that the corners are adjusted while the Pixel 3 is starting up. After that, Google retains the adjustment and doesn’t darken those few pixels every time you wake up the phone.

As it turns out, Google employed a similar practice with the older Pixel 2 XL. Since the two handsets feature an almost identical design, this isn’t all that surprising. Because the screen doesn’t travel all of the way to the top of the phone, Google can manipulate the radius without it being too noticeable. 

Unfortunately, this type of adjustment wouldn’t work as well on the Pixel 3 XL. As some users have noted, the display corners at the top and bottom of Google’s larger flagship feature drastically different radii. While the search giant could adjust the corners either on the top or the bottom, it would result in either a larger chin or completely void the “bezel-less” look around the notch.

What do you think about Google manipulating the radius of the Pixel 3’s screen corners? Do you think you would have ever noticed that Google removes those number of pixels from the top of the display? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!