What is PLS by color depth
PLS by color depth breaks down your Perceived Load Speed (PLS) by the color depth of the user’s screen — that is, how many bits per pixel are used to represent color. Typical values include 16-bit, 24-bit, 30-bit, and 32-bit, with higher values enabling richer visual displays.
Color depth is indirectly tied to device capabilities. Higher-end devices tend to support deeper color, while older or less capable hardware may use lower color depth. This lens can reveal performance differences that correlate with display quality and device class.
Healthy PLS by color depth sample
Should you worry
If most color depth groups show good PLS and no segment stands out as significantly slower, then there’s little to worry about. Minor variation is expected.
However, if users with lower color depths consistently experience slower perceived load speed, it may indicate that those devices are less powerful overall or struggling to render complex layouts, media, or animations — especially when combined with other stressors like connection type or memory.
Unhealthy PLS by color depth sample
When one or more color depth groups (e.g., 16-bit) show high PLS values, it suggests that lower-end devices are struggling to visually complete the page quickly. This could mean that the rendering pipeline, image sizes, or layout complexity need to be revisited to improve performance across the full user base.
Resolving unhealthy PLS by color depth
Go-to action plan to resolve an unhealthy PLS by color depth:
Ask Uxi to analyze your PLS by color depth and suggest improvements.
Use Filters for color depth alongside device memory or CPU cores to confirm if low-end hardware is the root cause.
Simulate LCP of the suspected lens to see if fixing it will resolve the PLS by color depth. If yes, this is where the resolution focus should be.
Use an automated optimization tool like Navigation AI to improve your PLS by color depth.
Once you’ve improved PLS, set an alert to be the first to know if it starts worsening again.
Try it yourself
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