Some Galaxy S8 owners complaining about burnt-in pixels

Some owners of Samsung’s nearly bezel-less Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus smartphones are complaining about burnt-in pixels in their AMOLED screens. According to web reports, the affected customers are seeing permanent discolorations in the lower part of Samsung’s Infinity Display where the new virtual button resides, Korean outlet The Investor reported Monday.

Virtual Home button and Always On Display

The virtual Home button is shown on the screen permanently thanks to Samsung’s Always On Display technology. Like plasma screens, AMOLEDs are prone to burnt-in pixels that may occur after prolonged exposure to static images.

The South Korean company has attempted to mitigate the problem in software, by slightly changing the position of the virtual Home button every now and then to avoid burnt pixels, Dutch website Galaxy Club reported last week.

Responding to a tweet from a Dutch user concerning this issue, a spokesperson for the South Korean conglomerate said its phones use a special “algorithm to prevent burn-ins.”

“Whether the consumer’s claim turns out to be true or not remains to be seen,” the spokesperson added. “At the moment, we are not receiving reports of other cases.”

A few Redditors have warned about potential burnt-in pixels with the Galaxy S8 models.

“When the phones are idle they show the same screen, then when you use the web browser you can see the burn in in the form of a rectangle. Is this a concern for everyday users?,” one Redditor asked.

“Isn’t there a much higher risk of screen burn in with the Always on Display and home button enabled?,” another one jumped in. “It’s one thing if they’re in the same place when you turn on the screen, but now as the name suggests, it’s always on.”

It’s also possible that the reported burn-in syndrome is actually image retention.

Red tint and unexpected restarts

Samsung’s latest flagship phones have had their fair share of teething issues so far.

After folks began noticing a red tint on their Infinity Displays, Samsung said it had nothing to do with hardware. Blaming its own color management software, the company issued a software update that has removed the redish tint.

Last but not least, concerned Galaxy S8 owners took to social media to complain about their device abruptly restarting for no apparent reason. The malfunction had not been addressed on Samsung’s part at the time of this writing.

Will iPhone 8 suffer from burnt-in pixels, too?

It will be interesting seeing how Apple approaches OLED burn-ins with iPhone 8, which is said to feature a 5.8-inch screen with a usable area measuring 5.1 to 5.2 inches diagonally and the rest reserved for a function area at the bottom.

If Apple places a virtual Home button in the function area along with other persistent shortcuts, as rumored, it too might need to employ software techniques to mitigate any burn-ins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7YI5fNbOyc

The latest Galaxies may be especially prone to burnt-in pixels due to Samsung’s Always-On Display, which uses fewer colors when displaying simple info like the time and date.

Thankfully, this feature can be optimally disabled in settings so that could be something that people who are concerned about burnt-in pixels may consider doing.

Do you own a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 Plus?

If so, have you experienced any burnt-in pixels or red tint on your device’s AMOLED screen yet? How about unexpected restarts or shutdowns? Tell us in comments.