Google Pixel 2 XL Display is a Disaster!

Google Pixel 2 XL Display is a Disaster!

The Google flagship phone features a dull display that is prone to a screen burn-in.

In a rush to win the hearts and the wallets of consumers many phone-makers tend to release handhelds with a lot of bugs and glitches. Samsung S8 has the red screen issue for example, and the iPhone 8 is reported to have a poorly installed display and a crackling noise in the speakers. It’s not uncommon nowadays. But the Google Pixel 2 XL tops off any other bug, that frankly, no flagship phone can afford.

Five days ago the users, who already had their hands on the new Android flagship report dull colors and lack of white balance. The system tray icons look greenish at a certain angle and the faces in portraits have a gray color to them.

The vivid mode toggle doesn’t improve the situation either.

This bug can’t be considered a serious one though. The CNET experts who were the first to notice it compared the Google Pixel 2 XL to the Samsung S8. So their perception of color quality can be somehow influenced by the fact that Samsung’s displays have always been the brightest ones. Most Pixel 2 XL owners agree that color perception is a subjective factor. Google replied that they sought for natural colors and they are boosted by 10% only in vivid mode. The company did promise to enhance the possibilities of the screen in software upgrades.

The younger model, Google Pixel 2 lacks this disadvantage according to the reviewers. You can see it in the picture below, although not everyone is always able to notice.

Google Pixel 2 Colors. Image source: https://liliputing.com.

Personally, I don’t see any difference. Both phones feature a muted screen to me. But again, it’s a good feature because I am not a fan of vibrant colors. I always set my phone screen saturation low anyway. What I hate are the blotches and grains that come out when scrolling the screen in a dark room which Google Pixel 2 XL happens to have a lot of according to users’ reviews. But one of the reviews nailed the Pixel smartphone down as a disaster.

To be clear: no such issue w/ baby Pixel 2 that I’ve been using for about the same length of time

— Alex Dobie (@alexdobie) October 22, 2017

Yes, the new Google smartphone happens to have a screen burn-in after a week of everyday use. As you can see, the navigation bar was discolored. Some experts say it’s because of the poor quality of the POLED displays by LG, others say this is just the way POLED displays are.

Let me remind you that P stands for plastic. OLED stand for organic light emitting diodes. They are placed on plastic film in rows. In cheap displays the current is provided to each row, but in expensive ones – to each diode. The scheme allows to achieve sharper and brighter images but also deteriorates the diodes life as well as that of the plastic film. In this case we see that the life of the diodes behind the navigation bar were dramatically short.
Why the navigation bar? Because this area, as well as the notification bar on the top of the screen are the most seldom used areas of the touch screen. They stay unchanged for quite a long time. So, the pixels there work harder and live less.

The screen burn-ins are going to become a more frequent issue than even broken screens. The industry is unlikely to ditch the POLED displays. Right now YouTube is bursting with how-to videos featuring protections for Samsung S8 smartphones. They suggest to turn on the animated screensaver that will allow the phone to give the navigation bar OLEDs some rest.

This know-how can work for Google Pixel 2 XL too. It’s the only thing to do right now, since Google hasn’t rolled out any explanation to this incident, let alone any tip about how to avoid this disaster. Anyway, a screen burn-in in a phone within the first week of sales is a disaster. It could kill the whole idea of Google phones at this point.

Links

• Google Pixel 2 XL – Official page from Google
• Sell your Google Pixel – The best place to sell smartphones and other devices online
• Everything About Apple’s Products – The complete guide to all Apple consumer electronic products, including technical specifications, identifiers and other valuable information.
• Everything About Microsoft’s Products – The complete guide to all Microsoft consumer electronic products, including technical specifications, identifiers and other valuable information.

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL Hands On! [Video]

Video uploaded by Unbox Therapy on October 4, 2017