Google is grappling with complaints that its expensive flagship Pixel 2 XL smartphones are suffering from screen ‘burn in’.
The problem of ‘burn in’ or ‘image permanence’ is more commonly associated with obsolete cathode-ray tube (CRT) display technology left displaying a stationary image for too long – hence the use of ‘screen savers’ in operating systems. The problem also affected some cheap LCDs.
The Pixel 2 XL screen has been generally dissed anyway, with complaints of a blue hue, muddy colours and grainy images that are magnified if used with the new Google Daydream View headset.
A post by Android Police’s Alex Dobie clearly shows that the soft navigation buttons have burnt-in to the OLED display after just one week and since it was first reported, other (mostly journalists) have said the same.
We’re still testing ours here in the office and are yet to have it come up, but it sounds like it’s a matter of time.