The all new $1,542 Google Pixel 2 XL has a major OLED screen burn problem which appear after a few days of use.
Several reviewers of the device have described the new premium smartphone as delivering “underwhelming screen performance”.
According to users of the overpriced device, the problem emerges after a week’s worth of use with the screen-burn, affecting both buttons and navigation bars leaving ghosts-like images on the panel even after they are no longer being displayed.
Google has admitted that they are actively investigating problems with the Pixel 2 XL display.
Trusted Reviews said that screen-burn has long been an issue in the display world, affecting TVs and monitors as well as the odd smartphone display. It usually takes the form of semi-visible images of previously displayed icons or video content left ‘burned’ into the display even when they’re no longer supposed to be visible.
The problem can go from causing a minor but annoying distraction to making a display unusable.
One reviewer Alex Dobi posted a photo of his Pixel 2 XL online which showed visible screen burn in the form of menu buttons showing up when the display should be showing a grey background.
A Google spokesperson said “We put all of our products through extensive quality testing before launch and in the manufacturing of every unit. We are actively investigating this report,” a Google spokesperson said.
The Pixel 2 XL runs Google’s customised version of the Android operating system.
This incorporates software navigation buttons that stay in place when users move from screen to screen.
This mean they are only removed when full screen content, like games, apps and videos, are viewed.
Mr Dobie noted that if a light coloured image was displayed on the POLED screen, faint traces of the navigation buttons could be seen.
In a statement issued to the media, a Google spokesman said: ‘The Pixel 2 XL screen has been designed with an advanced POLED technology, including QHD+ resolution, wide colour gamut, and high contrast ratio for natural and beautiful colours and renderings.
‘We put all of our products through extensive quality testing before launch and in the manufacturing of every unit.
‘We are actively investigating this report.’
The search Company who recently acquired HTC in an effort to obtain smartphone research and development expertise should have been able to have created a near-flawless display for its Pixel 2 XL said observers.