The Galaxy S8, gorgeous as it may be, is not without its share of issues that might affect users' overall satisfaction with the flagship. Some, such as the red tint and connectivity issues, may be fixed via a software update. But others might, such as random reboots, prove more problematic and worse, permanent.
A new report sheds light on the newest Galaxy S8 issue, one that could be the most problematic of all the phone's recorded issues so far, and if you've owned a Galaxy smartphone in the past, you might be familiar with it.
Galaxy S8 Burn-In Issues Are Starting To Appear
This issue is of course the dreaded burn-in phenomenon. Recently on a Korean forum, a user uploaded a photo of a Galaxy S8 with a burn-in problem just one week after using the device. As The Korea Herald reports, the burn-in issue occurred in the lower part of the display where the virtual home button is located.
For the uninitiated, Samsung uses Super AMOLED displays for most, if not all of its handsets, and the Galaxy S8 is no exception. This is partly because OLEDs are much more beautiful displays than LCDs. They output "blacker" blacks, and they require no backlight, so you end up getting richer, more accurate colors.
The downside with OLED displays is burn-in issues. When an image is displayed for too long, certain diodes burn up, and when they do, they leave a ghost image which stays there forever. It's unsightly, to say the least, and with the Galaxy S8's gorgeous screen, it's quite unfortunate.
How Samsung Is Trying To Solve Burn-In Problems
We reported recently that Samsung is trying to combat this by continuously moving the virtual home button icon in all directions. This will prevent the icon from staying too long in one place, thereby allowing some pixels to rest for a bit. Hence, it'll prevent the display from burning in.
Galaxy S8 owners have the option to turn the virtual button on at all times, regardless whether the screen is on or off. The button begins moving when the display is turned off.
The Korea Herald notes that the issue might not just be occurring in its home country. In the Netherlands, one customer turned to Twitter and asked about Always-On Display burn-in issues last week, but to no avail.
A Samsung spokesperson in Korea assures that Samsung is already one step ahead of this issue, while noting that it has not received other cases of burn-in problems.
"An algorithm to prevent burn-ins is already equipped," the spokesperson said. "Whether the consumer's claim turns out to be true or not remains to be seen. At the moment, we are not receiving reports of other cases."
It remains to be seen how many Galaxy S8 or S8 Plus users have burn-in issues. But if the number balloons significantly overtime, these people have actually no recourse other than to have the screen replaced or have the entire phone replaced altogether. None of those options, however, will ever get rid of burn-in problems. Unfortunately, burn-in is a marquee issue of current OLED technology.
Thoughts about the Galaxy S8's burn-in issue? Do you have such issues with your Galaxy S8 or S8 Plus? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
