A week into use, Google Pixel 2 XL surfaces screen burn-in problem

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The review units of Pixel 2 XL sent to tech websites have started showing a major problem with its OLED screen, within a week. No, this is not about the morbid and pale colours it shows, but potentially more worrisome, screen burn-in.

Now that I've booted the Pixel 2 XL all the way and verified Vivid Colors is on, I can confirm that LG's OLED display is shockingly awful. pic.twitter.com/FXSGA0kFH7

— Artem Russakovskii (@ArtemR) October 19, 2017

The problem highlighted by Alex Dobie of Android Central has been highlighted by others as well. Screen burn-in happens when a portion of the display has the same imagery long enough to cause a ghost image of it to hang around after you change the screen to display something else, according to Android Central.

That's some pretty wild OLED burn-in on the Pixel 2 XL after maybe 7 days of full-time use pic.twitter.com/EPJTs6D0Kg

— Alex Dobie (@alexdobie) October 22, 2017

The problem is most noticeable near the status bar and sometimes also happens with navigation buttons on the bottom.

Google, meanwhile, has said that it was investing into the matter. “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,” the Android Central report quoted a Google spokesperson.

“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."

Interestingly, the problem has surfaced only with larger of the Pixel 2 devices manufactured by LG. The smaller phone made by HTC is doing perfectly.