This isn’t the first concern people have raised about Google’s choice of LG to build the larger Pixel 2 this year, but if you ask me, it’s the first concern that has some merit to it. We’ve had the Pixel 2 XL in our hands for the last week, and already, it’s developing a bit of image burn-in.
What’s happening?
The software navigation buttons – ever-present at the bottom of the Pixel 2 XL display – are causing parts of the LG-made plastic OLED to show ghost image over the top of other images, particularly when viewed in full-screen.
The level of image burn-in varies by use, but after just a week of fairly average use, even our Pixel 2 XL is showing this issue. Others, who have used the phone more extensively and for longer periods (i.e. ten days compared to our six) are showing it far more significantly.
As I’m unable to photograph my phone at present, here’s an example of exactly what’s happening – and yes, our phone looks exactly the same:
https://twitter.com/hallstephenj/status/922183909202386944
Can I test this myself?
You sure can, but we don’t expect that there will be many (if any at all) Pixel 2 XL phones in circulation in Australia just yet. However, other reviewers may wish to see if their devices are affected too.
Easiest way to check is to download this image, and display it full screen with the navigation bar hidden. If you can see the hint of anything other than pure grey, there’s an issue:
Whether this is an issue that will cause people to avoid the phone remains to be seen; though more significant than other display issues we’ve already reported, this isn’t something that will present an issue frequently. It’s most noticeable when viewing photos or media full screen, or when playing full screen games. If you’re intending to do a lot of those things with the Pixel 2 XL, then you may be rethinking that today.
We’ve reached out to Google locally about this and we’ve had this response, the same as we’ve seen internationally as well:
“We are investigating the report of suspected burn-in. We are confident in the quality of the Pixel 2 XL POLED display and the superior user experience enabled by its resolution, contrast ratio, wide color gamut, and other innovative characteristics.”
