Google addresses Pixel 2 XL display issues with software update and 2-year warranty

[midian182]

The Pixel 2 XL has been hitting the headlines recently, but not for the reasons Google would have wanted. Some users were already complaining about the display’s muted colors, blue tint, and grainy textures, and last week brought reports of what appeared to be screen burn-in. After promising to investigate the issues, Google has now announced its findings.

Posting on the Google Pixel Support forums, VP of product management Mario Queiroz writes that although the company is happy with its Pixel 2 XL displays, it will be acting to address the reported problems.

"Our investigation so far has given us confidence that our displays are as great as we hoped they would be, though we’re also taking steps to address the concerns we've heard," he explains.

It’s still unclear whether the ghost images on the handset are a result of screen burn-in or image retention. Either way, Google says all OLED panels eventually suffer the same effect, and that the issue found in the Pixel 2 XL "should not affect the normal, day-to-day user experience." But the company is still pushing out a software update to protect against it.

Extensive testing of the Pixel 2 XL display show that its decay characteristics are comparable to OLED panels used in other premium smartphones. The differential aging should not affect the user experience of the phone, as it’s not visible under normal use of your Pixel 2 XL. We understand, however, that it can be concerning to see evidence of aging when using a specialized display test app, so we've taken steps to reduce differential aging through software.

The update will see the navigation bar buttons at the bottom of the screen fade out when they’re not in use. Additionally, the phone’s maximum brightness is dropping by 50 nits, an amount Google says is imperceptible to users but will significantly reduce the load on the screen.

As for those muted colors, Queiroz says another software update will add a new “saturated” color mode.

The saturated mode puts the display into an unmanaged configuration, similar to how the Pixel 1 operates. The colors will be more saturated and vibrant, but less accurate (similar to most other smartphones which display more vibrant colors): we give consumers the option to choose the color saturation.

The updates will arrive in the coming weeks. To give buyers some extra peace of mind, Google is increasing the warranties of the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL from one year to two.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/71617-google-addresses-pixel-2-xl-display-issues-software.html

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Extensive testing of the Pixel 2 XL display show that its decay characteristics are comparable to OLED panels used in other premium smartphones. The differential aging should not affect the user experience of the phone, as it’s not visible under normal use of your Pixel 2 XL. We understand, however, that it can be concerning to see evidence of aging when using a specialized display test app, so we've taken steps to reduce differential aging through software.

What a load of bullshit. there is video evidence all over the internet of these new oled displays burning in and being very visible on the home screen with just a few weeks usage.

These pixel phones are garbage. Nexus phone with nexus problems buy iphone pricetags.

 

[Bubbajim]

Ugh.. this sentence reeks:

"Our investigation so far has given us confidence that our displays are as great as we hoped they would be, though we’re also taking steps to address the concerns we've heard," he explains.

 

[MoeJoe]

It's funny low key and 'under the radar' this issue has been covered.

Pixel.
Not interested.
So I guess it doesn't matter.

 

[p51d007]

LOL, to me, I'd prefer the LCD over OLED screens. The OLED ones, to me, look too cartoonish.

 

[bandit8623]

I feel like oled tech is going in the wrong direction. I had a galaxy s3 back when and I didnt notice any burnin.

 

[OutlawCecil]

Again, all these phones are overpriced for what you get. I'm sooooo happy with my OnePlus 3T and the OnePlus 5 whomps all others. I'm a customer for life.

 

[petert]

I blame the reviewers for tricking people into buying that crap, starting with the pixel 1 which was plagued by a shitload of issues. Google could never sold that ugly piece of ****, the pixel 1, a blatant copy of Iphone with inferior software, without the enthusiastic support of the reviewers.

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

I have a old Samsung GS5 with an OLED panel and I used it for three years, it doesn't have even the slightest sign of burn in or image persistence. Then again my brother has a Samsung GS6 and it has extremely terrible burn in and it apparently started to happen to him within the first year of owning it. I wonder if sometimes you just get a bad batch of displays that exhibit this issue more than others.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Again, all these phones are overpriced for what you get. I'm sooooo happy with my OnePlus 3T and the OnePlus 5 whomps all others. I'm a customer for life.

Same with my moto z play. Why people pay $200-400 more for the same experience mystifies me.

I blame the reviewers for tricking people into buying that crap, starting with the pixel 1 which was plagued by a shitload of issues. Google could never sold that ugly piece of ****, the pixel 1, a blatant copy of Iphone with inferior software, without the enthusiastic support of the reviewers.

I blame consumers. they really should have learned their lesson by now, as it was made very evident time and time again that reviewers are blinded by "Preeemuim materials!" and dont provide good insight into actual user experience.

But sheep gonna sheep and keep buying, I guess.

 

[Lionvibez]

I blame the reviewers for tricking people into buying that crap, starting with the pixel 1 which was plagued by a shitload of issues. Google could never sold that ugly piece of ****, the pixel 1, a blatant copy of Iphone with inferior software, without the enthusiastic support of the reviewers.

The bigger fool is the fool that follows the fool.

To many people these days take the word of reviewers as law then open their wallet.

Rules to live by to avoid buyers remorse in 2017.

1. All first gen products will have issues.
2. Do your own independent review after reading as many online reviews as possible.
3. Half the **** that marketing says from any company is a lie.
4. Don't be a follower there are not enough leaders in this world. Don't just buy **** because your friends have it use your head.
5.Patience is a virtue
6.Don't expect because you dropped $1000 on a phone that it won't have issues.
7.Be prepared for issues and headaches if you ignore all of the above and just open your wallet.

 

[petert]

Same with my moto z play. Why people pay $200-400 more for the same experience mystifies me.



I blame consumers. they really should have learned their lesson by now, as it was made very evident time and time again that reviewers are blinded by "Preeemuim materials!" and dont provide good insight into actual user experience.

But sheep gonna sheep and keep buying, I guess.

This is not that simple I am afraid, most people don't have the time or interest to follow up closely the newest developments in the smartphone market to form an opinion and buy a product. The hardware specs comparison is also not helping much, the end user experience depends on software, installed UI and so on. Common sense is not much use, given some perks of smartphone vendors:
- you can easily buy a premium smartphone which is a piece of crap with horrible end user experience- buying a higher price and from a reputable vendor does not mean anything - they have from time to time bad products which gets pushed to the market anyway - everyone dumps they crap towards the consumers, nobody sacks a project anymore and calls it a day;
- when you get an extra piece of software, like the UI some companies do in house (I.e. Huawei) you expect to be something better than the Android stock UI which is not the case at all
- battery life did not improve in the last years ... you are still targeting a full day of usage, which was the same 3 years ago
- upgrading to newer Android version sometimes means degrading user experience - my nexus 6p is barely usable after the latest updates. It shuts down when reaching 15-20%, a well known bug, and it is quite slow - not to mention the battery drains noticeable faster.

So, assuming you need a new smartphone, you need to do a couple of weeks if not months of research - start reading the forums for authentic user experiences as the reviewers are dishonest. And you are gonna notice no phone is perfect and definitely far less than described in reviews.

 

[petert]

The bigger fool is the fool that follows the fool.

To many people these days take the word of reviewers as law then open their wallet.

Rules to live by to avoid buyers remorse in 2017.

1. All first gen products will have issues.
2. Do your own independent review after reading as many online reviews as possible.
3. Half the **** that marketing says from any company is a lie.
4. Don't be a follower there are not enough leaders in this world. Don't just buy **** because your friends have it use your head.
5.Patience is a virtue
6.Don't expect because you dropped $1000 on a phone that it won't have issues.
7.Be prepared for issues and headaches if you ignore all of the above and just open your wallet.

Life is not that easy:
1. pixel 2 is actually the second generation, until you realized is manufactured in cooperation with htc & lg which use in house experience - not exactly a novel product, manufactured from scratch by a company without prior experience isn't it? So, if so much know how goes into it, then why the issues? Did htc started designing phones last week? And to top it up, you have lines of products like Microsoft Surface with a couple of years and several iterations and plagued by serious issues even after those years- so apparent maturity is not a criteria.
2. That's the point, online reviews are dishonest. You see, when a new phone arrives, they all compete to be the first to bring a review - what is the point to publish a review two weeks later if your competitor beat you to it and got a fresh device straight from the PR department in exactly the launch day or before ... just because they maintain a good relationship with the aforementioned PR. So you start bending over, by sugaring your review, so that next time a product is launched, you get your review copy in useful time.
3. Nobody is looking at the marketing - if you compare their products they all appear the same - same hardware, all of them claim DSLR grade photos, even though they cannot cram a good camera inside a phone and so on. Even an entry level Chinese phone will claim good camera quality - so you look at reviews
4. Nobody is following anyone, you are on a market for a new phone and you need to make a decision - reviews are the most visible out there
5. Yeah, what's new - apparently, you need to research a lot to make an informed decision on buying a decent phone
6. Sorry, but that is exactly what you'd expect from a $1000 phone, especially the Pixel 2 - developed by Google, which also does the software so they should integrate seamlessly. Also, the phone does not stand out by any particular feature, not even design which is as bland as it can be - so, I'd expect one of its feature to justify the enormous price would be some decent if not outstanding engineering?
7. Not me, I am not giving them money for that crap - reviewers can worship the pixel camera as much as they would like, I know exactly what their opinion is good for ...

 

[Lionvibez]

Lol choosing products is that easy.

Trust no one and believe nothing until you can review it yourself.
And plenty of people are followers I see it daily. And the majority of the market buys things based on marketing so I'm not sure where you are going with that.
Spending $100,000 on a sports car still won't get you a perfect car. Don't expect perfection from a $1000 phone when they expect you to be buying a new one in 2 years.