Does the Moto X 2014 have screen burn-in issues?

[YarisT8]

Hello, I've read on forums that the Moto X 2014 suffers from screen burn-in issues, is that true? I'm about to get this phone and am concerned about this potential issue. Is this just a AMOLED issue in general? Thanks in advance. .

 

[sharkita]

No screen burn in here and I'm a moderate to sometimes heavy user.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[anon(27512)]

None here yet.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[NoYankees44]

I do not have any nor have I seen any reports of it yet.

Sent from my XT1096

 

[YarisT8]

There are some YouTube videos on it and some Google searches will bring up results. It's great to hear that you guys haven't experience any issues. Thanks for the responses so far.

 

[luke31]

If I understand correctly, burn in only happens when one thing is displayed on the screen for two long, not from normal usage patterns.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[davidnc]

No burn in here either.

Sent from my XT1096

 

[On2Vegas]

I know the Moto "360" smartwatch is rumored to have something called "Image Persistence" which isn't really burn-in, but a secondary image that doesn't quite go away. A software update should correct that. I haven't read any issues regarding the Moto X.

 

[raptir]

AMOLED burn-in happens. There are reports of it on the 2013 Moto X, Galaxy S5, etc... You'll see it on most demo units that are sitting on one screen for a long time, but realistically it shouldn't be that noticeable through normal usage.

 

[ethane]

there are a few reports of X+1/2014X burn in within weeks/a few months of use on Reddit, but those have been replaced by Motorola.

Most of the time the burn in happens with the status bar on top and soft keys at the bottom. With older ROMS they tend to be black all the time, so they are used less than the other pixels and thus end up degrading much slower, hence you can kind of see the outline of the soft keys on a white screen after >1 year of use.

 

[natehoy]

It's an AMOLED issue in general. It's just the nature of the beast. I have a 2013 Moto X I've had for about 6-ish months now, and while the burn-in is in no way visible during normal use, it's apparent that it is happening when I run screen tests that make the screen entirely white (you can see some areas are dimmer, particularly the notifications that are usually on screen).

Here is a photo of my Moto X 2013 screen taken from my Moto X 2014. I'm running a "screen test" that makes the screen entirely white. The burn-in is very subtle so far and in no way affects my use of the device.



On my Moto X 2014, there is no sign of it happening yet, but I've only been using that for a couple of weeks now.

The more bright colors you show on your screen, the more the screen is going to burn in. Lollipop and the new bright Material design might be the worst possible thing to happen to an AMOLED screen. But they'll last for at least a couple of years in general with no significant changes to image quality (though as they slowly get dimmer with use, contrast and specifically daylight visibility may get subtly worse).

And if you run with a specific bright image on the screen a lot, you'll start to see additional burn-in where that image is - so bright wallpapers are not ideal on an AMOLED if you tend to leave your phone on the home screen a lot.

 

[anon(6038817)]

I had no idea AMOLED screens could potentially have this issue. I just did a Google search and sure enough, there were several examples from various smartphone models.

However, I'm wondering if the newer AMOLED screens being produced now are less susceptible to this issue. I guess only time will tell.

 

[udazavlanje]

It's an AMOLED issue in general. It's just the nature of the beast. I have a 2013 Moto X I've had for about 6-ish months now, and while the burn-in is in no way visible during normal use, it's apparent that it is happening when I run screen tests that make the screen entirely white (you can see some areas are dimmer, particularly the notifications that are usually on screen).

Here is a photo of my Moto X 2013 screen taken from my Moto X 2014. I'm running a "screen test" that makes the screen entirely white. The burn-in is very subtle so far and in no way affects my use of the device.

View attachment 151892

On my Moto X 2014, there is no sign of it happening yet, but I've only been using that for a couple of weeks now.

The more bright colors you show on your screen, the more the screen is going to burn in. Lollipop and the new bright Material design might be the worst possible thing to happen to an AMOLED screen. But they'll last for at least a couple of years in general with no significant changes to image quality (though as they slowly get dimmer with use, contrast and specifically daylight visibility may get subtly worse).

And if you run with a specific bright image on the screen a lot, you'll start to see additional burn-in where that image is - so bright wallpapers are not ideal on an AMOLED if you tend to leave your phone on the home screen a lot.

Yep, same here.
Samsung has more sophisticated amoled now (s5, n4), which will take longer to burn-in, but Motorola is using very cheap Samsung panel. More SOT you put, sooner you will notice.

via AC App on VZW Moto X DE/N7

 

[natehoy]

While the Samsung panels are probably of better quality, to put things in perspective a bit I looked up my order. I got my Moto X 2013 on January 25 of this year. It has been my daily driver, for both corporate email and personal use (heavy Ingress player, so lots of screen-on) from then until November 25th when my new Moto X came in.

Given that the notification toolbar is always bright-white-on-black when the screen is on, the very subtle burn-in you see in my photograph above is the result of 10 months of very heavy use at the highest contrast ratios possible. The screen has been on at least 5 hours a day, sometimes more than that, for the entire time. And I don't skimp on the brightness - I bought an AMOLED screen because I wanted bold beautiful saturation.

So for even a fairly heavy user like me, after two years - maybe the screen isn't quite as bold and bright and maybe it's not as visible in full sun - but I'd be willing to bet the accumulated damage would be barely noticeable. Doubling the amount of "dimness" you see in my photo would still leave you with a quite functional screen.

 

[reverend beasty]

I have had burn in down at the bottom of the phone with the home keys. It isn't to bad but seeing that I use my phone a lot I should probably expect burn in. I had the burn in start a few months into having the phone and sent it to Motorola and they replaced it. But now after only having this new replacement for a few months the burn in is coming back. Just be aware that this will happen at one point while you own the phone. It doesn't affect usage unless you are watching videos and for some reason focus on the bottom portion of the phone.