How bad is the Amoled screen burn-in problem?

[aha]

Is it exaggerated?

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Depends.

If you display static content on it for an extended period of time like on a store unit or on-screen buttons, then it will burn-in. Not quite as quickly as some have stated, and certainly not as quickly now compared to older OLED panels, but it's still an issue. For instance, the Galaxy S6 edge store units I've seen have suffered from pretty bad burn-in after a year of service, as they're powered on for almost the entire day at maximum brightness without the screen going to sleep. That's an extremely high-wear situation and a phone won't go through that sort of usage pattern (screen on 24/7 at max brightness) in the hands of consumers, maybe even for its lifetime.

Which brings me to this. Consumer units will suffer much less drastically compared to store units. They'll last for years with normal usage, though exceptions such as some Nexus devices with OLED panels exist. In most cases, however, you should be fine. I still have a 4 year old Galaxy S3 with the original display and it hasn't burned-in yet. Very impressive.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Agree with D13H4RD2L1V3. I have a 3+ year old Note 2 and a 1.5+ year old Note 4, both heavily used, and neither show any screen burn in.

I honestly think some people are a bit paranoid over burn-in.

From my experience, if you use it normally, you shouldn't be worried. It's not really such a big deal.

The reason those S6e store units burned in was precisely because it was showing the same thing almost 24/7 at maximum brightness. I don't think a consumer unit would experience the same thing for even a few minutes, and especially not at max brightness. Hence, why my old S3 and your 2 Notes still have perfectly-fine displays.

 

[jinzen]

AMOLED doesn't really "burn in", it's the pixels that die over time.

Use your phone more and it dies faster. Brighter display? Dies faster. White screen? Dies faster.

Over time, the display will change colors because the blue pixels degrade faster than the other pixels.

In any case, I personally don't like AMOLED at all, but Samsung developed this tech so it uses it. The best IPS displays out there are just as good if not better, with no longevity issues.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

In any case, I personally don't like AMOLED at all, but Samsung developed this tech so it uses it. The best IPS displays out there are just as good if not better, with no longevity issues.

I think display type is a matter of personal preference. Each has its own ups and downs. I don't believe that there is a screen tech that is universally better than all other ones since I don't think that's entirely possible right now.

I personally do like the more saturated punchy colors of OLED panels alongside the crazy brightness on Samsung's recent AMOLED displays. However, I sometimes like the more-accurate color gamut and "whiter" white of an IPS panel. I don't really have a preference but if I had to choose right now, I'd probably go OLED. It's still improving and seems to be more popular in recent times, not to mention the higher maximum brightness since I use my phone outdoors a lot. That said, I still like IPS LCD for the reasons stated. I can go with either, really.

 

[Almeuit]

I don't know anyone with the issue. I would think as long as you don't leave it on for like an hour or two in the exact same image you would be fine. My friends are the kind that keep phones for 2-3 years so I can see their phones for various ware & tare... Never seen anything .

 

[lafountain]

Person I worked with had an issue with burn-in on her Galaxy Rugby Pro. That was entirely self-induced though because she had the brightness maxed out and the screen timeout setting was set to 10 minutes and always had her text messaging on the screen. She upgraded to the S6 Active, and have gotten her to not do that anymore and her Active is just fine.

I on the other hand have not had the issue with any of my Samsung phones.

 

[clintw22]

Ive had every galaxy phone from 1-7 and have never had a burn in.

 

[Hassan272]

Dark themes and reasonable screen brightness settings means you shouldn't have any issues, I guess. I've had the S3 mini, S3, S4, S5 and S6 without any burn-in issues.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Yeah I'm not sure I've ever actually seen burn in "in real life"

 

[jinzen]

Yeah I'm not sure I've ever actually seen burn in "in real life"

I see it all the time actually. Easy to tell either with On Screen buttons or the Status Bar.

However, most users just don't notice it or don't care.

 

[Kristian Nikolov]

My 4 years old Galaxy Nexus had a terrible burn-in after only 2 months of use, mostly because of the on screen buttons and the status bar. But after a while even my app icons got burned on the screen. The only way I can see it isonly on a gray or dark backgrounds and images, otherwise you won't even notice it. That phone was the reason that I was so sceptical about getting the S7 edge. At the end though I decided to go with it as I presume the technology has improved at least a bit.

 

[dpham00]

I haven't noticed it on any phone that I have used

 

[abubasim]

My wife's S3 Neo:
Notice the faint rectangle close to the centre of the display.
We bought it around two years ago.

This actually makes me feel sentimental as it reminds me of the old green phosphor mainframe displays I used to work on back in the late 80s, which also had problems with burning in.

 

[piannetta]

Ive had every galaxy phone from 1-7 and have never had a burn in.

Me too, never had a problem, I think this is way over exagerated

 

[lafountain]

Me too, never had a problem, I think this is way over exagerated

I think the issue is, people see the demo model in stores and think that the same will happen to them.

 

[RichBrown68]

AMOLED doesn't really "burn in", it's the pixels that die over time.

Use your phone more and it dies faster. Brighter display? Dies faster. White screen? Dies faster.

Over time, the display will change colors because the blue pixels degrade faster than the other pixels.

In any case, I personally don't like AMOLED at all, but Samsung developed this tech so it uses it. The best IPS displays out there are just as good if not better, with no longevity issues.

As I understand it, there are three people in the world who agree with this view that IPS displays are as good. That you're reading this response, keep in mind this person's bias toward Apple. Burn in is almost never an issue unless you leave your screen on the same thing for hour after hour after hour.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[jinzen]

As I understand it, there are three people in the world who agree with this view that IPS displays are as good. That you're reading this response, keep in mind this person's bias toward Apple. Burn in is almost never an issue unless you leave your screen on the same thing for hour after hour after hour.

Posted via the Android Central App

False. Pixels die faster the more you use it. So it is *always* an issue, although most consumers won't be able to tell. The display will change in color over time through use, that's the problem with OLED in general.

Somebody was even able to test it: Do AMOLED phone screens degrade over time? Yes, proof time, but...

 

[jaycr123]

Trust me, it's not exagerated. I had a Galaxy s6 Edge Plus which was only 5 months old. I had used the TomTom speed camera app and it had caused screen burn. I had got used to it even although it was quite unsightly but when I sold the phone via Mazuma the original price offered was £260. Then when I sent them the phone they reduced the offer to £110 because of the screen burn. This was all down to a single app which I had used for 2 or 3 hours per day for 5 months. Be warned!

 

[anon(4086547)]

This is less of an issue with Samsung phones - Samsung knows AMOLED and uses it wisely - no onscreen buttons, status bar hides with many Samsung apps, icons on status bar are slightly tinted, etc. This is mostly an issue with sock Android software (Nexus, Motorola) that have many static elements and use bright white colors. That's why I disable nav/status bars and use gestures instead - less chance of burn in and more screen real estate available.