[ALERT] This Phone's display has PWM flickering - Google Pixel 3 XL Guides, News, & Discussion

Yes, pixel 3xl is having pwm flickering if the brightness is less than 80%.
Just in case if you don't know what this does: This gives serious daily headaches and eye strain & with no doubt will effect your eyes and neural brain things.
I am not aware of this before buying the phone, so just want to let others know about this before buying it.
Reported to support but they are asking to wait for monthly software update. But i believe this is related to hardware.
EDIT: To see the flickering you need to record the flickering phone with another phone. Then you could see lines running on the display. These lines are the result of PWM(Cheap - cost-cutting technology to control the device brightness) flickering. Flickering is much clearly exposed if recorded in slow motion.
And this will not affect every user. Only to certain people who are sensitive with their eye and brain nervous system.
EDIT: The august Update obviously did not remove the flickering, as it is related to hardware, not software.
The senior customer person requested to give the mobile to service and they replied back after 10 days that it is "as intended" i.e it has no issues and returning the phone.
So, if in case you are sensitive to eyes and neural activities and planning to buy any OLED or Pixel phones, just want to help you with this information. Suggest checking the phone in physical outlets by recording the display before buying the device.

Huh...

This doesn’t affect everyone just those that are sensitive to it
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've never had issues with this in the almost 1 year I've owned my phone.
Sent from my Pixel 3 XL

All phones have pwm. Never had an issue with pwm on the 3xl. Want a phone with bad pwm? Get a OnePlus. It's atrocious on that.

BoboBrazil said:
All phones have pwm. Never had an issue with pwm on the 3xl. Want a phone with bad own? Get a OnePlus. It's atrocious on that.
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Click to collapse
Agreed. Just got a Pixel 3xl after 12 months with a OnePlus 6 and the the OnePlus 7. Ok phones but just feel unfinished and that flicker annoyed me.

I keep the brightness down around 60% or so. Never notice any pwm...
Pixel 3 XL, haven't crashed it, YET

Eudeferrer said:
I've never had issues with this in the almost 1 year I've owned my phone.
Sent from my Pixel 3 XL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BoboBrazil said:
All phones have pwm. Never had an issue with pwm on the 3xl. Want a phone with bad pwm? Get a OnePlus. It's atrocious on that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FernBch said:
I keep the brightness down around 60% or so. Never notice any pwm...
Pixel 3 XL, haven't crashed it, YET
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To see the flickering you need to record the flickering phone with another phone. Then you could see lines running on the display. These lines are the result of PWM(Cheap - cost-cutting technology to control the device brightness) flickering. Flickering is much clearly exposed if recorded in slow motion.
And this will not affect every user. Only to certain people who are sensitive with their eye and brain nervous system.

harigavara said:
To see the flickering you need to record the flickering phone with another phone. Then you could see lines running on the display. These lines are the result of PWM(Cheap - cost-cutting technology to control the device brightness) flickering. Flickering is much clearly exposed if recorded in slow motion.
And this will not affect every user. Only to certain people who are sensitive with their eye and brain nervous system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like you really have to go out of your way to be bothered by this.

Here is some nice graphs: https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s8+/development/amoled-pwm-s8-t3716663 and https://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-edge/development/amoled-pwm-s7-edge-t3517739

Optimize OLED PMW with the "OLED Saver" app
harigavara said:
Yes, pixel 3xl is having pwm flickering if the brightness is less than 80%.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try this app ("OLED Saver bei MrJS)? https://play.google.com/store/search?q=org.js.oledsaver&c=apps
I hope that the next Pixel/Pixel A will include the "DC dimming" feature.

Related

AMOLED screen burn-in

I'm using Waze app every single day for about 1.5 hour.
in the past when i had galaxy S4, after 2 month of daily use, i noticed on white pages i still see all the static banners and buttons of waze.
baisically, using Waze in daily basis, burn-in my screen in the static area of the app like the up and down banners, speed meter etc...
Can it happen also in my new galaxy s8+? what to you think? did the amoled technology haven't changed a lot in the past 4 or 5 years?
There is a new feature in Waze called battery saver, it dims the screen when you are over a certain speed and a certain distance from the next instruction, that might help with it.
Though to be honest I use it for about the same amount of time everyday and don't even think about any burn in, its definitely not something that I've noticed happening on my phone so far
Shaady said:
its definitely not something that I've noticed happening on my phone so far
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Click to collapse
So far.... the phone is pretty new so we can tell right now. hope it will never happen but my S4 experience keeps me worried about this phenomenon.
Shaady said:
There is a new feature in Waze called battery saver, it dims the screen when you are over a certain speed and a certain distance from the next instruction, that might help with it.
Though to be honest I use it for about the same amount of time everyday and don't even think about any burn in, its definitely not something that I've noticed happening on my phone so far
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I looked in Waze setting and could not find this option. Where is this option?
Shaady said:
There is a new feature in Waze called battery saver, it dims the screen when you are over a certain speed and a certain distance from the next instruction, that might help with it.
Though to be honest I use it for about the same amount of time everyday and don't even think about any burn in, its definitely not something that I've noticed happening on my phone so far
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i can't find this option in waze.... which app version installed on your phone? which country?
I had that problem with my s7 edge. I got it changed on warranty. I'm too scared to use waze on my s8+.
Sent from my SM-G955F using XDA-Developers Legacy app
mouzam said:
I had that problem with my s7 edge. I got it changed on warranty. I'm too scared to use waze on my s8+.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How much time did you use your s7 before the burn-in happen?
How much time you used waze each day?
Flame Red said:
I looked in Waze setting and could not find this option. Where is this option?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Today i received an update to waze from play store and the function was added :good:
Definitely can still happen on the s8+. I'd recommend not having your screen excessively bright while static images are on screen if you can help it. It's a pain but this is just an unfortunate trade-off with these beautiful screens.
xeathpk said:
Definitely can still happen on the s8+. I'd recommend not having your screen excessively bright while static images are on screen if you can help it. It's a pain but this is just an unfortunate trade-off with these beautiful screens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a trade-off. It can happen with virtually ANY type of display. LCD, LED, OLED, etc. No mobile phone display is immune.
pieces of cake said:
It's not a trade-off. It can happen with virtually ANY type of display. LCD, LED, OLED, etc. No mobile phone display is immune.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry if you dont like it but its the truth. I absolutely love the Samsung phones so I'm not against the phone. I've had the Note, S3, S4, S5, S6E, S7E and now the S8+.
I'm the first person to correct somebody wrongly bashing these phones but in this case it is what it is mate. Its well documented and accepted as fact that screen burn in on Amoled is more prevalent than some other display technologies. You need to be a little bit more mindful with Amoled if you want to keep the screen looking nice with heavy use.
xeathpk said:
I'm sorry if you dont like it but its the truth. I absolutely love the Samsung phones so I'm not against the phone. I've had the Note, S3, S4, S5, S6E, S7E and now the S8+.
I'm the first person to correct somebody wrongly bashing these phones but in this case it is what it is mate. Its well documented and accepted as fact that screen burn in on Amoled is more prevalent than some other display technologies. You need to be a little bit more mindful with Amoled if you want to keep the screen looking nice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based on your response, it's apparent that you didn't quite grasp mine. Anyway, cheers!
pieces of cake said:
Based on your response, it's apparent that you didn't quite grasp mine. Anyway, cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based on your first response you obviously didn't grasp mine at all whatsoever. I wasn't comparing Amoled directly to any other screen technology but the fact remains that the prevelance of screen burn in is generally higher than other screen types in general. That's not just conjecture on my part.
Its accepted fact. Also I'd appreciate it if you dropped the childish, rude and flippant attitude towards me. I was simply responding to your straw man argument.
xeathpk said:
Based on your first response you obviously didn't grasp mine at all whatsoever. I wasn't comparing Amoled directly to any other screen technology but the fact remains that the prevelance of screen burn in is generally higher than other screen types in general. That's not just conjecture on my part.
Its accepted fact. Also I'd appreciate it if you dropped the childish, rude and flippant attitude towards me. I was simply responding to your straw man argument.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, ok then. Enjoy!
XkobiX said:
How much time did you use your s7 before the burn-in happen?
How much time you used waze each day?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was one week where I used it excessively. And I kept the screen full bright. When I saw the screen burn in with the arrow of waze navigation. I started looking up on the Internet to solve the burn in issue somehow. That's when I found out that it's a common issue on amoled screens apparently. And the only way to solve it was to send it back to Samsung for a repair or replacement.
Sent from my SM-G955F using XDA-Developers Legacy app
mouzam said:
There was one week where I used it excessively. And I kept the screen full bright. When I saw the screen burn in with the arrow of waze navigation. I started looking up on the Internet to solve the burn in issue somehow. That's when I found out that it's a common issue on amoled screens apparently. And the only way to solve it was to send it back to Samsung for a repair or replacement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah unfortunately its one of those things that you just have to be mindful of, even when you're not on full brightness.
I was pretty lucky with most of my galaxy phones especially considering how heavily I used them, although my S7E was an exception.
I still have the phone and after just 13 months you can clearly see discoloration on the screen and admittedly very feint burn in on UI elements ie. the status bar. The screen discoloration is pretty bad and perfectly matches the YouTube app, where the video is playing up top and the static white comment section below put uneven "wear" on my screen. I'm now trying to make a habit to watch longer YouTube videos in fullscreen to avoid a similar result.
mouzam said:
There was one week where I used it excessively. And I kept the screen full bright. When I saw the screen burn in with the arrow of waze navigation. I started looking up on the Internet to solve the burn in issue somehow. That's when I found out that it's a common issue on amoled screens apparently. And the only way to solve it was to send it back to Samsung for a repair or replacement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So they replaced it for you? If it is so common on amoled display, they still replace or repair burned in screens?
XkobiX said:
So they replaced it for you? If it is so common on amoled display, they still replace or repair burned in screens?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes they did. I rang samsung and told them about the issue. They got the phone picked up from my house. I was expecting them to probably just replace the screen but to my shock they sent me a brand new sealed s7 edge.
Sent from my SM-G955F using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Amoled is notorious for burn-ins. I would avoid using any app for prolonged periods of time.
pieces of cake said:
It's not a trade-off. It can happen with virtually ANY type of display. LCD, LED, OLED, etc. No mobile phone display is immune.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I work for a carrier and never in my 14 years have I seen a LCD screen burn in I have however seen multiple AMOLED panels with burn in especially demo phones (yes on all day rolling content but so are the LCD models) this is a risk with organic displays to his point is true it is a trade off whichever way you sugercoat it

Quirky adaptive brightness behavior on the Pixel 2

Hi all.
Very proud owner of the Pixel 2 here. Absolutely loving the phone. Was thinking of getting the XL but when I saw the screen in person it was an absolute deal breaker with the blue tint. It was so distracting, especially when you have the Pixel 2 beside it with minimal color shift.
Wanted to get feedback from people if they are encountering any weird behavior with their adaptive brightness. When I turn mine on and am in a dark room it changes brightness a lot despite the ambient light not really changing. Not a huge deal but enough that I am managing the brightness myself.
I'd prefer an option where the phone would take a birghtness reading when first unlocked and stick to it. I know that flux had this feature but now I can't find it in the store.
Any thoughts?
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
Adaptive brightness has seemed a bit quirky on every phone I've owned that had the feature.
foosion said:
Adaptive brightness has seemed a bit quirky on every phone I've owned that had the feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah its mainly the Pixel/Nexus line that have issues for adaptive brightness. The Pixel in particular is horrendous for this.
My OnePlus 5 has excellent adaptive brightness, and every Samsung phone from the S7 onwards has had best in class for android adaptive brightness, especially since its customisable.
For whatever reason though, I had to keep my Pixel XL on manual brightness because it was so damn broken otherwise.
Mine isn't responsive enough to changes in light. It's too bright or too dark.
I noticed the janky adaptive brightness on initial setup as well. I always turn it off anyway so not a big deal for me. I'm sure this will be fixed in an update. Thinking this should be one of the easier bugs for them to squash.
Sent from my Pixel 2 using XDA Labs
juanpanlilio said:
Hi all.
Very proud owner of the Pixel 2 here. Absolutely loving the phone. Was thinking of getting the XL but when I saw the screen in person it was an absolute deal breaker with the blue tint. It was so distracting, especially when you have the Pixel 2 beside it with minimal color shift.
Wanted to get feedback from people if they are encountering any weird behavior with their adaptive brightness. When I turn mine on and am in a dark room it changes brightness a lot despite the ambient light not really changing. Not a huge deal but enough that I am managing the brightness myself.
I'd prefer an option where the phone would take a birghtness reading when first unlocked and stick to it. I know that flux had this feature but now I can't find it in the store.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe you're actually looking for Lux
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vito.lux
Ya mines seems to be fairly jumpy to I remember there was an exposed module that fixed this on the nexus 5 or custom rom
Chronzy said:
I noticed the janky adaptive brightness on initial setup as well. I always turn it off anyway so not a big deal for me. I'm sure this will be fixed in an update. Thinking this should be one of the easier bugs for them to squash.
Sent from my Pixel 2 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It shouldn't need to be squashed though. This is such a basic feature of all phones since at least 2009 and should just be a copy/paste of old code from any working auto brightness system. This is why people are so frustrated with Google right now. They're charging flagship prices for flagship phones, but can't even get the basics done right.
/rant
I'm still probably going to get one though.

My impressions/review of the phone, in small episodes

I have been putting out information about U11+ in hamdir's thread for couple of days. I thought may be I should collate all the information and create a thread. So, here it is. Note that I am going to keep adding stuff as I use the phone everyday to point out the good the bad and the ugly. Go ahead and ask questions. If its possible for me, I will try to answer.
Quick update
Very quick update folks....
I got the amazing silver in my hands now. Been fiddling with options etc. for last 30 mins.
It a thing of beauty, let me tell you that first and foremost!! Amazing silver is really a shiny light blue colour. I love it!
Indoors, its brighter than my HTC 10 Tianma display. By how much? I don't know but its uncomfortably high for me at max. I won't use it at anywhere close to max. May be around 50%. Can't compare outdoor in direct sunlight until tomorrow. Will update again.
The weight is not a concern for me, its a little bit more than my 10 but not by much. The screen is gorgeous and much better than 10!!
The FP scanner is a little bit of a problem for me because I am not used to the rear scanner. I am finding it odd to pick the phone to use it. But I knew this going in. So, some mental recalibration is necessary. I can see OCD types hating this aspect, but I am fine with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couple of more quick updates:
1. Speakers are much better than HTC 10. Louder and clearer. You would be very pleased to hear these if you upgrade from HTC 10. Just saw the infinity war trailer on it and listened through Thriller....
2. Lowest screen brightness gets very low. Good for night time, in-dark browsing. Much lower than HTC 10.
3. The screen gets much blacker than HTC10 in "day dream" or "always on" mode in the complete darkness, which may help with battery if you are thinking of keeping AOD on always. The "light bleed" associated with LCD panels is still there through. In fact, its little uneven compared to HTC 10. On HTC 10, you can clearly see that the whole screen is lit up but only the text is brighter. On U11+, the lower left part of the screen is almost complete black whereas the right side shows more light bleed. I don't know if its a defect in my unit or its just something impossible to achieve during LCD panel manufacturing. Not perfection but not a big deal for me.
The default is not AOD but it is turn on the dimly lit display when you pick up the phone.
Double tap to wake works (someone asked earlier). On display button let's you put it to sleep in case you don't want to press power button to lock/put it sleep.
So far, thrilled to get this phone. I hope we work out TWRP really quick, root and I can move to this phone as my daily driver.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GSMArena got the battery life wrong on this phone or they tested a different phone. I have been setting up, installing apps, syncing email accounts and generally fiddling with this phone for past 3-4 hours with 1h40m of SOT (screen brightness at 50% with Auto on, my typical setting for HTC 10) and it has consumed about 16% of battery. Haven't got that kind of battery life from any phone I have used or seen anybody else use in practical terms (I don't believe in artificial benchmarks). I think there is nothing to worry about battery life on this phone. This will last even the big time users through the day (10-12 hour day) easily.
One thing i notice is that its idling very well when turned off. My HTC 10 did not do that very well. So, the wifi chip seems to have been fixed up.
Note that its running 8.0.0 with Oct 1st patch. So, this has to still get the 8.1.1 release, which potentially should improve things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its still morning here in bay area and not afternoon sunny yet. But with the morning sun behind me, I can clearly say that U11+ is better than my HTC10. With HTC camera app, I looked through a chain of balconies shaded by trees, and sun behind me, to see how far each screen shows me. Side by side, I could see more detail and farther in U11+. This is highly unscientific but the brightness in sunlight is an upgrade from HTC10 Tianma to U11+. I will try to get some photos of the two phones' camera app in sunlight later in the day.
I think brightness jump is not huge from HTC 10, but its big enough for me to say I feel more comfortable taking photos/videos outdoors. Note that Camera sensor may also be playing a role in this. HTC 10 has a smaller f/1.8 aperture. So, more testing may be needed on the screen brightness in general. But practically speaking, I browsed around and I had no trouble reading text with sun behind me, falling directly on the phone. That's good for me, 500 nits or not.
I tried with both Auto brightness enabled and disabled, at max brightness. Results are same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone asked about the FP gestures earlier. I did not find any settings for them and moving the finger around on FP in any direction or double tapping it, does not do anything. So, no gestures on FP, yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone had asked for 4G/LTE support in the US. At least in the area I am in (bay area, CA), the coverage is same as what I got in HTC 10 on T Mobile.
Regarding the wifi, its much better than HTC 10. I compared side by side and HTC10 needed to be closer to the router by about 10 feet to be able to do speedtest from the point where I could speedtest on U11+ and still get full 90Mbps download speed. U11+ has an excellent wifi range and throughput. I get around -71dBm (signal strength) from my router at a spot where my HTC10 gives me -83dBm. At that spot, U11+ maxes out the internet traffic, whereas 10 is limited to about 45Mbps. So, anyone with HTC 10 will appreciate the huge jump in performance of wifi.
Also, the idling issue found with HTC 10's wifi is not there in U11+. It does not eat through battery while idling on wifi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couple of more inputs:
1. I went to work with the phone but unfortunately I did not have the other phones with me to click the photos in bright sunlight but I can tell you, the screen has no problems in the sun. It is very bright and very usable for me. Unless you have a defective unit, the brightness of the screen should not be a concern at all. My experience is only HTC 10 vs U11+, and I am loving the brightness upgrade.
2. Usage with my sunglasses. I can not use HTC 10 in portrait mode with my sunglasses on. It goes complete dark. I did not have any issues with U11+ in both portrait and landscape orientations. Am I thrilled to wear my sunglasses in the car again? HELL YEAH!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jmitr said:
Sound wise, nothing so far has beat my M7 for in ear quality. If the U11+ proves a worthy successor in that area as well, my M7 may sit in the desk drawer for the first time in over 4 years!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make your M7 a cosy bed in that drawer because its going in there for sure and for a long time.... U11+ is big upgrade (from M7 and 10, both of which I own) in sound department, both the speakers and the USB-C headphone jack, through the bundled earbuds. I have found the bundled USB-C earbuds to be of very high quality. I usually throw away packaged earbuds because they usually fall off from my ear but these fit in my ear very well. And boy they block the noise!!! I have no complaints about the missing 3.5mm jack.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for all these info. Looking forward to receiving my unit as well and start testing! I have high hopes for this one and I believe I will not be disappointed.
Thanks for all very detailed and useful things mentions.
It’s positive that more and more people having the device and the general impression is in very good level at all aspects despite all that crap GSM arena mention with their tragic review.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Did you hook it up to the TV yet? I wonder why nobody does that. It's a very useful feature that not many modern smartphones offer unfortunately.
I wish HTC would advertise this special feature a bit more... It's underrated and underreported.
Thank you for all this info.
I Pre-Ordered one but I was skeptical with THE BAD review that I read.
I was thinking of canceling my order but now I just can't wait to get my hands on it
lebigmac said:
Did you hook it up to the TV yet? I wonder why nobody does that. It's a very useful feature that not many modern smartphones offer unfortunately.
I wish HTC would advertise this special feature a bit more... It's underrated and underreported.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, I don't use this feature anymore. In fact, with casting feature working so well (AC wifi) and its so very convenient compared to the wire, casting gets used most of the time. I used to do this but I never bothered to buy the USB-C cable with my HTC 10.
May be I will try this again. Try some gaming on the big TV screen, fun fun fun!!
screen casting with chromecast or similar technologies always has a noticeable lag of 1-2 seconds. With direct cable connection there is no lag.
lebigmac said:
Did you hook it up to the TV yet? I wonder why nobody does that. It's a very useful feature that not many modern smartphones offer unfortunately.
I wish HTC would advertise this special feature a bit more... It's underrated and underreported.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you want to know?? I did it. But is like mirror screen
Not have desktop mode like Mate 10
detritu5 said:
What do you want to know?? I did it. But is like mirror screen
Not have desktop mode like Mate 10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is the video and audio quality? Is it real-time or is there any noticeable lag?
And what cable did you use? Thanks.
So can you please describe us the AOD(always on display)feature how it works with HTC.
Does it have the same customization option as with Samsung or LG(v30)with variety of clock or colors option,image background support,music control(play-pause-forward) and if support notifications from any kind app.
Also when receiving notification and hit it on the screen does it open directly the specific app or not.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
AptX HD and LDAC and display
devsk said:
I have been putting out information about U11+ in hamdir's thread for couple of days. I thought may be I should collate all the information and create a thread. So, here it is. Note that I am going to keep adding stuff as I use the phone everyday to point out the good the bad and the ugly. Go ahead and ask questions. If its possible for me, I will try to answer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi, i have two question
first i'd be appreciated if you tell us how is the bluetooth headphone quality on u11+ ? beacuse i know u11+ has AptX HD and LDAC
and my second question is about the display
is the display quality, color range, black colors, ... near amoled display ?
paatha13 said:
So can you please describe us the AOD(always on display)feature how it works with HTC.
Does it have the same customization option as with Samsung or LG(v30)with variety of clock or colors option,image background support,music control(play-pause-forward) and if support notifications from any kind app.
Also when receiving notification and hit it on the screen does it open directly the specific app or not.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AOD on HTC U11+, in my opinion, leaves a lot to be desired. Few observations:
1. It only has two modes: a. show dimly lit clock/lock screen when picked up, b. always on mode, which is fixed 24/7 or on a time schedule. It lacks the mode "show dimly lit clock/lock screen when notifications arrive and repeat every 5 mins until cancelled".
2. Always On mode is a hog. Nearly 2% per hour idling. Not very useful. Its darker than any LCD I have seen before but it still show most of the display in complete darkness.
It does not provide any customization in either mode. You get 4 types of clock and that's about it. It shows apps (including music app) and their notifications with icons on small area and clicking takes to the app after unlock.
e_georgia said:
hi, i have two question
first i'd be appreciated if you tell us how is the bluetooth headphone quality on u11+ ? beacuse i know u11+ has AptX HD and LDAC
and my second question is about the display
is the display quality, color range, black colors, ... near amoled display ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have bluetooth headsets to test this sorry.
But the display is the best LCD I have seen. It can not be equal to amoled in terms of blacks, but its the closest that an LCD has come in terms of blacks. I think the LCD technology does not allow this any better compared to amoled in terms of blacks. The contrast is amazing and the brightness is very very good. The usage in direct sunlight is very comfortable.
Unless you want to knit pick (like always on display has slight light bleed, which is the result of them trying too hard to emulate "black"), you won't have any issues with this display.
lebigmac said:
How is the video and audio quality? Is it real-time or is there any noticeable lag?
And what cable did you use? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I specifically bought the HDMI->USB-C cable from Amazon for $19 (one of the most expensive cables I have bought) and tested it. It works great. No lags in the video (my TV is 1080p). The sound through my sound system sounded great.
The link to cable: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075JGM4W8
Idle drain is very minimal
It looks like wifi draining the battery when idling that was seen and documented by me on HTC10, is gone on U11+. I left the sync ON, data and wifi ON overnight. And I lost 2% battery in about 10 hours. This is how it should be.
Very very pleased with the battery and the phone overall. For me, this phone gets almost everything right. It will get better once I get hold of root on it.
devsk said:
I don't have bluetooth headsets to test this sorry.
But the display is the best LCD I have seen. It can not be equal to amoled in terms of blacks, but its the closest that an LCD has come in terms of blacks. I think the LCD technology does not allow this any better compared to amoled in terms of blacks. The contrast is amazing and the brightness is very very good. The usage in direct sunlight is very comfortable.
Unless you want to knit pick (like always on display has slight light bleed, which is the result of them trying too hard to emulate "black"), you won't have any issues with this display.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how about the audio quality of headphones ?
Does the phone get hot with brightness on max? Or during heavy downloading of Apps or charging?
How long does a full charge take?
Are you using a case / cover? Noticed any scratches on the back?
Does YouTube allow you to stretch to full screen?
Thanks!
Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk
Great feedback on this device. Thanks for doing this @devsk
I am in SF also. I have been seriously torn about buying a international no warranty phone. I jumped to the LG V30, purchased from B & H then cancelled the order a couple days ago.
However, I ordered the U11+ last night from Amazon - NGP Store USA. They get decent reviews but have a really strict return policy. I tried the U11 earlier this year but returned it. The U11+ had all the U11 was missing + more. [emoji3]
-- Who did you buy from and did you entertain buying a warranty? If so, from who.
-- Cases seem to be limited. Do you purchase one?
Thanks.
johninsf said:
Great feedback on this device. Thanks for doing this @devsk
I am in SF also. I have been seriously torn about buying a international no warranty phone. I jumped to the LG V30, purchased from B & H then cancelled the order a couple days ago.
However, I ordered the U11+ last night from Amazon - NGP Store USA. They get decent reviews but have a really strict return policy. I tried the U11 earlier this year but returned it. The U11+ had all the U11 was missing + more. [emoji3]
-- Who did you buy from and did you entertain buying a warranty? If so, from who.
-- Cases seem to be limited. Do you purchase one?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I bought it off of amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077PJXZFK
I did not buy a warranty. I took a chance and its been fine so far. The quality of the device and manufacturing is very very high. I am very pleased with the whole experience. Do not believe anybody who disses this device. It checks pretty much every box I had. Biggest thing is Treble. I expect to run well supported AOSP on this thing.
I am using the bundled transparent case and I am fine with it. Its minimal and it shows off the amazing silver very well.
iad77 said:
Does the phone get hot with brightness on max? Or during heavy downloading of Apps or charging?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This phone does not get hot under any circumstances (brightness or extended play). I have it in the bundled minimal case, and I played racing games for extended periods of time (connected to my TV using a USB-C to HDMI adapter). It drove the TV's 1080p display without any delay and with great sound! It felt warm after an hour of play but I would qualify that a lukewarm. My HTC 10 definitely gets much warmer than U11+. So, its an upgrade for me.
iad77 said:
How long does a full charge take?
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Click to collapse
I never measured this from 0 to 100%. I am not worried about this though. All I can tell you is it charges very fast.
iad77 said:
Are you using a case / cover? Noticed any scratches on the back?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using the bundled minimal case. Its transparent and shows off amazing silver well.
iad77 said:
Does YouTube allow you to stretch to full screen?
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Click to collapse
It depends on the video's aspect ratio. For example, Inifinity War Trailer filled the screen but apple sway ad did not. It does not stretch in general and I think that's the right thing to do. I would not like videos with a different native aspect ratio than 2:1 to stretch and show all stretched faces etc.

Screen burn-in

Given that this phone has an AMOLED screen, has anybody had a lot of burn-in on the screen?
If so, what is it, and how bad is it? I am thinking of buying a Pixel, but will most likely keep it for a number of years, and want to know what I can expect.
Cheers.
scutworker said:
Given that this phone has an AMOLED screen, has anybody had a lot of burn-in on the screen?
If so, what is it, and how bad is it? I am thinking of buying a Pixel, but will most likely keep it for a number of years, and want to know what I can expect.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think screen burn in is as bigger issue as it was a few years ago. I've only had the device for about 9 months but there are zero signs of burn in.
I remember having an early Galaxy S model and that was burning in after a few months.
I have heard of people having burn in with the pixels display after like 3 months (which i find hard to believe) but no burn in here.
Tbh first generation of Pixels are known for having screen burns. It's pretty common and not only with Pixel but with all phones with AMOLED screens.
scutworker said:
Given that this phone has an AMOLED screen, has anybody had a lot of burn-in on the screen?
If so, what is it, and how bad is it? I am thinking of buying a Pixel, but will most likely keep it for a number of years, and want to know what I can expect.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you planning to run a custom rom? if you are then there's a carbonrom developed feature that some roms have adapted such as Dirty Unicorns which has screen burn-in protection that shifts the pixels on the screen ever so slightly and you can set it to how often it does that just to prevent burn-in. That's how samsung does it on their newer devices. You won't notice anything at all. I have had my pixel since fabruary and haven't noticed any burn-in. Burnin happens if you have something static on your amoled screen over time. Anyway I'm rocking Dirty Unicorns rom which has adapted carbonroms feature and it's been great, not something I think about really but a great safety. Wish google had implemented it as default. (edit: the feature is called smart pixels and within that option there's an option called screen burn-in protection).
Most burn-in on AMOLED or POLED screens can be seen along the navigation bar. Part of the problem is Google using a black bar down there so those pixels don't get as much burn as the rest of the screen. It bothers some people more than others. Running brightness too high also doesn't help.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Display question/discussion

Have a Note 9 which I'm keeping, just got the Ultra and the display is a disappointment.
Side by side with the 9, colors are not as vibrant, contrast is so-so, sharpness is off. Fine details, icon edges, etc. are fuzzy.
Now, I'm anal about this kinda stuff. If I never saw the 9's screen, I'd never know and think it's fine, and to most, it would be. But this is me you're talkin' to. ?
I don't know whether to return it or pray for a Samsung fix. I'm not a gambling man. I've gone through every display setting and resolution there is, including dev options. I'm pretty experienced.
Maybe it's Nova launcher, but it's just not as nice as the 9's screen. Exact same home screen, icon theme, everything identical.
Your thoughts/opinions/gut feelings? Got till next week to return to Best Buy.
Thanks a lot,
Rich
You're 100% right, my N20U has a yellowish dirty white look to it when compared to my N10+
I doubt Samsung sees this as a defect until all of us report it as a defect so they can fix it with a software update.
Using vivid mode with green slider turned to lower setting helps but that's about it...
Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk
VICosPhi said:
You're 100% right, my N20U has a yellowish dirty white look to it when compared to my N10+
I doubt Samsung sees this as a defect until all of us report it as a defect so they can fix it with a software update.
Using vivid mode with green slider turned to lower setting helps but that's about it...
Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I posted in another thread that I got an app - Screen Balance - from the play store. With that I was able to get rid of more green as it has several adjustments for white balance. Use various adjustments judiciously. I like things cool. Seems *all* amoleds look green to me anyway.
Lest anyone thinks I'm spamming the app, since I mentioned it in another thread, I am not. Just a much happier user. ?
Doesn't solve the aforementioned problems though.
My gripe is temporary image retention. Using dark mode and gray screens, sometimes, the outline of the keyboard will remain on the screen for 5-10 seconds. I notice that if one uses the phone in light mode, it seems perfect, but once in dark mode, it has some minor flaws.
It's funny to see so many of these posts popping up. I made a post about this before as well that the screen has an overall yellowish greenish overtone to it. In fact, mine got worse. Now I have screen burn in. It's crazy since I don't have my phone at high brightness. It's somewhere in the middle. This is the first time I have to have a screen replaced. I miss my note 9 so much. If the note 9 had an ultra wide camera, I would so have kept it. This is likely the most problematic note I've owned. I had 3 note ultra in the past and they are all the same in terms of display. There's no escaping it. If you call the Samsung costumer service, they aren't allowed to admit issues with the device that Samsung hasn't cleared for them to admit, so they'll deny any screen issues at this time. I was going to trade this in for the Oneplus 8 pro, but they aren't taking Note 20 ultras as a trade in device, so may still sell or try to hold on till S21 ultra and pray by then Samsung corrects this new line of Amoled screens.
This is the screen burn in that I have unfortunately. Going to get the screen replaced, hopefully this weekend.
Mrplennium said:
This is the screen burn in that I have unfortunately. Going to get the screen replaced, hopefully this weekend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Burn-in does not show in screenshots, It will only be visible on your device as it is the physical screen with the damage
*Detection* said:
Burn-in does not show in screenshots, It will only be visible on your device as it is the physical screen with the damage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then it's a mystery what that anomaly is. I am not the only one as a member in another forum posted similar. Image retention maybe? I don't know. But whatever it is, it's not going away and the Samsung phone techs agree I need to change the screen. Hopefully the new one doesn't do this.
Mrplennium said:
It's funny to see so many of these posts popping up. I made a post about this before as well that the screen has an overall yellowish greenish overtone to it. In fact, mine got worse. Now I have screen burn in. It's crazy since I don't have my phone at high brightness. It's somewhere in the middle. This is the first time I have to have a screen replaced. I miss my note 9 so much. If the note 9 had an ultra wide camera, I would so have kept it. This is likely the most problematic note I've owned. I had 3 note ultra in the past and they are all the same in terms of display. There's no escaping it. If you call the Samsung costumer service, they aren't allowed to admit issues with the device that Samsung hasn't cleared for them to admit, so they'll deny any screen issues at this time. I was going to trade this in for the Oneplus 8 pro, but they aren't taking Note 20 ultras as a trade in device, so may still sell or try to hold on till S21 ultra and pray by then Samsung corrects this new line of Amoled screens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh geezzzz...that:s not encouraging.. looks like I'm holding on hoping for a soft/firmware update. A replacement would probly have the same or worse issue. No burn in here so far.
Definitely keeping my note 9!
Mrplennium said:
Then it's a mystery what that anomaly is. I am not the only one as a member in another forum posted similar. Image retention maybe? I don't know. But whatever it is, it's not going away and the Samsung phone techs agree I need to change the screen. Hopefully the new one doesn't do this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your screenshot looks clear to me on my PC, so if you are seeing burn-in then it will be on your screen and will need a replacement, what I was saying is you cannot send someone a SS to show them the burn-in, they would need to look at your screen with their eyes
Mrplennium said:
This is the screen burn in that I have unfortunately. Going to get the screen replaced, hopefully this weekend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bro did you just try to screen shot your screen burn ? :laugh: You need to click with another camera
*Detection* said:
Burn-in does not show in screenshots, It will only be visible on your device as it is the physical screen with the damage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
warriorvibhu said:
Bro did you just try to screen shot your screen burn ? :laugh: You need to click with another camera
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Click to collapse
Hahaha lol I just realized the error of my ways :laugh:
I've never had such screen anomalies before. Still can't understand how it got there since I don't keep my phone at max brightness. Guess I got unlucky this time around.
Mrplennium said:
Hahaha lol I just realized the error of my ways :laugh:
I've never had such screen anomalies before. Still can't understand how it got there since I don't keep my phone at max brightness. Guess I got unlucky this time around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same image on the screen for extended periods can cause it too, so if you're always in WhatsApp chat or Facebook app and the same thing is always on the screen you'll be more likely to see it then too
Mrplennium said:
Hahaha lol I just realized the error of my ways :laugh:
I've never had such screen anomalies before. Still can't understand how it got there since I don't keep my phone at max brightness. Guess I got unlucky this time around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah i used to worry a lot about this as i know there are batches of screens that have this problem. Initially i thought the green yellow tint problem was also in some batches esp when Display mate gave this screen such high rating, which means they are all who have sold their souls for money and not honest, so thought mine was a bad batch but it seems everyone has this tint issue. Its sad that you have burn in but its more common than you think. Many people got it with the Samsung View case too.
warriorvibhu said:
Yeah i used to worry a lot about this as i know there are batches of screens that have this problem. Initially i thought the green yellow tint problem was also in some batches esp when Display mate gave this screen such high rating, which means they are all who have sold their souls for money and not honest, so thought mine was a bad batch but it seems everyone has this tint issue. Its sad that you have burn in but its more common than you think. Many people got it with the Samsung View case too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, pretty unfortunate. I did see the issues with the Samsung cases causing the burn in as well. What's funny is that if you speak to a supervisor at the Samsung customer service number and tell them about the screen issues and you have someone else with a Samsung phone call them back hours or a day later and get the same supervisor, they'll tell you that they never had one complaint about the screen. Unless Samsung instructs them it's an issue they can fix, they will not admit it. Still hoping Samsung can correct the yellowish greenish overtone of the general display.
*Detection* said:
Burn-in does not show in screenshots, It will only be visible on your device as it is the physical screen with the damage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cracked screen show up well using a screen shot
Limeybastard said:
Cracked screen show up well using a screen shot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Scratches show even better ? :silly:

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