Google Downplays Pixel 2 XL Screen Burn-In Issue, Extends Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL Warranty to 2 Years

The all-new Pixel devices have been at the core of some recent complaints from users who purchased the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones. Now, the company has come out with a response defending both the new Pixel devices and announcing extension of warranty. Google has announced that every Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will now come with a two-year warranty worldwide. The company also revealed that users will soon get the option to replace the bland sRGB colour profile with a more saturated one.

Google India has further confirmed to Gadgets 360 that all Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL units sold in India will come with the two-year warranty. "We're very confident that the Pixel 2 delivers an exceptional smartphone experience, and to give users peace of mind, every Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will now come with a 2-year warranty worldwide," said Mario Queiroz, VP, Product Management, Google Hardware in a Pixel User Community forum. For users who have already purchased the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, Google says that it will be covered with extended two-year warranty. "If you already purchased your Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL from the Google Store or an authorized retailer, your warranty will be extended to 2 years," added Google.

Acknowledging the Google Pixel 2 XL burn-in issue, Queiroz stressed that all Google-branded devices are put through extensive quality assurance before launch and in the manufacturing of every unit. He said that the burn-in issue should not affect day-to-day usage.

"Thorough testing of the Pixel 2 XL display shows that its decay characteristics are similar to OLED panels used in comparable products. Our current investigation of burn-in, which started as soon as we received the first user report on October 22, confirms that the differential ageing is in line with that of other premium smartphones and should not affect the normal, day-to-day user experience of the Pixel 2 XL," he added. Queiroz also promised that Google will be releasing a software update to fix the issue. Downplaying the burn-in issue, Google claimed that it received small number of reports of differential ageing (also referred to as burn-in) on the Pixel 2 XL's P-OLED screen.

Google also talked about other issues related to Pixel 2 that have been reported extensively on several forum posts. Detailing the feedback received for the Pixel 2 XL display not appearing as saturated as other phones, Google said that the phone is calibrated to deliver natural, accurate colours, and takes advantage of the new colour management support in Android 8.0 Oreo. "Displays on mobile phones are often calibrated to the sRGB colour profile, indicated by the black triangle in the diagram below. With the advent of OLED screens, things changed. An OLED display typically has a much wider gamut than sRGB," explained Seang Chau, VP, Engineering, Google.

Chau added that Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will soon get a new, more saturated colour mode to please unhappy users. "Based on the feedback we've received since announcing Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, we learned that some users do want even more vibrant colours. So, through a software update to Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, we will soon be adding a new "saturated" color mode. The saturated mode puts the display into an unmanaged configuration, similar to how the Pixel 1 operates. The colours will be more saturated and vibrant, but less accurate (similar to most other smartphones which display more vibrant colours): we give consumers the option to choose the colour saturation," he said.