OLED screens of Android smartphones and how to deal with them

What is burn-in and which screens are susceptible to it?

Display burn-in is a constant fading of screen brightness followed by the appearance of artifacts on it in the form of an outline of application icons, keyboard letters or watch battery icons and other system line elements. Static elements that do not change their position during the entire period of use of the smartphone are more susceptible to fading.

All smartphones with OLED , AMOLED and Super AMOLED screens are susceptible to burnout. Smartphones with LCD displays do not burn out, but they do have their drawbacks, the main one being slower response compared to OLED displays, as well as the inability to display “true” black. You can find out the advantages and disadvantages of OLED and IPS in the comparative article on w3bsit3-dns.com.

Why do AMOLED screens burn out, and how do manufacturers deal with this?

Not long ago I became the owner of a Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite smartphone, the device is equipped with a superAMOLED screen, and this is what worried me before buying it. I seriously doubted it, because AMOLED screens have certain disadvantages. Firstly, pulse width modulation, due to which vision can deteriorate significantly, and the second point that worried me was matrix burnout. Both of these problems are not typical of IPS screens, however, IPS displays have their disadvantages in the form of insufficiently good contrast, insufficiently high brightness and not such good viewing angles. Since I wanted the best picture quality possible, an AMOLED screen was probably the best option.

How did manufacturers solve the burnout problem?

All my doubts went away after I understood how the manufacturers solved the problem with burn-in and pulse width modulation. In this article I will consider both of these problems, and I can also immediately reassure our readers - there is no need to worry, these problems have been solved in modern smartphones.

I used to be afraid of AMOLED screens, but now everything has changed. AMOLED screens, without obvious problems, may become the best option for smartphones.

Firstly, phones currently use the DC dimming function, which allows you to soften the effect of screen ripple, which is popularly considered PWM. What is PWM? AMOLED screens are created on such a principle that they cannot change their brightness, since the pixels that make them up can only work in a state of activity or inactivity. Therefore, in order to reduce the brightness, manufacturers artificially turn the diodes on and off, creating the effect of lowering the brightness, and at the same time a person may experience faster eye fatigue when working with reduced brightness. At least, this was observed earlier, but today modern smartphones with the DC dimming function smooth out this problem, so it is no longer entirely relevant.

Now we will touch on the topic of burnout. I previously wrote about it, but now I decided to approach this topic from a slightly different angle. Burn-in is a serious issue that worries probably not only me, but also all our readers who want to buy a smartphone with an AMOLED screen. At least I know that my phone does not have problems with burn-in and will not for one simple reason - Xiaomi moves the interface pixels after some time with a certain periodicity. And I noticed this only out of the corner of my eye and by chance, when I looked at the clock in the status bar - at that moment it shifted slightly. Thus, burnout, at least in the status bar, will not occur. Perhaps the entire interface is moving, including the wallpaper, but at that moment my vision was fixated on the status bar, so, unfortunately, I cannot judge the entire interface.

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE with Always on Display function

Also, I have been reluctant to use the Always On Display feature until now. The fact is that it seemed to me that this function positions elements on the smartphone screen and does not shift them in any way, however, I noticed that with the Always On Display function constantly running, an interface element on the screen - in my case it is a clock - with a certain periodicity shifts to different screen positions, this allows you to get rid of problems with burn-in in standby mode.

What is causing this problem?

The main reason why screens burn out lies in their manufacturing technology. Each display pixel consists of subpixels of three colors : red, green and blue. The blue subpixel is responsible for cool colors, including white, and requires more electrical current to be bright than green and red pixels. Because of this, the blue pixel operating time is reduced, which undoubtedly leads to fading.

In this case, you need to separate the type of AMOLED burn-in:

1. Normal screen fading due to constant use of the device.
2. Burnout of the adhesive layer between the display and the touchscreen, in this case yellow spots appear without any artifacts or “shadows”.
3. Pixel burnout - the appearance of the so-called. “broken” or “frozen” pixel. It is important to distinguish between brightness fading and pixel failure. Burnt-in pixels appear as almost invisible black dots. A dead pixel is completely burnt out and cannot be restored; a frozen pixel (it can be expressed as either a black or a white dot) can be cured, but no one can guarantee that the problem will not arise again.

Attention! Both LCD and AMOLED screens are susceptible to burnout of pixels and adhesive layers. Typically, dead pixels are a factory defect, and the adhesive layer turns yellow when the device overheats significantly.

AMOLED-friendly keyboard

Android has several virtual keyboard options that can reduce burn-in time (and improve battery life). The best one is SwiftKey, which allows users to change the color of their keyboards. The best one I've seen so far is the SwiftKey Pumpkin keyboard theme, although there are others.

My favorite theme is Pumpkin, which uses black keys with an orange typeface.

Download: SwiftKey for Android (Free)

How to understand that the display has started to burn out

Any smartphone that has an OLED (and other variations of this technology) display is subject to fading, so it is better to initially take care of maximizing the durability of the screen.

Burnout of Super AMOLED, AMOLED and OLED is accompanied by:

• Gradual decrease in brightness;
• Deterioration of the overall backlighting of the screen, when the color palette turns to warmer colors, even if the settings are set to a cool color (most often the light turns to yellow, less often to red);
• The appearance of “shadows” from application icons, this is especially noticeable on white wallpapers.

When the display burns out, it becomes “warm”, as if the eye protection mode is turned on. Therefore, first of all, we pay attention to its color temperature.

Real example

From a personal example, I note that I discovered burnout when I raised the notification curtain up. On the smartphone, the entire time I used it (about a year and a half), the system bar was always dark. There was virtually no burn-in because the pixels were “off,” so the difference between the color rendering of the screen and the top became very noticeable.

Photo 1 was taken without using a flash, photo 2 was taken with a flash. Pay attention to the system bar, you will notice that it is brighter than the rest of the display area.

Set AMOLED-friendly dark icons

Minma Icon Pack (which just came out completely free) trades your bright, screen-damaging icons for a darker, OLED-friendly palette. There are over 300 icons available, which cover the default icons as well as many others.

Minma is compatible with most Android launchers and the best part is that it is completely free.

Download: Minma Icon Pack for Android (Free)

How to prevent OLED displays from burning in smartphones

It is impossible to prevent burnout 100%, but it can be significantly slowed down. The life of the screen can be extended by several years, and you will not need to replace the display module of the device.

Many people tell you what to do to maintain the brightness of displays, we will summarize some working tips:

1. Using a dark menu theme , a dark keyboard theme, and a dark wallpaper, preferably black. Reduces current flow to blue subpixels and significantly increases display lifespan. It is advisable to change the size of the keyboard, for example, switch to one-handed input.
2. Periodically changing the location of widgets and application icons. Allows you to avoid the appearance of artifacts and “shadows” from icons.
3. Use night mode in all applications where it is allowed.
4. Operating the device at medium brightness , maximum brightness contributes to rapid burnout.
5. Maximum reduction of screen operating time without third-party influence. Helps maintain display brightness and saves battery power.
6. If possible, disable your phone's onscreen navigation buttons. Use the touchpad at the bottom, the home button, or gestures if such functionality is available on the device.
7. Minimize use of the device in the sun . Typically, in this case, maximum brightness is used, and this leads to burnout. Also, if the device is left in direct sunlight, the glue may burn out.

By following these tips, you can avoid both screen burnout as a whole and minimize the risk of yellow spots from the adhesive layer. The risk of OLED display pixels burning out remains, and no one is immune from this. It is possible to have several dead pixels; if the problem has become global, then most likely there is a manufacturing defect in the device. In the latter case, it is better to contact the seller to replace the device or repair it.

Is it possible to completely eliminate burnout in the future?

It is almost impossible to completely protect OLED, AMOLED, and Super AMOLED displays from the defect in question. This is due to the peculiarities of their design. However, manufacturers are already using some tricks that can slow down the aging process of light elements. For example, Samsung is increasing the size of blue LEDs. Thanks to this step, the elements begin to glow brighter, but at the same time less current passes through them, which means wear takes longer.

Apple has also taken certain steps to extend the shelf life. On the same tenth iPhone there is an automatic brightness adjustment mode, thanks to which the load on the LEDs always remains optimal.

Well, we found answers to two main questions: how to fix screen burn-in using software and how to prevent its occurrence. Since progress does not stand still, in the future it is possible to completely get rid of the problem considered. But for now, almost all smartphones are at risk, so it is better to follow the recommendations mentioned so as not to encounter this unpleasant defect.

Is it possible to fix a screen with burnt-out pixels?

If the super AMOLED display fades during use and the backlight turns yellow or red, then it can be balanced in the screen brightness and color settings. It is not possible to repair the screen without replacing the display module.

To adjust the screen color temperature you will need:

1. Launch settings.
2. Open the “Screen” line.
3. Select “Color and vision protection”.
4. Go to “Color mode and temperature”.
5. Move the position of the slider along the color wheel until a comfortable color temperature appears.
6. Save changes.

It will not be possible to return the previous brightness and contrast, but such manipulations will be enough for comfortable use.

OLED screen technology is imperfect, so no one can say how to completely avoid smartphone screen burn-in. There are options to significantly slow down the process, which are described above. You won’t be able to return or restore the brightness yourself; the smartphone will require serious repairs at a service center with replacement of the display module, so I advise you to use dark themes and not turn the brightness to maximum.

Change your Launcher

The Google Experience launcher for Android isn't entirely compatible with OLED by default. Android 5.0 forces the App Drawer wallpaper to be white (the worst color for OLED screens). One of the best launchers for darker colors is Nova Launcher. Not only is it more responsive, but it also offers better customization options.

Download: Nova Launcher for Android (free)

Enable Dark Mode for Android 8.0 Launcher

Android 8.0 and later, however, includes dark mode. To enable dark mode:

1. Click on Settings .
2. select display ,
3. Click on advanced .
4. Select Dark Mode from the options.