iPhone X support document discusses Super Retina OLED screen off-angle viewing, image persistence

A new support document discussing the Super Retina OLED display in the iPhone X addresses user viewing angles, as well as the possibility of image persistence when a display shows a faint remnant of an image that hadn't moved in a long period of time.

"If you look at an OLED display off-angle, you might notice slight shifts in color and hue," Apple declares in the support page. "This is a characteristic of OLED and is normal behavior."

This manifestation should only occur when a device is being used by two people simultaneously. The "shifts in color and hue" are very slight at narrow angles, and worsen slightly the farther away from a straight-on viewing angle the user gets.

"With extended long-term use, OLED displays can also show slight visual changes," writes Apple. "This is also expected behavior and can include 'image persistence' or 'burn-in,' where the display shows a faint remnant of an image even after a new image appears on the screen."

Apple advises users to avoid continuously displaying the same high-contrast image for prolonged periods of time. The company also notes that it has engineered the display to reduce the effects of OLED "burn-in."

The OLED burn-in "issue" isn't new, and isn't permanent with well-engineered panels. Evidence collected over the last few years demonstrates that retained images are wiped over a brief period of normal time of normal use displaying non-static elements, with the user periodically turning off the device when not in use.

The Google Pixel 2 XL is taking some flak about image retention on its OLED screen. However, the screen is based on LG's pOLED technology, and the smaller Pixel 2 that is not having any problems is based on Samsung's AMOLED process. The iPhone X uses Samsung-sourced screens.

20 Comments

hentaiboy 1252 comments · 14 Years

About 7 years ago

From LG:

”With an LG OLED TV, any risk of burn-in or image retention have been addressed through the use of technology that not only helps protect against damage to the screen, but features self-healing properties so that any short-term image retention that may occur is quickly rectified”.

I wonder why this doesn’t apply to their phone displays? Lower cost compromises?

Soli 9981 comments · 9 Years

I really can't wait until micro-LED can replace OLED. As far as OLED has come over the years and the clear benefits it has over LCD, it's still has some major weak points compared to LCD.

bloggerblog 2519 comments · 16 Years

Soli said:

I really can't wait until micro-LED can replace OLED. As far as OLED has come over the years and the clear benefits it has over LCD, it's still has some major weak points compared to LCD.

That or ePaper with super-fast refresh rates. I like the natural look of color reflective displays, they're easy on the eyes and very power efficient.

king editor the grate 662 comments · 15 Years

Burn-in kind of sucks. I've babied my 50-inch plasma since 2010. Fortunately, a phone generally isn't used for periods as prolonged as television viewing.

zimmie 651 comments · 9 Years

Soli said:

I really can't wait until micro-LED can replace OLED. As far as OLED has come over the years and the clear benefits it has over LCD, it's still has some major weak points compared to LCD.

Strictly, OLEDs are a class of micro LED. Returning to inorganic materials may help with longevity.

bloggerblog said:

Soli said:

I really can't wait until micro-LED can replace OLED. As far as OLED has come over the years and the clear benefits it has over LCD, it's still has some major weak points compared to LCD.

That or ePaper with super-fast refresh rates. I like the natural look of color reflective displays, they're easy on the eyes and very power efficient.

Ignoring any lighting, eInk is actually less power-efficient when it's changing the pixels than an LCD is. The improved efficiency is mostly limited to slow update rates because the screen holds an image with zero power applied. Backlighting a transmissive display is typically much more efficient than frontlighting a reflective display. With backlighting, you can have a sort of backstop to reflect light which would go into the phone back out instead. With frontlighting, you can't do that, so some light ends up going out towards the user rather than towards the display. Of course, you don't need frontlighting when there is sufficient ambient light.

The real improvement is in emissive displays (read: micro LED technologies, including OLED). Since each subpixel emits its own light, they only consume enough power for the level you're driving them. If the pixel is black, the subpixels can be entirely off. The display controllers currently draw more power than LCD controllers, and that is likely to be the case for a long time. Still, it's an improvement in a lot of situations.