Part of my S9 screen got darker, just like my last Galaxy Smartphone.

[Plam3n]

My last smartphone was Samaung Galaxy J7 2016, which screen got  a problen. The area, where I watch YouTube videos in NOT full screen mode, got darker. The same thing seems to be happening now to S9. I was okay with the J7, since it wasn't a flagship phone. But I'm really p****d off now, one of the reason I bought a new phone is to get rid of this.

Is there any way I can fix it, or I'm basically stuck like that, once again?!

[ChrisW]

Do you always use the screen at max brightness? It sounds like OLED wear from excessive contrast or intensity. Is the phone under warranty? Take it into a Samsung store and show them if possible.

[Plam3n]

Yes, I do and I don't see nothing wrong about it. If I am allowed to use it, then why should I keep my phone at this awful minimal brightness? I am not buying another screen, I bought this phone less than 3 months ago, this is ridiculous!

[ChrisW]

It's a technological limitation of OLED technology, where organic elements in the array emit light instead of synthetic semiconductors.

These organic compounds do degrade over time, and will reduce in efficiency - and get darker - the harder they're driven. If they're forced to operate at peak all the time, the wear rate will increase a lot. It's why the OS warns you before increasing the brightness when you drag the slider to max.

Upshot? More vivid colours and deeper blacks. Consequence? Their lifespan is generally not as long as semiconductor LEDs. Unfortunately nothing comes for free with OLED panels, and I'm afraid your screen issues are self-inflicted. You can try getting a new handset, but the Samsung diagnostic they can run in store probably is able of showing how long and how brightly the screen is driven.

Any phone using OLED displays, including iPhones, will have the same issue if you drive their displays at max brightness 24/7.

I run my S9 display between 50 and 75% brightness and that's perfectly bright for just about anything short of intense midday summer sun. When viewing it on full brightness I find it slightly uncomfortable!

Your alternative is to buy a phone with an LCD display but colour and contrast won't be as good.  

More background on LED vs. OLED: https://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-oleds-and-leps-work.html

[Plam3n]

I heard that those burn in pixels eventually recovers themselves, is that true? There is no way I am lowing my brightness, I like it that way, I'd hate sitting at another level of brightness. Same goes to watching YouTube. I prefer watching videos on portrait mode. If my phone allows that, why shouldn't I use it that way?

Ughh, that is awful! I hate it, it is so annoying to my eyes. And if I try to get a replacement or something like that, I am going to wait months, as there aren't any Samsung stores in my country.

I was always watching it, making sure it won't happen again, and I get this...

[ChrisW]

I hear you. Unfortunately there's no way round this issue, it's an intrinsic consequence of how the OLED technology works and how it behaves when driven hard.

Some of the symptoms of image persistence can sometimes be reduced by displaying a full screen of solid colours on rotation (e.g. a full screen of red, then blue, then white) to wear the pixels evenly.

Apps are available to do this, but doing this for a long period of time will dim the whole screen even faster and make the screen more prone to image persistence/screen burn in future.

The only safe thing to do to prolong your display life and prevent further OLED wear is reduce the brightness to 50-65% when you're watching videos...

[Plam3n]

I see...

Well, I don't think there is anything I can say anymore.

I guess I'll have to live with it.

Anyway, thank you for your responses and the fact that you were trying to help me. I really appreciate it.

[ChrisW]

I agree with your sentiments, it's annoying the displays can't cope with running at full brightness all the time. I had nasty screen burn with my old LG G4, and I treated the display carefully and hardly ever ran it at maximum brightness. Despite that, it started to screen burn heavily after about 18 months, I think not helped by the device always getting quite hot when in use. Best of luck with your screen let us know if Samsung do something like agree to swap your device...

[WolfeGott]

Mine would have a darker screen (with vertical lines) at the top portion at 25-50% brightness but would be pefectly be fine at 75%.  Is that an OLED issue as well?

I never have set it at max brightness.

Phone is 2 years old.