Samsung was unable to fix the “red screen” issue in the Galaxy S26 Ultra
Samsung released an update that was supposed to fix the reddish spot on the screens of Galaxy S26 Ultra, but has not yet fully resolved the issue.
Red spot on the display
The first mass complaints about the Galaxy S26 Ultra display emerged in summer. Smartphone owners have noticed a rectangular red or purple area approximately in the center of the screen. The defect was particularly visible on a white or light gray background at high brightness.
The peculiarity of the problem is that on new smartphones it might have been absent and only appeared after two to three months of use.
Samsung reviewed the complaints and stated that this does not involve OLED panel burn-in or physical damage. The company linked the color shift to incorrect color optimization and display calibration.
Before the mass fix, owners of problematic devices in South Korea were offered free software calibration at service centers.
Samsung released a fix
On August 26, Samsung began rolling out update S948NKSU4AZHJ with the August security patch to the Galaxy S26 Ultra in South Korea. Along with other fixes, it received changes intended to correct color reproduction on problematic displays.
The user does not need to separately run calibration. After installing the update, the necessary changes must be applied automatically.
However, initial reviews showed that the result varies from device to device. For some owners, the reddish area has indeed become significantly less noticeable, while others claim that the spot remains.
How the fix works
Additional details emerged on August 29. One of the Galaxy S26 Ultra owners conducted a series of measurements on the problematic display and compared its performance before and after the update.
Based on testing, the central area of the screen appears darker and shifted toward a purple hue due to reduced brightness of the green subpixels. It is precisely the green channel that has a strong influence on the overall brightness and color balance of the image.
After installing the August patch, the relative brightness of green subpixels in the central area increases. As a result, the reddish-purple spot becomes less noticeable.
This may explain why the software fix does not help everyone equally. The patch can compensate for the color reproduction difference, but there is no confirmation yet that it eliminates the original cause of the display characteristic change. The test author plans to continue monitoring to check if the issue progresses over time and whether smartphones from later production batches differ.
After calibration, complaints about points appeared.
At the same time, another problem arose. Some Galaxy S26 Ultra owners report small dots appearing primarily in the upper part of the display after color correction.
Such reports come from users who installed the August update as well as from smartphone owners who previously underwent software calibration at a service center.
The number of such cases is currently small. Furthermore, it was not possible to establish a direct link between calibration and the appearance of points. It is possible that owners began noticing existing panel features after a more careful screen inspection.
As of August 31, Samsung has not publicly linked the appearance of dots to a released fix.
The culprit is Privacy Display
Galaxy S26 Ultra differs from other models in the series with a new Privacy Display technology. It is built directly into the display and limits image visibility when viewed from the side.
The screen uses different types of pixels and controls the direction of emitted light. In normal mode, the image remains visible at wide angles, while enabling Privacy Display activates a mode where content is significantly harder for side observers to see.
It is precisely the Galaxy S26 Ultra that is the only model in the lineup with such a display, so after the first complaints appeared, users began to associate the problem with its new design. Samsung, however, continues to insist that the initial reddish spot is related to color calibration settings, not a hardware defect of the panel.
The issue has not been fixed yet
The August update improved the situation on at least some Galaxy S26 Ultra devices, but it is still too early to speak of a complete fix. Fresh measurements indicate software compensation for color balance, and some users still see a reddish area even after applying the patch.
Additional questions arise regarding reports of points after calibration. Until they become widely adopted and Samsung confirms the existence of a new issue.
Owners of the Galaxy S26 Ultra who continue to experience a noticeable color shift or other display defects after an update should contact an official service center for a display inspection.
