Few phones are able to launch without users reporting some kind of significant problem. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is no exception, and this time some users have started reporting that the screens are slowly turning red. I guess that's one way to try and tone down the blue light emissions, but it's hardly ideal for a phone that costs $1,300.
Some of these reports date back as far as March, with multiple Reddit users noticing that the S26 Ultra's red coloring is more washed out than it should be — even with the vivid setting turned on and setting the screen to maximum resolution. More recently those reports have switched gears, noting that screens have been slowly developing pink and red tints.
Reports have come in from a bunch of places across the web, including Reddit, Korean social network Naver and Samsung's own community forums. The general experience seems to be similar for a lot of people with users spotting that the red tint starts appearing in the center of their display.
Another red flag for S26 Ultra's display
One Naver user even took their phone, an S26 Ultra manufactured in June, to the Samsung Store to compare it to display models. They found that the display model had a significantly redder screen than the new model, speculating that the problem is exacerbated by time, estimating around 3 to 4 months before it becomes an issue.
It's hard to make out the red tint in the photos, but seeing the older and newer Galaxy S26 Ultra models side by side shows just how much of a difference there can be. The consensus also seems to be that this is a kind of after image, rather than screen burn, because the coloring apparently takes the same rectangular shape on each affected device.
That being said, some owners have chimed in on Reddit to point out that nothing has happened to their devices, or even the demo units that have been on display since the launch of Galaxy S26 series earlier this year. My own Galaxy S26 Ultra seems fine, too.
At least one user has said that they're not sure if they can see the problem, and admits they may be "tricking" themselves into seeing something. There's no doubt some phones have this issue, but if the coloring is as subtle as some people have claimed, that is a possibility. Meanwhile, the originator of this particular thread seems to believe that the problem has been restricted to Korea for the time being. Considering this is the opinion of one person, I'm not entirely sure it can be trusted.
Another Redditor seems to think that there's glue in the area in question, and that it is visible under UV light until it fully dries — a process they think can take around 6 months. Honestly, I don't buy this explanation at all, least of all because the photos of the tint don't feature any noticeable UV light.
Let's hope Samsung doesn't get red-faced
We've reached out to Samsung to ask about this issue, and will update if we hear back. I'm particularly interested to hear what the exact problem is, and if this red tint is the result of some kind of manufacturing issue or related to changes in the screen itself.
After all, Samsung did launch the Galaxy S26 Ultra with a tinted Privacy Display, and testing proved that the screen brightness (among other things) was affected by this. The display is dimmer and has narrower viewing angles even when Privacy Display is switched off.
If this is the result of a specific manufacturing issue that has since been fixed, then the damage caused by this tint will at least be contained. But if the problem is more widespread, it could potentially be a problem for those people who own an S26 Ultra and plan on keeping it for the long term.
Samsung has already courted controversy with the S26 screen, originally claiming it offered 10-bit color depth only to backtrack and admit that the physical display could only display 8-bit color depth. The last thing it needs is to find out a bunch of screens will eventually tint everything with a rose-shaded hue.
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