Galaxy S26 Ultra, red spots on the display after a few months: is it the Privacy Display's fault?

Samsung has confirmed that it has initiated an internal investigation after several owners of the Galaxy S26 Ultra reported the appearance of a reddish tint right in the center of the screen. The defect does not appear immediately upon powering on but emerges gradually after weeks or months of use, a detail that distinguishes it from the normal color variations of AMOLED panels.

The reports, mainly gathered on Reddit and the Korean social media platform Naver, date back to March 2026, just a few weeks after the phone's launch, and continue to come in even today. Many users describe the effect as a subtle pink hue rather than an actual red spot, to the extent that some owners may not have even noticed it.

The main suspects fall on the Privacy Display, the feature that restricts the viewing angles at a hardware level to prevent prying eyes from reading the screen. The technology works by dimming the pixels on the sides and intensifying them in the center, exactly in the area where the discoloration appears. Even at launch, the feature had caused complaints about eye strain, leading some early buyers to return the device.

This is not the first issue for Samsung's new panel with Privacy Display. The case fits into a series of controversies related to the display of the Galaxy S26 Ultra. At launch, in February 2026, Samsung stated that it had a 10-bit color depth, only to later admit that the panel operates natively at 8-bit and that 10-bit is simulated via software. During the same months, other models in the Galaxy range displayed green or pink lines on the screen, a different problem but one that contributes to eroding the trust of those buying a flagship at full price.

When queried by a Korean publication, Samsung stated: "We are internally examining the issue to identify its cause." The company has not confirmed any direct link to the Privacy Display, the panel's design, or specific production batches, and it is currently unclear whether it is a persistent hardware defect or a phenomenon related to a software update.

Those who notice the problem with their device would do well to document it with photos or videos, try changing the display settings, and contact Samsung support. If the phenomenon turns out to be widespread, a software intervention, a panel replacement program, or a dedicated service would not be ruled out, especially since Samsung aims to extend the Privacy Display to other S series models and other flagships, even considering licensing it to competitors.