Galaxy S26 Ultra, red spots on the screen after a few months: is Privacy Display to blame?

Samsung has confirmed that it has launched 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 turning on the device, but gradually emerges after weeks or months of use, a detail that distinguishes it from normal color variations of AMOLED panels.

The reports, collected mainly on Reddit and the Korean social network Naver, date back to March 2026, just a few weeks after the phone's launch, and continue to arrive even today. Many users describe the effect as a rather subtle pinkish hue rather than a true red spot, so much so that some owners might not have even noticed it.

The main suspicions fall on the Privacy Display, the feature that restricts viewing angles at the 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, prompting some early buyers to return the device.

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

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

Anyone noticing the problem on their device should document it with photos or videos, try modifying 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 could be invoked, especially since Samsung aims to extend the Privacy Display to other models in the S series and other flagships, even considering licensing it to competitors.