Soon after the Galaxy S26 Ultra release, reports online about a red screen issue started surfacing. Up until now, no one knew what the underlying cause was, and many speculated that it was a hardware problem related to the first-generation Privacy Display OLED.
However, Samsung came out with an official statement, and an executive even explained what’s causing the issue. Turns out, it’s not a hardware problem, and it’s fixable via a software update. According to Samsung’s exec, the color balance may turn reddish when the OLED is exposed to strong ambient lighting. So to tackle the issue, Samsung is preparing a software update that will correct the color balance.
Unfortunately, the software fix isn’t out yet, so if you are in a hurry and the red screen bothers you, a visit to one of Samsung’s service centers might be necessary.
Despite the annoying problem, it’s at least reassuring to know that this isn’t a faulty OLED screen problem, but a software one that’s fairly easily fixable.
Still, we are having our doubts. The statement from Samsung doesn’t explain why the issue appeared after a while, and it doesn’t explain why the red/magenta hue appears only in certain parts of the display.