Red tint on dark grey ie dark theme on brightness below 50%

[sanurocks]

There is a noticeable red tint on dark grey color everywhere while the brightness slider is set in range of 0-49%. Effect is more pronounced while using 120hz refresh rate and less while using other modes. 50% and above and the tint just disappears.

Does anybody suffers with the same issue? This is indian variant of the phone.

Attached image can be used for testing.

 

[Abhi Dahiya]

This seems to be a problem with many ROG 2 owners. The Red tint is massive at low brightness. And yes, this is a screen problem not a software issue.

Better try replacing the unit. But there is no guarantee new phone won't have the same problem as many people are reporting this issue.

I think maybe Asus is buying cheaper display from some other manufacturer, not Samsung. Here is a similar complaint thread on Asus forums -

https://zentalk.asus.com/en/discussion/11085/display-red-tint-issue-on-my-rog-2

And if it very troublesome for you, simply return it, ask for refund and buy some other device.

 

[sanurocks]

I will probably do that but samsung has that stupid hole. I sold my op 7 pro for this.

But 1 thing that is interesting is at 60hz the red tint is visible at 0-10% range. And the higher the refresh rate the more brightness range it covers like at 120hz its visible at 0-40% range. At 50% nothing of such sort is visible at any refresh rate.

It mostly has to do with that 1ms gtg ie grey to grey response time at high refresh rate. And yes all units will have that issue maybe not at 60hz but definitely at 120hz.

Lets see if asus has any response. I still have my return window left.

 

[resident0915]

And now you know why others don't have 120Hz AMOLED panels, and why reviewers complain about the minimum brightness being too bright. Asus tried to mitigate these issues because the panels are only acceptable above a certain brightness.

 

[madsud]

I have an Indian unit and have the red tint. I don't have an issue as i keep my screen at 50% brightness. Hope in Android 10 apps use black instead of dark grey for the dark mode

 

[Abhi Dahiya]

I have an Indian unit and have the red tint. I don't have an issue as i keep my screen at 50% brightness. Hope in Android 10 apps use black instead of dark grey for the dark mode

Reality is that most apps including google ones are going the way of dark grey background, not pure black.

Also always 50% brightness? Don't you turn it down in room with no lights or low lights?

---------- Post added at 08:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:13 AM ----------

I will probably do that but samsung has that stupid hole. I sold my op 7 pro for this.

But 1 thing that is interesting is at 60hz the red tint is visible at 0-10% range. And the higher the refresh rate the more brightness range it covers like at 120hz its visible at 0-40% range. At 50% nothing of such sort is visible at any refresh rate.

It mostly has to do with that 1ms gtg ie grey to grey response time at high refresh rate. And yes all units will have that issue maybe not at 60hz but definitely at 120hz.

Lets see if asus has any response. I still have my return window left.

You sold OP7 Pro for this? Seriously bro? I mean unless one is a gaming fanatic, ROG doesn't make sense for someone who wants a overall great experience. It was evident that Asus has cut corners at many places when they priced it so low.

Even if it's 60Hz, red tint shouldn't be there. It's an example of not a good display.

 

[sanurocks]

You sold OP7 Pro for this? Seriously bro? I mean unless one is a gaming fanatic, ROG doesn't make sense for someone who wants a overall great experience. It was evident that Asus has cut corners at many places when they priced it so low.

Even if it's 60Hz, red tint shouldn't be there. It's an example of not a good display.

OP7 Pro had its issues, I bought it on first sale. camera focus was not good, camera output was soft around corners while clicking text/documents for sharing. the screen though gorgeous looking was actually hard to use. i can recall a particular issue - i use phone pe and the menu for edit beneficiary was just in the screen space where it started to become edge and it required multiple touch to activate it.

actually rog 2 feels more premium in hand and the weight distribution is quite good as compared to op7 pro, it was top heavy. i have large hands so actual phone size was not the issue with either op7 pro or rog 2.

if one can ignore this red tint issue almost every aspect is better than op7 pro. screen above 50% brightness( which is actually not 50% screen brightness output, its just 50% slider) hdr in video playback works very well, its a quite brighter than op7 pro. Sharpness is less but only apparent on close viewing. Sound quality is better on speakers and louder too. Screen smoothness is much better. gets less hot then op7 pro, Cyber hunter on full was 47-48 on op7 pro, its 44-45 on rog ii. and the battery life is way better. There are much differences to be pointed out but the thread will grow.

Though the phone might not look professional in a meeting and i don't think it will receive timely android updates. But as a usable device i find this better than op 7 pro. If the grey management was not an issue this would have been almost unbeatable in its category and even in a higher category. op7 pro costed me 51.5k after bank discount, this costed 34k after bank discount.

 

[madsud]

Reality is that most apps including google ones are going the way of dark grey background, not pure black.

Also always 50% brightness? Don't you turn it down in room with no lights or low lights?

Agree. Said just a hope. The objective of dark mode is also to take advantage of amoled which is not met by grey. Hoping common sense prevails.
I hardly use the mobile in low light, if i do, i dont turn the brightness down

 

[GeekGod]

I'm swapping my Galaxy S8 in for this. How certain are we that this red tint is a hardware issue?

 

[suzook]

I'm swapping my Galaxy S8 in for this. How certain are we that this red tint is a hardware issue?

Definitely a hw issue. Its only notcieable between 15 to 30%. I wouldnt worry about it.

 

[NajimKiSaad]

Reality is that most apps including google ones are going the way of dark grey background, not pure black.

Also always 50% brightness? Don't you turn it down in room with no lights or low lights?

Agree. Said just a hope. The objective of dark mode is also to take advantage of amoled which is not met by grey. Hoping common sense prevails.
I hardly use the mobile in low light, if i do, i dont turn the brightness down

If you wanna see the issue:

1) go to a dark room or in a room with almost no light.

2) add "Screen Frequency" toggle in the status bar, and lower the status bar to show the toggles;

3) lower the brightness above 40-50%;

4) use the toggle to swap frequency from 60Hz, 90Hz and 120Hz.


You will notice the colour of the status bar itself changes… it's like is 80%grey and 20%red on 60Hz; 90%grey and 10%red on 90Hz, 50%grey and 50% red on 120Hz (it's like the status bar is dark-brown coloured).


And, then again, increase slowly the brightness: the status bar will be "magically" turn back to its natural color, dark grey.

This is a big issue for a smartphone which costs about 960American dollars here in Italy! I'm thinking about to return it...

 

[sanurocks]

If you wanna see the issue:

1) go to a dark room or in a room with almost no light.

2) add "Screen Frequency" toggle in the status bar, and lower the status bar to show the toggles;

3) lower the brightness above 40-50%;

4) use the toggle to swap frequency from 60Hz, 90Hz and 120Hz.


You will notice the colour of the status bar itself changes… it's like is 80%grey and 20%red on 60Hz; 90%grey and 10%red on 90Hz, 50%grey and 50% red on 120Hz (it's like the status bar is dark-brown coloured).


And, then again, increase slowly the brightness: the status bar will be "magically" turn back to its natural color, dark grey.

This is a big issue for a smartphone which costs about 960American dollars here in Italy! I'm thinking about to return it...

This means international version suffers with the same issue. What they have done to achieve such high refresh rates and such low response times must be the issue. Now if someone from asus can confirm if this tinting can be fixed via software update or not that will be the main factor for either keeping or returning the phone. The issue is already raised in zentalk forum and i have also commented there and the mod also has accepted the issue in his demo unit.

https://zentalk.asus.com/en/discussion/11085/display-red-tint-issue-on-my-rog-2

 

[bluegizmo83]

It's so minor I've literally never noticed it (until using your test image just now) and I've been using this phone for almost a month now. I'm filing this under not an issue for me.

 

[cheetah2k]

Not an issue for me. My brightness is pretty much always set to 50% and 90hz - never even noticed it. If you're running brightness down around 20% then you're either pretending to be on an Ethiopian diet, or you have an issue with over sensitivity of your retinas and should get it checked out asap

 

[sanurocks]

It's so minor I've literally never noticed it (until using your test image just now) and I've been using this phone for almost a month now. I'm filing this under not an issue for me.

This only affect night time usage with lights out or in low lit environments where you will keep your screen brightness low. Daytime usage is perfectly fine as 50% slider is not actually 50% screen brightness. So slider % remains high during day.

Not an issue for me. My brightness is pretty much always set to 50% and 90hz - never even noticed it. If you're running brightness down around 20% then you're either pretending to be on an Ethiopian diet, or you have an issue with over sensitivity of your retinas and should get it checked out asap

Its clearly mentioned that its a non issue with brightness slider in range 50% and above. So you wouldn't notice it.

And by the way if you are using that high of brightness in low lit or lights out environment then maybe you have less sensitive retina and maybe get it checked.

This will only affect people who use this for night time reading and naturally dim the screen to read comfortably. If people use normal day brightness at night this will be a non issue for them.

The main point is is this a hardware or a software issue. And i have already hypothesized why this might be happening. You can read the posts above.

 

[cheetah2k]

This only affect night time usage with lights out or in low lit environments where you will keep your screen brightness low. Daytime usage is perfectly fine as 50% slider is not actually 50% screen brightness. So slider % remains high during day.

Its clearly mentioned that its a non issue with brightness slider in range 50% and above. So you wouldn't notice it.
And by the way if you are using that high of brightness in low lit or lights out environment then maybe you have less sensitive retina and maybe get it checked.
This will only affect people who use this for night time reading and naturally dim the screen to read comfortably. If people use normal day brightness at night this will be a non issue for them.
The main point is is this a hardware or a software issue. And i have already hypothesized why this might be happening. You can read the posts above.

I don't think I would ever find myself in a pitch black room with just my phone and no other background light of any sort. I'm not that kinda guy

If you head over to the Asus forum, this is not a new issue. Asus have declared the reddish tint is normal behaviour of the screen at high Hz, so its hardware, not software, and operating as it should. Every handset will be exactly the same. If it bothers you too much, then maybe look at the Nubia Red 3S or Xiaomi Blackshark 2 instead. For me, its a non issue as like you said, i never drop below 50% brightness, and my retinas are poor, so I would never see it.. :fingers-crossed:

 

[Xebeck]

I always thought that xda subscribers were above fanboy-ism...

 

[sanurocks]

I don't think I would ever find myself in a pitch black room with just my phone and no other background light of any sort. I'm not that kinda guy

If you head over to the Asus forum, this is not a new issue. Asus have declared the reddish tint is normal behaviour of the screen at high Hz, so its hardware, not software, and operating as it should. Every handset will be exactly the same. If it bothers you too much, then maybe look at the Nubia Red 3S or Xiaomi Blackshark 2 instead. For me, its a non issue as like you said, i never drop below 50% brightness, and my retinas are poor, so I would never see it.. :fingers-crossed:

To each his own. :good:

 

[cheetah2k]

I always thought that xda subscribers were above fanboy-ism...

We are all fans of something! :laugh:

This is my first Asus phone, and I'm coming from a long line of samsungs (the latest being the Note10+) and for what I do with the ROG2, its performance creams anything Samsung has ever produced.. so, when a negligible issue like red tint (don't forget Samsung had blue, sony had red also in the past) I'm willing to forgive it because 99% of the time it doesnt affect me. If you call that fanboy-ism, then so be it..

 

[R2active]

Looks like, red tint in the display, issue is widespread in most of the ROG 2 phones .
Asus has confirmed the same, but refused to say, if it is a SW issue or HW issue.

ASUS India @asusindia
Replying to @justreach2ram
Hi there, our team has identified this issue and we have given high priority to solve it as soon as possible. Request you to cooperate for the same.

There is a noticeable red tint on dark grey color everywhere while the brightness slider is set in range of 0-50%. Effect is more pronounced while using 120hz refresh rate and less while using other modes. 50% and above and the tint just disappears.

Does anybody suffers with the same issue? This is indian variant of the phone.

Attached image can be used for testing.