The latest Samsung Galaxy S23 update could be harmful to your phone

Samsung's latest operating system for Galaxy handsets has been gratefully received by most owners, but there are a handful that have expressed some concern over the apparent removal of an essential feature.

It is being reported that the Samsung One UI 6 update – which is based on Android 14 – lacks the company's pixel shifting technology that's been a mainstay of its OS releases over the years.

It's important as Galaxy phones with OLED displays, such as the Samsung Galaxy S23 series, could suffer from burn-in if the screen is left on too long.

Pixel-shifting is also used on OLED monitors and TVs. It essentially moves the pixels on the screen imperceptibly so that each pixel refreshes regularly and isn't switched onto the same colour or brightness for too long. That is a huge weapon in the fight against screen-burn.

However, according to SamMobile, some users have reported it missing after downloading the latest system software.

The issue was first posted on Reddit by Dragosslash and then confirmed by other forum users. Samsung's One UI 5 still has the pixel shift feature, it seems.

Of course, pixel shift won't prevent burn-in on its own, nor will its absence guarantee you'll experience it. It really depends how long you use your phone for and what status bars or static elements are present during the session.

It's also likely that Samsung is working on a fix as we write, as we can't imagine the tech's removal was on purpose.

The One UI 6 update was released a month ago to a number of more recent Samsung phones.

It will also rollout to older handsets in the coming weeks and months with the update scheme expected to be completed by February 2024.

If your phone has an OLED display, it might be that you'll be happy to wait a bit longer. Hopefully, a patched version will be available by then.