Oleophobic Coating On Some Pixel 2 XL Units Are Already Wearing Off

When it comes to quality control, it seems that Google really needs to get a handle on things with regards to the Pixel 2 phones. While it is common to see handsets encounter certain defects at the start, at this point in time with the number of issues plaguing the Pixel 2 phones, it seems a bit alarming.

We’ve seen how some units were shipped without an operating system, display burn-ins, audio recording issues, and just last month one user reported that despite the handset being marked as having cosmetic damage by Quality Assurance, the phone was still shipped out to him anyway. Now the latest issue seems to have to do with the oleophobic coating on the Pixel 2 XL, which according to several user reports on the Pixel User Community and Reddit (via 9to5Google), has already started to wear off.

Now this oleophobic coating, which for those unfamiliar is a coating for the screen of our smartphones that is meant to help repel fingerprints, isn’t meant to last the lifetime of the phone, and normal wear and tear is to be expected. However given that the Pixel 2 XL was released less than a month ago, for it to wear off so quickly doesn’t seem right.

This is not an issue that everyone is experiencing, and 9to5Google speculates that it could be a problem on LG’s end as there was a similar issue with a pre-production unit of the LG V30 (the Pixel 2 XL is made by LG, FYI). In one instance, Google approved an RMA and sent the user a replacement unit, but in another they refused to do so. If this is a problem that has affected you, then you can try your luck by getting in contact with Google.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Google, pixel 2