SEEING RED

Samsung rolling out software fix after customers in South Korea complain of Galaxy S8 screen’s off-colour tint,

LONDON— Samsung Electronics Co. is releasing two software updates for its new Galaxy S8 phone after some users complained of seeing red-tinted screens and spotty Wi-Fi connections.

The Galaxy S8 started shipping last week, and some people who pre-ordered in South Korea complained about the display. Samsung originally recommended the users fix the problem manually, but has now confirmed it will allow users to rectify the issue via an update.

“Samsung has listened to feedback and has decided to release a software update starting from this week which will provide customers with a further enhanced ability to adjust the colour setting to their preference,” South Korea-based Samsung said in an emailed statement Monday.

Aseparate update will deal with the inability to connect to certain highspeed Wi-Fi networks used by a local carrier and doesn’t mean there is a hardware issue with the S8, Samsung said.

Those issues aren’t the only ones to have arisen regarding the S8 phones. The models feature big wraparound screens and lots of glass, and SquareTrade, a company that sells gadget-repair plans, says the phones also appear to break more easily. The nearly all-glass design of Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus makes them beautiful, SquareTrade says, but also “extremely susceptible to cracking when dropped from any angle.”

Samsung is pinning its hopes on its flagship smartphone offering, which launched in the U.S. on April 21, after the Note 7 debacle last year. That phone debuted to positive reviews only to be killed off after some units caught fire and exploded due to a battery issue.

Samsung accounted for 26 per cent of global smartphone sales in the first quarter of this year, ahead of Apple’s 17 per cent, according to TrendForce.