Redress over red-tinted screens in Galaxy S8: Samsung to update software

Said they will readjust colours over a wider range than at present

Electronics giant Samsung will this week offer an unusually early software update for its newly released Galaxy S8 phone, it said today after some consumers complained of red-tinted screens.

The launch of the device is a key step for the South Korean tech firm as it seeks to move on from last year's humiliating withdrawal of the Galaxy Note 7 over exploding batteries, which hammered the firm's once-stellar reputation.

The Galaxy S8 started over-the-counter sales in the US and its home market but South Korean users who pre-ordered the phones complained their screens displayed an unusually reddish hue.

Online images of their phones went viral on social media but Samsung denied a hardware flaw and maintained that users could manually adjust the colour range according to their preferences.

As more users voiced doubts, Samsung said today that a software update would fix the problem by allowing them to readjust colours over a wider range than at present.

"Samsung... Has decided to release a software update starting from this week which will provide consumers with a further enhanced ability to adjust the colour setting to their preference," it said in a statement.

Samsung -- the world's largest maker of smartphones -- has pinned its hopes on the Galaxy S8 to compete against archrival Apple's iPhone after last year's Note 7 disaster.

The recall debacle cost Samsung billions of dollars in lost profits and hammered its global credibility, forcing it to apologise to consumers and postpone the S8 launch.