You might want to stop leaving your phone light on because this Google Pixel 10 Pro flashlight melted the plastic

You might want to stop leaving your phone light on because a Google Pixel 10 Pro owner just discovered their flashlight lens can literally melt through its plastic housing.

Reddit user Some_Ad_3898 shared a macro shot of their month-old phone showing a charred, dark crater right in the center of the LED lens. We’ve seen plenty of phones get toasty during a long gaming session, but seeing hardware actually burn itself like this is pretty rare for a flagship in 2025.

The user mentioned they’d accidentally left the light on in their pocket a couple of times. That likely trapped the heat against the fabric, causing the temperature to spike beyond what the plastic could handle. I’m usually the first person to use my phone as a makeshift lantern, but this makes me want to be a lot more careful about where I set it down.

As the photo started making the rounds, other Pixel 10 Pro owners began checking their own devices and noticing a small orange dot in the center of the lens. Many worried their phones were starting to cook, but there is no need to panic just yet. That orange or yellow dot is actually just the physical LED sitting underneath the diffuser, and it’s perfectly normal for it to be visible.

It’s interesting to note that Google switched to a single LED design recently, whereas older models like the Pixel 8 used a dual-LED setup. This shift likely concentrates the heat into a much smaller, more intense area. It’s a bit of a regression from the days of the Lumia 950, which famously packed three LEDs for better light and heat distribution.

Luckily, Google is now making it easier to avoid such a scenario thanks to the much-needed addition of a flashlight intensity slider. This new feature allows you to dim the intensity, which is a huge win for both battery life and, apparently, preventing your phone from melting itself.

If your lens is already showing a dark brown or black burnt spot, you’re likely looking at a manufacturing defect that should be covered under warranty. We’re hoping this is just an isolated incident and not a sign of a larger design flaw with the Pixel 10 Pro hardware.

That said, if you’ve been daily driving a Pixel 10 series device, feel free to let us know your observations of the flashlight diffuser in the comments below.

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