diff --git a/etc/NEWS b/etc/NEWS
index 379ddbde072..8bd8c5714c0 100644
--- a/etc/NEWS
+++ b/etc/NEWS
@@ -139,6 +139,11 @@ known to have problems, such as undesirable frame positioning and
 various issues with keyboard input of sequences such as 'C-;' and
 'C-S-u'.
 
+Note that, unlike the X build of Emacs, the PGTK build cannot
+automatically switch to text-mode interface (thus emulating -nw) if it
+cannot determine the default display; it will instead complain and ask
+you to invoke it with the explicit -nw option.
+
 ---
 ** Emacs no longer reduces the size of the Japanese dictionary.
 Building Emacs includes generation of a Japanese dictionary, which is