We’ve been singing the praises of the Samsung Galaxy S24 line since its launch at Galaxy Unpacked 2024, but Samsung’s latest phones haven’t been completely free of problems.
Shortly after the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus and Galaxy S24 Ultra were released last month, several users criticized the phones’ vivid display mode for triggering a washed out color panel. Samsung responded to these reports by claiming that the Galaxy S24’s vivid display mode is working as intended, though the company has since confirmed that an update to the setting is on the way.
Now, however, it looks like even more display-related complaints are headed Samsung’s way. Several Reddit users (via Android Police) have reported seeing a grainy texture when viewing dark and gray colors on their Galaxy S24 displays, while others have reported seeing "frankly unacceptable" horizontal bars when viewing their displays at low brightness. Yikes.
With regards to the texture issue, it’s apparently related to the new phones’ hardware, and several affected users have reported being able to get a free replacement from Samsung.
Display issues are real from r/GalaxyS24Ultra
The horizontal bars issue doesn’t appear to be as widespread, though users affected by this problem have also reported seeing excessive banding when viewing gradient images. It’s not yet clear whether these issues are related to defects in the Galaxy S24’s hardware or software, but one Reddit post suggests the latter.
Android Police reports that its staffer Manuel Vonau faced a similar issue with the Honor Magic 4 Pro's display. On dark gray backgrounds, he noticed uneven colors with vertical stripes running along the screen, which suggests that the problem could be inherent to OLED panels and not specific to the Galaxy S24's screen.
In any case, none of the above problems should deter you from picking up a Galaxy S24 device. For starters, these issues don’t appear to be widespread – we didn’t encounter any display-related hiccups in our own testing of all three Galaxy S24 devices – and even if your device is affected, Samsung has clearly shown a willingness to quickly address concerns (either via updates or full-blown replacements).
What’s more, post-release teething issues are an inevitable part of any phone launch. The Google Pixel 8 Pro, for instance, had a weird screen tint issue before an update was rolled out, and even Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro suffered from overheating issues in its first week of release.
For our full verdict on Samsung’s latest handsets, check out our Samsung Galaxy S24 review, hands-on Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review.
