Trouble in Paradise: Complaints and Fault-Findings About the Galaxy S24 Pile Up. What’s Going on?

After a glorious January start and some record-breaking pre-order figures, the Galaxy S24 is now off to an off-road adventure. Many users are reporting problems with their brand-new AI-centric devices and the maxed-out Galaxy S24 Ultra is not missing the “party”.

But is the complaints uproar valid… or is it just fantasy?

Let’s see what’s (claimed to be) wrong and what’s (probably) not.

The screen shock

In terms of scratch-resistance or anti-flare capabilities, this year’s Samsung flagship display is insanely good.

Some, though, have problems with something else – the colors. “Dull and muted” is what many are accusing the Galaxy S24’s display of. The trouble seems to be that the Vivid screen mode option just doesn’t get as vibrant and saturated as the Vivid screen mode on Galaxy S23 or Galaxy S22.

Going from Natural to Vivid used to produce a noticeable difference in the Galaxy S24’s predecessors, but the same can’t be said for the latest South Korean champion. Users complain the difference is barely perceptible and are not happy to lose what they’re used to.

Samsung took the “It’s a feature, not a bug” stance with an official explanation for the phenomenon:

On a side note: some owners have found out that this washed-out phenomenon is present only upon viewing a photo in Chrome or “on the wallpaper”. If a photo is opened in Gallery, it looks saturated and vibrant, according to them.

Apart from the muted colors, some are reporting another screen issue – grainy textures on dark/gray backgrounds.

There’s a Reddit poll that invites Galaxy S24+ owners to vote on the matter and share if they experience the same grainy problem. As of the time of writing, over 150 users said “Yes” (as in “Yes, I’m seeing grainy textures on my phone”) and over 90 – “No”. Another 116 are so far “Not sure”.

The camera gloom

Moving on to the back of the Galaxy S24 and, more specifically, the camera. That’s one of the most sensitive matters for any flagship, as any flagship maker will tell you.

Some Galaxy S24 Ultra owners in India, Spain and Thailand reported “faulty cameras”. A user found out that transition between zoom levels (going from 2x to 3x, to 5x) is anything but smooth and looks jerky.

Samsung India admitted that some first-batch Galaxy S24 Ultra units had the problem and promised a replacement unit.

Apart from that, some complained that the Galaxy S24 phones produce “lower-quality photos” than the Galaxy S23 line. 

That's what a Reddit user said.