The Galaxy S24 has a 'grainy' display problem we haven't seen in years
What you need to know
Users have started reporting a "grainy" appearance on the display of the Galaxy S24 series when viewing a dark background.
Another batch of reports sees users spotting odd horizontal bars across their display when viewing something of a "consistent color" at low brightness.
For the grain issue, this could be a display occurrence known as "mura," which means the panel's pixels are struggling to retain the same level of brightness.
Samsung's latest Galaxy S24 is reportedly still facing problems with its display as users start noticing odd flaws.
Several users on Reddit are reporting weird "grainy" problems with the Galaxy S24's display (via Android Police). The first thread involves users questioning if others have noticed any grain on the S24's display when viewing an app or anything else with a dark background. Users who participated in the poll say they saw this problem on the S24 Plus, S24, and S24 Ultra.
One user stated they even encountered this problem when testing display versions of the S24 series in a store. Another user said, "I do see some areas of the screen are darker grays than others, almost like a gradient. Should not exist."
Users in a different Reddit thread report noticing strange horizontal bars running across their S24's display at low brightness. The problem only affects a device's display when there is a consistent color. Moving away from a red or green screen seems to return a more expected display behavior.
Android Central's Nick Sutrich states the grainy problem users have been reporting is likely a display occurrence known as "mura." Essentially, "each individual pixel is having a difficult time maintaining the same brightness level as surrounding pixels." Smartphone OLED displays haven't suffered from this problem in years, but other OLED displays, like the Samsung AMOLED in the PSVR 2, have mura.
On our Galaxy S24 Ultra review unit, mura is only visible when the display is below 10% brightness. This is something another user on Reddit discovered, as well. Other users are reporting that mura is visible at all brightness levels. For reference, the last device that had a major mura problem with its display was the Google Pixel 2 XL and its LG-made panels.
Sutrich discovered all subpixels were affected by this "grainy" look. However, the red and blue pixels are worse off.
It's currently assumed there may be a batch of defective Galaxy S24 display panels in the wild, which are causing quite a stir for consumers. Considering the problem is hardware-oriented, some users have tried contacting Samsung support and asking for a replacement display to (hopefully) fix the problem. The Korean OEM has swapped to new display panels with its 2024 flagship launch, and there could be a problem with its yield, according to Sutrich.
Android Central has reached out to Samsung about the two discussed display problems, and they did not get back to us in time for publication. We will update the article once we have more information.
More importantly, this isn't the first problem the Galaxy S24 has suffered with its display, as users reported seeing "washed out" colors. When comparing the new series to the Galaxy S23 trio, the colors of the former appear pale and not what users expect from a "vivid" display.
Samsung confirmed that the S24's display color profile is working as intended, but it will need to be tweaked to consumers' liking.
