Most of us at SamMobile have spent the last few days using the Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra in preparation for our upcoming reviews. We have many things to say, so stay tuned for our in-depth analyses. But until we're ready to discuss the new flagships at length, we're sharing some of our findings early on.
Whether it's the Galaxy S24, S24+, or S24 Ultra, we've all reached the same conclusion: Samsung's new flagship phones have a dimmer Always On Display and a dulled-out Vivid color profile.
First, the Always On Display. It's noticeably dimmer on the Galaxy S24 than the Galaxy S22 and S23, regardless of whether it uses the new wallpaper mode or the traditional AOD configuration.
This apparent change in how Samsung calibrated the AOD might help conserve battery life. On the other hand, it does make the screen a little bit less readable at a glance in some situations, which goes against the purpose of the Always On Display.
The Always On Display on the Galaxy S24 also has a yellow tint with or without the AOD wallpaper, and it makes no difference if the Eye Comfort Shield and Adaptive Color Tone features are ON or OFF.
Galaxy S24's vivid color profile is not as vivid
As with previous flagship phones, the Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra offer two color profiles for their Super AMOLED displays. One is “Vivid,” and the other is “Natural.”
There is a noticeable difference between these two color profiles on the previous Galaxy S flagships, like the S22 and S23. Not so much on the Galaxy S24 series.
On the latest flagships, the Vivid and Natural color profiles look almost identical, and the Vivid option on the S24 series is noticeably toned down compared to previous models. In other words, the Galaxy S24's new Vivid color profile isn't as colorful as it used to be.
We're unsure whether these differences in the Always On Display and the color profiles are intended. And thankfully, aside from these relatively minor issues or discrepancies, we can report that the new Super AMOLED screens look great overall and delightfully bright when needed.
Nevertheless, something seems to be not quite right with the color modes. At the very least, we believe there should be more of a difference between the Vivid and Natural options. Other users have complained about washed-out colors, too. So, perhaps it's not all intentional, and Samsung will address this through a future firmware update.
