In some ways, the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s display is the best Samsung has ever made. It finally upgraded the PWM dimming rate to match the iPhone, and Samsung’s new anti-glare filter made it easier to see in the sunlight.
But problems were brewing under the surface and have slowly cropped up over the last year, leading us to wonder if Samsung will fix them in the upcoming Galaxy S25 series.
From grainy displays to dull colors, Samsung has some work to do on the quality and configuration of the display itself. We’ve also seen Galaxy S24 Ultra models with permanent smudge marks on the screen, a sign that the oil-resistant layer is wearing off prematurely.
Lastly, Samsung continues to be one of the only remaining companies that don’t offer eye-friendly dimming options for folks sensitive to PWM dimming and flickering LEDs. Here’s everything Samsung needs to improve on the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s display to retake the crown for the phone with the best display.
Grainy displays
Early on, users complained of grainy displays. While this is mostly noticeable at low brightness levels, some users have noted that they can see the grain even at regular or high brightness. This problem, technically known as “mura,” is one we haven’t seen so widely since the days of the Google Pixel 2 XL and it persists on Galaxy S24 Ultra displays today. You can see the uneven pattern in the image above which I captured using a microscope on my Galaxy S24 Ultra.
The grainy issue is caused by manufacturing defects where adjacent pixels aren’t as bright as each other, making it look spotty or grainy. Pixels on an OLED are all individually lit and part of the manufacturing and calibration process is ensuring that each pixel meets a specific uniformity level.
It’s not clear if Samsung is skipping this step or if the M13 generation is just particularly prone to this graininess issue. What is clear, however, is that no other phone with an OLED screen suffers from this issue in such a major way. One November rumor says that Samsung fixed the problem in the Galaxy S25 Ultra by using M13+ panels, but we’ll have to wait and see if that’s the case.
Permanent smudges
Everyone has had to wipe down their smartphone display from time to time to remove smudges and dirt, but some unfortunate Galaxy S24 Ultra users have found that the smudges on their screens never go away.
This is believed to be caused by a premature degradation of the oleophobic coating on the outside of the display. This coating is applied to glass to keep fingerprints and smudges at a minimum, as it’s naturally resistant to water, oils, and other liquids.
The result is a display that looks permanently dirty, and only a replacement of the glass will fix the issue. Worse yet, an Android Authority poll shows that potentially 50% or more of Galaxy S24 Ultra users are experiencing this problem. Our advice for Galaxy S24 Ultra owners without this problem is to get a good Galaxy S24 Ultra screen protector on your phone immediately.
Samsung needs to fix this problem on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. It’s non-negotiable for a $1,200+ smartphone.
Better dimming options
As more and more research piles up, it’s clear that using PWM dimming on displays and LED bulbs is causing health problems. Since I began writing about this problem nearly two years ago, I’ve been able to help lots of people get rid of the headaches they’d been experiencing daily by recommending smartphones and light bulbs that don’t flicker.
Unfortunately, Samsung is one of the worst offenders of flickering displays. Those displays are only getting harsher and more painful every year since companies are obsessed with making them brighter and brighter. The solution is extraordinarily simple, but Samsung so far has refused to talk about it or make any sort of accessibility changes for the betterment of its users’ long-term health.
U.S. users, in particular, have almost no flicker-free options to choose from since Samsung, Google, and Apple all now equip every phone they make with flickering displays. Samsung has a real opportunity to get things right with the Galaxy S25 series and take the lead on eye health as the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world.
If companies like OnePlus, Nothing, Vivo, Xiaomi, Oppo, and many other brands can do it, Samsung can too.
Don’t forget the fans
The last problem is the least egregious but one that probably irritated fans the most. At launch, the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s display was duller than previous Galaxy flagships.
I praised the more realistic colors of the display in my Galaxy S24 Ultra review, and while Samsung did an excellent job of tweaking the colors to make them more realistic, the company seemingly forgot that some of its users love vibrant, highly saturated colors.
Samsung released a patch about a month after the S24 Ultra’s release addressing the issue and providing a vibrancy slider for folks that wanted bolder colors. Hopefully, the company won’t forget this option when it launches the Galaxy S25 Ultra sometime soon.