After adopting the risky "it's not a bug, it's a feature" strategy in response to some of the early complaints regarding the relatively low apparent quality of the Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra screens, Samsung was rumored to be working on a software update mainly focused on improving the "vividness" of said displays according to the preferences and wishes of real-world smartphone users.
This update, which is set to be the first-ever revision of the software found on the three aforementioned ultra-high-end handsets at launch, has now finally gone official ahead of an over-the-air rollout "in February." Seeing as how it's already February, we're going to assume that vague and somewhat confusing deadline means the update is (just about) ready for primetime and likely to head out to S24 series owners momentarily.
What's new?
Chief among the changes confirmed by Samsung today is without a doubt the "Vividness" slider added to the "Advanced settings" menu to allow you to "personalize your viewing experience."
While the company insists what many users have been describing as a "muted" display, especially on the state-of-the-art Galaxy S24 Ultra, was intended behavior aimed at providing a "natural" viewing experience, all those looking to enjoy a "more vibrant" screen should give the new slider a whirl.
There are apparently three "Vividness" options you'll be able to experiment with and choose from later "in February", with the default setting going unchanged as Samsung evidently believes the vast majority of S24 series users are content with their "natural viewing experience."
If you're not particularly delighted with the camera performance of your costly new Android flagship, meanwhile, you should be happy to hear that this update looks to improve that area as well.
Unfortunately, it's not entirely clear to what extent the capabilities of the Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra shooters will be upgraded. All we know is that Samsung is preparing to make changes to "zoom functions, Portrait Mode, Nightography, rear camera video shooting" skills and "more", which certainly sounds promising but also annoyingly generic and vague.
What's missing?
At least for the time being, there's no word on any security improvements being included in this update, although we're pretty sure the February patch will also come, well, "in February." No fixes for any specific, Samsung-acknowledged bugs are in the works either, at least to our knowledge, while the latest widely reported display issue is unlikely to be caused by a software flaw and thus impossible to resolve via an OTA update.
Meanwhile, it's probably too soon to expect battery life or general performance optimizations, especially if the camera improvements in the pipeline are as sweeping as they sound and as meaningful as many users are hoping.
What you need to remember before asking Samsung to revolutionize the Galaxy S24 series experience across all major areas is that you're looking at three phones that were formally unveiled less than a month ago and shipped to their earliest adopters around the world a mere two weeks back.
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Besides, despite rare instances where displays presented absolutely deal-breaking issues, most buyers seem to be happy with their choice of Samsung's newest premium phones, reportedly purchasing S24 series devices in higher global numbers than the S23 family and presumably not returning them in troves... just yet. Let's hope the vivid-or-not-vivid debate will come to an end whenever this update rolls out and even more people will become happy with their latest mobile device purchase.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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