Galaxy S24 Ultra washed-out colors could be software problem

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samsung galaxy s24 ultra vs galaxy s23 ultra vivid screen menu

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

TL;DR

  • Complaints are popping up online that the Galaxy S24 Ultra has washed-out colors on the display.
  • The problem appears to be software-based, as the “Vivid” and “Natural” profiles exhibit few differences.
  • Android Authority contacted Samsung for an explanation but didn’t receive one.

For years now, Samsung phones have had multiple color profiles. The “Natural” profile allows you to see colors as true to life as possible, while the “Vivid” profile provides more saturation to create “pushed” colors that are beautiful but unrealistic.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra, though, appears to have a problem regarding displayed color tones. Folks who have gotten their devices earlier than expected are hitting Reddit to talk about “washed-out” colors.

We were curious about this ourselves, so we compared our Galaxy S23 Ultra to the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Sure enough, with both phones on the “Vivid” setting, colors looked much duller on the 2024 phone compared to its 2023 counterpart. You can see how they compare in the photo above.

We reached out to Samsung about this problem, but didn’t get a statement on the matter. We will update this article should we hear back. However, this is likely a software problem.

Galaxy S24 Ultra washed-out colors: Software or hardware?

We sincerely hope this color issue isn’t hardware-related. If so, that will mean lots of recalled devices and very, very upset buyers.

For now, though, we are fairly sure this is a software issue. When the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Galaxy S24 Ultra are both on the “Natural” setting, they look very similar. When you change to “Vivid,” though, the Galaxy S24 Ultra doesn’t seem to change all that much. This leads us to believe this is a problem with One UI 6.1, which is exclusive to the Galaxy S24 Ultra at the moment. It’s possible One UI 6.1 lacks the appropriate “Vivid” color profile, so nothing changes when you switch to it.

Of course, it would be nice if we knew for sure that that was the case. Until Samsung gives us a statement on the matter, all we can do is speculate.