I want this Galaxy S24 feature on every Android phone

I’ve been using the Samsung Galaxy S24+ for a few weeks now. Generally, it’s a really good phone, but it’s not a very exciting one. Despite Samsung’s focus on AI, the biggest improvements this year are around the margins: compared to the Galaxy S23+, the S24+ has a higher-res display, more RAM, and better battery life. Like I said, good, but not especially groundbreaking.

There’s one new feature I’ve really come to enjoy, though: Samsung lets you show your lock screen wallpaper on the S24’s always-on display. Yes, it’s a feature that came to the iPhone first and one that not everybody appreciates. But the option to show your wallpaper on your screen while it’s not in use brings some much-needed personality to the S24’s drab design, and I’ll really miss the option if the next phone I carry doesn’t have it.

Enhanced AOD customization

It’s free real estate

The Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ aren’t very exciting to look at. While the S24 Ultra has a look all its own, with its huge display and sharp corners, the other S24 models kind of just look like phones — they don’t have much personality. But One UI 6.1 introduces the option to show your wallpaper on your always-on display, which, depending on your choice, can add a lot of character to your device while it’s sitting idle.

I didn’t like it at first. I typically use bright, colorful wallpapers on my phones, and even though they’re darkened and dimmed on the S24’s AOD, I find them a little too distracting to be visible all the time. But the always-on display shows your lock screen wallpaper, specifically, and once I got used to picking subtler backdrops for my lock screen than my home screen, I quickly saw the appeal. Filling the AOD with something funny, interesting, sentimental, or just plain nice to look at makes great use of a space that, on all the phones I’ve used before, was more or less wasted. It’s also a small opportunity for self-expression, a core tenet of the Android experience.

I’m tentatively looking forward to the Pixel 9, which, given Google’s history, should offer a camera experience that suits my needs better than the S24’s does. Plus, according to leaks, Google’s next phones should mark a pretty significant shift in the company’s hardware design, which is intriguing. But camera performance aside, and however unique the hardware might look, I will have a hard time giving up Samsung’s AOD wallpaper feature if Google doesn’t offer something similar by then.

I think there’s a good chance it will, though: with Apple and Samsung supporting AOD wallpaper features, it’s the de facto industry standard. I imagine we’ll be seeing similar options on phones from Google, OnePlus, and others in the next year or so, and I’m excited about the possibility.

I don’t see any downsides

At least not yet

Before I’d used the feature much, I assumed that displaying a persistent, full-screen image all the time would wreck my S24+’s battery life and that it probably wasn’t very good for the display’s long-term health. While I can’t determine the latter yet (I’ll be curious to see how these screens look by the end of the S24’s update lifespan in 2031), battery life absolutely has not been an issue. Even with an AOD wallpaper, I still haven’t run the Galaxy S24+’s battery down in a single day. I typically go to bed with a 40 percent charge or more remaining.

And crucially, the feature is entirely optional. If you only want your always-on display to show the time and your notifications, you can turn the Show Lock screen wallpaper toggle off in the S24’s Always On Display settings. I think the biggest drawback in the current implementation is that there’s no option to hide the wallpaper at specific times. You can schedule the always-on display to turn off entirely at certain times, but like many people, I use my phone as a bedside clock, so it’d be nice to be able to hide the wallpaper and keep the clock overnight. Maybe that’ll come later.

Give me this on every phone, please

What’s the harm in giving us the option?

I’d be surprised if similar AOD wallpaper options didn’t show up in flagship phones of Samsung’s peers soon. There’s not much reason to restrict the choice, though I think it should probably be opt-in and off by default (which isn’t the case on the S24).

I hope Google, OnePlus, and others catch up with Samsung on this shortly — or better yet, that Google builds AOD wallpaper options right into Android 15. Customization has always been a central pillar of the Android experience, and the lock screen is another canvas for that kind of expression.