Android 12 Update Triggers A Lag Issue On The Galaxy S21

Android 12 is one of the hottest topics in the Android world right now. As time is passing by, more brands are jumping the ship to roll out the Android 12 update for their devices.

Samsung updated its Galaxy S21 series with the Android 12 update bundled with One UI 4.0 starting this week. The update started appearing for Galaxy S21 series devices worldwide.

Well, everything seemed to work well in most markets, except for users in the USA. According to the latest reports from Reddit (via SamMobile), the Galaxy S21 users in the US are reporting a lag issue on their phones after installing the latest Android 12 update.

Notably, the latest Android 12 One UI 4.0 update makes the UI stutter and lag. This hampers the overall user experience of the phone. Many users claim that the UI stutter issue is related to the device’s high-refresh-rate display.

The UI lag and stutter happen after the device automatically switches from 120Hz back to 60Hz when it shouldn’t. In normal conditions, the Galaxy S21’s display is designed to switch between different refresh rates based on the content that is playing on it.

UI Stuttering issue hasn’t surfaced for Galaxy S21 devices outside the US

Now, according to the user complaints, after updating their Galaxy S21 devices, the screen drops the refresh rate to 60Hz rate. This happens immediately when the display stops detecting any user input.

Moreover, it also happens regardless of whether the animations are running or not. Galaxy S21 users in the US are pretty annoyed by this unwanted behavior, which ultimately leads to a stuttery scrolling effect throughout the entire UI, and also when using any app.

Well, one positive thing is that apart from the Galaxy S21 devices sold in the US, the lag issues haven’t surfaced on the devices in other markets outside of the US.

So, it is pretty safe to install the Android 12 One UI 4.0 update on your Galaxy S21 devices, if you live outside of the US. International models, except for the US aren’t suffering from the stuttering issue.

The Android 12 One UI 4.0 is an exciting update. It packs one of the biggest design changes for an Android OS by Google. Android 12 brings Material You design, new icons, new wallpapers, new animations, and more.

The OS also brings Dynamic Color support that applies the dominant color of your phone’s wallpaper to all the elements of the UI. Apart from all the Android 12 goodies, there are several One UI 4.0 goodies for Samsung devices as well.

All we can do is hope that Samsung is already working on a fix for this problem and releases a hotfix update for the Galaxy S21 devices in the US soon.