The Samsung Galaxy S23 series launched on February 17th. While the Galaxy S23 Ultra impressed us with its camera performance, we found some issues with its HDR processing. Samsung has rolled out a couple of updates for its flagship phone since launch, but none addressed the reported processing issues. Instead, the company promised a significant camera update at the end of March to resolve the problems. That firmware is now rolling out, with Samsung detailing the changes in a forum post.
In a post on Samsung Community, a moderator has highlighted the camera-related changes the latest Galaxy S23 firmware brings. It notes that the autofocus algorithm has been improved to allow for improved performance. Post the update, the Galaxy S23 will seemingly capture a photo when the shutter button is pressed, even if the subject is not entirely in focus. In case you don't like this behavior, you can tweak this from the Camera Assistant Good Lock module.
Sharpness of videos captured in low light conditions using the ultrawide camera with Super Steady mode enabled has been improved. Samsung claims to have reduced the flickering as well. Additionally, the Camera app will show a tip when using Steady mode in low light conditions that it requires more light for better performance.
Other changes include improved stabilization while recording FHD 60fps videos, less banding noise in the sky when capturing 50MP or 200MP photos, and more.
You can find a complete breakdown of all the camera improvements the latest Galaxy S23 update brings below (translated from Korean):
1. A function has been added to the gallery so that you can immediately delete photos that are being processed immediately after taking them with the camera.
2. For faster photo taking, the AF concept has been changed so that when the user presses the shooting button, the user can take a photo even when the focus is not completely set.
However, if you want to shoot after completing Focus as before, please change the settings in the latest Camera Assistant.
※ Camera Assistant > Prioritize focus over speed (focus priority) On
3. Improved sharpness/flicker and added notice when shooting Ultrawide in low light indoors after setting Camera Video Mode > Super Steady On.
※ “To take a good Super Steady photo, I need more light.”
4. Fixed a phenomenon where a green line was displayed on the left side intermittently when shooting in the rear photo mode.
5. Improved image stabilization when shooting with FHD60 after setting Auto FPS Off in rear video.
6. Improved line-shaped banding noise in the sky in mid-low light when shooting high-pixel in low-mid light.
Overall sharpness was optimized during high-pixel shooting, and intermittent blurring was improved through OIS stabilization.
7. Fixed a malfunction when shooting after Night Off in low light after selecting Shooting Speed > High Resolution > Speed Priority in Camera Assistant.
※ Camera Assistant > Shooting Speed > High Resolution > Speed Priority, then Camera > Night Off or Scene Optimizer Off
8. Fixed an issue where face recognition could not be recognized intermittently after ending a 3rd party video call.
9. Stability has been improved for camera movements introduced through other routes.
Besides the camera improvements, the update also contains the April 2023 security patch. For now, the firmware is only live in South Korea, but Samsung should greatly expand its rollout to more countries in the coming days.
The company has also released a companion Camera Assistant update with some new settings. So, make sure to grab its update from the Galaxy Store as well.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best Android phone you can buy right now. With a 200MP camera, a stunning 6.8-inch 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2x display, a handy S Pen, and an all-day battery life means there’s little reason not to like Samsung’s latest flagship phone.
