Samsung Galaxy S23 series now receiving substantial camera update

Damien Wilde | Mar 30 2023 - 1:04 am PT

The Samsung Galaxy S23 series is very impressive, but it’s about to get some much-needed camera tweaks with a new update rolling out right now.

According to a post on the Samsung Community Forums (via SamMobile), the Galaxy S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra are set to receive a substantial camera update with some Gallery functions thrown in for good measure.

A whopping ~900MB update is arriving with build number S91xNKSU1AWC8 as a second March 2023 patch for this trio of devices. Whether this fully resolves any lingering complaints from early adopters remains to be seen, but this patch is said to improve autofocus, low-light performance, Night Mode bugs, plus OIS-related problems that some devices have experienced.

Our own Ben Schoon may have his complaints about the shutter and autofocus with the S23 Ultra camera system resolved here too. And there is specific attention on the ability to set the Camera Assistant function to “Prioritize Focus Over Speed” rather than the default autofocus method used today.

The Gallery app will also now allow you to immediately delete any photo you have taken with your Galaxy S23 camera system right after being captured before images begin to process. This might not seem like a big deal, but it’s a nice extra touch.

The downside here is that this camera update is only currently rolling out for Galaxy S23 units in Korea. That said, it is expected to begin expanding into more regions over the coming days and weeks. You can check out the full changelog below:

An improvement in the Gallery app allows you to immediately delete photos that were just captured and are getting processed.

The autofocus algorithm has been changed, so when you press the shutter button, the camera takes a photo even if the frame is out of focus or not completely set. However, if you want the camera app to capture an image only after the frame is in focus, you can change the behavior from the Camera Assistant app (Camera Assistant » Prioritize Focus Over Speed ON).

Sharpness has improved, and the flicker has been reduced while capturing videos using the ultrawide camera in low-light situations using the Super Steady mode. The camera app also displays a notice that explains that Super Steady mode needs good ambient light for better image quality.

Fixed the bug, which sometimes displayed a green line on the left side when using the rear-facing camera in the Photo mode.

Improved the video stabilization when the resolution is set to Full HD 60fps and the Auto FPS setting is turned off while using the rear-facing camera.

Improved the banding issue that appeared in the sky in mid-low ambient light and when using high resolution (50MP or 200MP). The overall sharpness has been improved in 50MP and 200MP modes. Samsung has also solved the intermittent blurring issue by enhancing the OIS performance.

Samsung has also solved that image quality issue when the Night mode is turned off, and the Camera Assistant app is set to the following setting: Shooting Speed » High Resolution » Speed Priority.

The camera issue where face recognition didn’t work after ending a video call using a third-party app has also been solved.

Samsung has also improved the stability of the camera app when the frame has moving subjects.

Given that we are on the cusp of April, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to expect Samsung to almagamate the Galaxy S23 camera fixes into the next monthly patch for the device series. This would make the most sense, especially as the Korean firm has one of the best update track records of any Android OEM.