Samsung’s first Galaxy S24 Ultra update could address our biggest complaint

    Your photos might be less blurry after updating

    Summary

    • The camera on the Galaxy S24 Ultra suffers from blurry images, especially with moving objects.
    • Samsung’s February update for the S24 series aims to address camera issues and improve image quality in various scenarios.
    • Specifically, capture of “fast-moving subjects” in certain lighting conditions has been improved on the S24 Ultra.



    The Galaxy S24 Ultra is another great phone from Samsung. The display is finally flat and looks gorgeous, especially with Gorilla Armor removing over 70% of reflections, and it’s powerful enough to handle any task you throw at it. Sadly, one complaint about the S24 Ultra persists from Samsung’s first Ultra phone from 2020 — shutter speed. These cameras have exceptional hardware, but our review notes that moving objects are almost always blurry. A few days ago, Samsung announced the first software update for the S24 series, and now we know how, specifically, it might address the cameras.


    Related

    Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review: Still the best, unless you take photos

    Without any meaningful changes, Samsung’s latest phablet feels like a do-over for last year’s smartphone

    A post on Samsung’s South Korean forum details everything we should expect from the Galaxy S24’s February update (via 9to5Google). As we reported previously, a Vividness slider will be added that allows users to up the saturation to match previous Samsung flagships. Still, the majority of the update seems to focus on cameras.

    As you can see from the photo above, we aren’t exaggerating when we talk about the S24 Ultra’s problems with blurry images. When translated from Korean, the changelog for the update says, “The expression of fast-moving subjects in backlight conditions in rear photo mode has been improved.” It specifies conditions when the subject is backlit here, which is oddly specific considering the issue is present regardless of lighting conditions, but any improvement is welcome. You can read the complete translated changelog below:


    1. Image quality has been improved by adjusting the brightness when shooting backlit in high-pixel mode.

    2. The clarity of text has been improved when using high magnification zoom. (Galaxy S24 Ultra Only)

    3. Clarity and picture quality have been improved when recording rear video. (Galaxy S24 Ultra Only)

    4. In the photo mode preview, the brightness of dark areas in indoor environments has been increased and the sharpness of people has been smoothly improved. (Galaxy S24 Ultra Only)

    5. Expression has been improved by additionally applying color data in food mode.

    6. Colors have been improved by adjusting saturation and white balance in night mode.

    7. Image quality has been improved when zooming in on the gallery after shooting a new format DNG in the Expert RAW app.

    8. The expression of fast-moving subjects in backlight conditions in rear photo mode has been improved. (Galaxy S24 Ultra Only)

    9. The exposure and color expression of subjects (people, flowers, etc.) have been improved in photo mode. (Galaxy S24 Ultra Only)

    ※ The “Sharpness” option has been added to “Screen Mode” in the display settings, so you can enjoy more vivid colors.

    The February security patch is already available for several Galaxy devices worldwide, so hopefully, S24 users will get the update soon. The saturation slider is what most people are looking forward to, but camera improvements are always a good thing, and I hope Samsung can do more to negate this issue in the future.