What you need to know
- Galaxy S23 series August 2023 patch brings a new 2x zoom button.
- It works by cropping a high-quality image taken from the high-resolution sensor.
- The enhancements were visible across shots taken from 1x to 20x.
- The update also brings other camera improvements and addresses the Bananagate issue.
The Galaxy S23 series was among the first devices to receive the August 2023 security update. While it seemed like it was a mere security patch on the surface, the device was getting a sizable update, suggesting there was more to the picture. Now, the Samsung Korea community has revealed the official changelog for the update and the camera improvements it brought to the Galaxy S23 series.
The community post revealed that it introduces new zoom functionality to the device as well as several optimizations for camera quality and camera/gallery performance.
The first major feature added with the update is a new 2x zoom option for photos and video, where the "high-resolution sensor crops to provide optical lens-level image quality." This has been a highly requested feature among Galaxy S23 owners and can be added via the Camera Assistant.
Additionally, Galaxy S23 Ultra users can utilize the 2x zoom in Super Steady mode. In Camera Assistant, users can head to Camera Assistant > enable Crop Zoom (Optical Quality Crop Zoom). After which, users can see the respective icon on their camera interface.
Samsung says it has optimized the zoom quality for the Galaxy S23 devices as well. This includes AI-based image processing found in the recent Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5, which provide cleaner and better-quality pictures when zoomed in.
Tipster Ice Universe has shared that optimizations that were limited to 2x zoom can now be seen on shots taken all the way up to 20x zoom, which now have improved clarity and detail, as shown from photos taken on his Galaxy S23 Ultra:
The August update of S23 Ultra is the real big camera update. Not only 2x has been optimized, but 1x to 20x have been optimized.I took ten photos from 1x to 10x, and you can see many optimizations.1，2，3，4x pic.twitter.com/0YWF2LNaQIAugust 17, 2023
The update also brings nifty improvements like optimized file sizes for motion photos and improved motion blur while shooting moving subjects in photo mode. And it seems that Samsung has finally addressed the dreaded "Bananagate" problem, noting that it has reduced peripheral image blur "by adjusting the focus position when shooting close-up subjects in the rear photo mode of the S23 and S23+ models."
If you are one of the Galaxy S23 series users, you can go through the complete changelog (Korean-translated) of the new August 2023 update via the aforementioned community post.
Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra offers a 2-day battery life and a cleaner design over last year's edition. Users will find a built-in S Pen for drawing and notetaking, too. The S23 Ultra's 6.8-inch 120Hz refresh rate display delivers crisp and smooth motions for enjoyable gaming and entertainment sessions.
