I hope Samsung and Google deal with these digicam challenges in 2025

2024 was a reasonably good 12 months for smartphone cameras. Google delivered the compact Pixel 9 Professional with some implausible outcomes, the Xiaomi 14 Extremely emerged as a Galaxy-beating digicam telephone, and Apple reinvented the digicam button for a contemporary period.

Regardless of all these cell digicam developments, there’s nonetheless some scope for enchancment. I actually hope the Pixel 10 collection, Galaxy S25 vary, and different main flagship Android telephones deal with these challenges in 2025.

Samsung, specifically, continues to wrestle with capturing shifting topics, be it individuals, pets, or zippy little youngsters. Colleague Rita El-Khoury discovered that the S24 Extremely continuously blurred pictures in comparison with the Pixel 8 collection because of extreme shutter lag. This delay also can wreck pictures, as seen within the examples above. Google’s Pixels are likely to do a very good job of freezing topics in movement, however there’s at all times room for enchancment.

A number of manufacturers have provided devoted snapshot or sports activities modes for some time now, whereas even Samsung’s Digital camera Assistant app permits customers to prioritize pace over picture high quality. In the meantime, OPPO has made particular enhancements to the usual photograph mode on the Discover X8 collection — no snapshot mode wanted.

In any occasion, Samsung must get its act collectively in 2025 and make a concerted effort to cut back shutter lag on the Galaxy S25 Extremely.

Low-light pictures don’t appear to be a giant problem anymore because of as we speak’s massive major digicam sensors and evening modes, however low-light video is one other matter. Few main smartphone makers provide nice low-light video high quality, usually churning out overly darkish clips. Even telephones with low-light video modes are capable of ship elevated brightness however usually provide extra blur in trade.

Nonetheless, cell chipmakers MediaTek and Qualcomm have each prioritized improved low-light video lately. And as we speak’s massive digicam sensors are additionally sucking in additional mild than ever. So, the items are coming collectively for higher footage when the solar goes down.

I’d particularly wish to see Google sort out this smartphone digicam problem in 2025. Sure, some Pixel telephones provide high-quality low-light video by way of the Video Increase characteristic, however this can be a cloud-based functionality that requires an web connection. Even in case you have speedy information, you continue to have to attend some time for the video to be processed on Google’s servers. So I actually need the Pixel 10 collection to supply a correct Evening Sight Video mode operating on-device. Sadly, a latest leak suggests this characteristic would possibly solely arrive on the Pixel 11.

I’d argue that Samsung remains to be the very best Android telephone model with regards to video high quality, though even Pixel telephones ship good video high quality. Nevertheless, the Android ecosystem at massive nonetheless lags behind iPhones on this regard.

Android Authority contributor Dhruv Bhutani pitted the iPhone 15 Professional Max towards the Pixel 8 collection final 12 months (seen above) and known as the distinction “evening and day.” Dhruv particularly praised the iPhone’s brightness, the extent of element in quite a lot of circumstances, and the smoothness. In reality, he felt that “micro jitters” within the Pixel clips ruined the footage.

That’s to not say Android manufacturers don’t provide a great deal of video-focused options. However I’d actually like to see OEMs — notably main gamers Samsung and Google — up their recreation to match or beat Apple on this class.

Samsung and Google have delivered some actually implausible modifying instruments lately, permitting you to make transformative modifications to pictures and movies after the very fact. Each producers (and a great deal of Chinese language manufacturers) provide object erasing, for starters. Google additionally provides the cool Audio Magic Eraser to eradicate undesirable sounds in movies and Picture Unblur to (shocker) unblur photographs. In the meantime, Samsung and some extra manufacturers even provide shadow and reflection removing. How loopy is that?

It might be nice if Google, Samsung, and the remainder of the Android ecosystem gave us extra of those after-the-fact modifying instruments. Apple’s iPhone 16 collection showcases some extra nice examples, resembling the flexibility to vary photograph types after you’ve shot the picture and audio remixing after taking pictures a video. Each of those options can be glorious additions to an Android telephone.

I’d additionally wish to see OEM modifying instruments make higher use of RAW codecs, as this may will let you make non-destructive edits to content material. Think about with the ability to shoot a snap on the OnePlus 13 after which going again to use the Hasselblad colour tuning. Or, you would shoot a vibrant picture on the Xiaomi 14 Extremely and return to it months later to seize a monochrome model of the snap — not simply the identical picture with a filter slapped over it.

We praised the Google Pixel 9 Professional collection for its long-range digicam zoom capabilities, with colleague Ryan Haines noting that the Pixel 9 Professional XL‘s 10x pictures blew him away. Nevertheless, Ryan additionally criticized the long-awaited Zoom Improve characteristic, which was meant to enhance zoomed-in snaps after the very fact. The characteristic appears actually hit-and-miss, with the worst-case state of affairs being a ridiculously over-sharpened shot. A Galaxy S4 filter, if you’ll.

Samsung additionally wants to enhance the digicam zoom tech on its high Android telephones. We in contrast the Galaxy S24 Extremely to the Xiaomi 14 Extremely earlier this 12 months and located that the Xiaomi machine delivered considerably higher long-range zoom. Take a look at the comparability above.

So right here’s hoping that Google considerably improves Zoom Improve and that Samsung upgrades its long-range zoom algorithms to ship extra aggressive picture high quality. As a result of firms like OPPO are additionally bringing the warmth with extra superior smartphone digicam zoom tech in 2025.