It’s no secret that Samsung didn’t give the Galaxy S26 or the Galaxy S26 Plus the camera upgrade these models desperately needed. Buyers of the base or midsize Galaxy S26 models are probably a bit envious of the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which was already miles ahead and still received main and telephoto camera upgrades. Still, if you have any of the three Galaxy S26 variants, you get the benefit of exclusive camera software features you won’t find anywhere else.
Since these tools are hidden out of the way, you might miss out on their functionality if you don’t specifically seek them out. One requires the extra step of downloading the Camera Assistant app to unlock, and another is enabled by hitting an easy-to-miss button in the Camera app. To make the most of your Galaxy S26 phone, you need to use these three new camera features — and they’ll work on every model.
Use the new 24MP camera mode
Samsung phones have high-resolution camera sensors — the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus offer a 50MP main camera, while the Galaxy S26 Ultra sports a 200MP primary shooter. However, none of these cameras capture photos in their highest possible resolutions by default. This is because using a technique called pixel binning can improve image quality at lower resolutions, like 12MP. As such, you can get a 12MP photo with better detail and a smaller file size than a full-resolution 50MP or 200MP capture.
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For years, the options were 12MP, 50MP, or 200MP (on supported models). Starting with the Galaxy S26 series, there’s a new option. You can opt to take photos in 24MP resolution to get the best of both worlds. It’s closer to 50MP in terms of raw resolution, and also retains some of the aspects of 12MP shooting that makes it appealing, like fast shutter times and manageable file sizes.
It also maximizes Samsung’s computational photography and image processing workflows. The new 24MP capture mode uses an AI Fusion process that “provides 12MP usability and 50MP quality through an AI-based convergence solution,” as the company explains in a forum post.
The one catch is that it’s not easy to enable, but it’s worth going out of your way to take 24MP photos. To do so, download the Camera Assistant app from the Galaxy Store. This will add an extra settings page to the regular Camera app settings you can find in the Settings app. Open Settings, navigate to the Camera app settings, and tap Camera Assistant. Then, find Advanced resolution options and flip the toggle beside 24MP resolution.
Now, you’ll be able to toggle between 12MP, 24MP, and 50MP/200MP in the viewfinder of the main Camera app. It’s the best way to strike a balance between resolution, detail, speed, and efficiency while shooting with the Galaxy S26 series.
Try out the Horizontal Lock video mode
Perhaps the coolest Galaxy S26 camera feature is Horizontal Lock, and it’s available on every model. It stabilizes video during recordings to allow for 360-degree rotations. Essentially, you can enable Horizon Lock in the video mode on your Galaxy S26 and start shooting. Then, you can rotate your phone in any direction — even upside down — and your video recording will still appear right side up, with the horizon locked.
In the real world, Horizontal Lock is ideal for action videos. If you want to record your daily jog or bike ride, use Horizontal Lock to keep a steady and stable shot throughout the entire activity. It’s the evolution of Super Steady, the original Samsung camera stabilization feature.
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To use it, open the Camera app and switch to the Video mode. Then, tap the Super Steady icon, which looks like a tiny person running and is located near the top-right corner of the screen. Then, tap Super Steady with Horizontal Lock in the new menu that appears. This icon appears as a tiny person running within a box. After enabling it, you can start recording and move your phone in any direction or angle while getting a stable shot.
After you’ve taken a photo, you can edit it in the Samsung Gallery app using Photo Assist. It’s a great way to overcome lighting or framing challenges that you can’t solve with the Camera app in real time. Photo Assist works similarly to Help me edit and Ask Photos in Google Photos. You can use natural-language prompts to describe how you want to edit an image, and Samsung’s generative AI will make the changes you want using the proper tools.
To use it, open a photo in the Samsung Gallery app and tap the Photo Assist icon. It’s the button in the center of the toolbar with three AI sparkles. Then, tap the text box titled Describe what to change. Type out a prompt telling Photo Assist the things you want to change, and then hit Generate. Wait for the image to process, and you’ll have a completely refreshed photo.
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Photo Assist also works with multimodal guidance. In addition to text, you can add images or sketch on the original image to help it understand the changes you want to make. Finally, you can tap Save copy or Keep editing to continue editing the photo until you’re happy with the results.
I still wish Samsung gave the base and Plus models more attention this year, especially where the cameras are concerned. However, the Galaxy S26 series does offer notable camera improvements that make the lack of upgrades sting a little less.
The 24MP shooting mode is a favorable middle ground in quality between the classic 12MP and 50MP/200MP modes, while Horizontal Lock is a video trick that feels too good to be true. Throw in Photo Assist for convenient edits after you’ve taken a photo, and the Galaxy S26 series has a surprisingly impressive camera software suite.
Superior software
Despite the lack of Samsung Galaxy S26 hardware upgrades, the software experience is vastly improved. On the camera side, you get a 24MP shooting mode, a Horizontal Lock feature, and a Photo Assist photo editing tool. That’s in addition to all the other One UI 8.5, Galaxy AI, and Gemini features onboard.
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