The Samsung Galaxy S25 lineup relies on artificial intelligence to keep its cameras up to date

Samsung Galaxy S25 smartphones Launched todayBut when it comes to its all-important cameras, the company has relied on artificial intelligence rather than making any meaningful changes. There is one welcome addition, though. Samsung has finally caught up with its competitors Like honor By introducing log video to allow for more accurate color grading. Other key updates include improved low-light capability on all models, a new ‘ProVisual Engine’, ‘Virtual Aperture’, and the highest resolution HD camera in the high-end Ultra.

Last year, the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s big selling point was its 200MP camera, which made the 12MP ultrawide camera look weak in comparison. Samsung handled that through Galaxy S25 Ultra More than quadruple that sensor to 50MP. This also helps Samsung better compete with Google’s Pixel 9 Pro and its 48MP ultra-wide camera.

However, the Ultra now has a huge array of cameras: a 200MP wide camera, a 50MP ultra-wide camera, a 10MP 3x telephoto camera, and a 50MP 5x telephoto camera. However, this makes the more mainstream Galaxy S25 and S25+ look a bit weak in comparison. These only come with a 50MP wide camera, a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and a 10MP 3x camera, just like the last two models. All phones have a 12-megapixel front camera with up to 4K and 60p video.

Samsung has also patched the vulnerability we covered in our report S24 Ratings & Reviews: Sub-par low-light performance. With Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite chip for the Galaxy phone, Samsung says the new cameras can analyze noise more effectively with a new “spatio-temporal filter” that can more accurately detect moving and stationary objects. This in turn allows for sharper video, especially with moving objects in dark environments. The downside is that applying stronger noise reduction can produce strange results, which is something we’ll test further in upcoming reviews. In fact, during the Samsung’s demo, I couldn’t help but notice a strange disconnect between the moving subject and the background.

Other new flagship camera features are also available across the S25 lineup. Most important for content creators is Galaxy Log, which finally enables video recording to improve dynamic range and allow for more accurate color grading. This is a Much sought after A feature for Galaxy phones that was previously only available with Third party applications. It also records using 10-bit color like HDR mode. However, the new feature still falls short of the ability to capture Record ProRes video On the latest iPhone devices.

I tested the recording on Honor’s Magic series of smartphones and it can usefully improve video by boosting dynamic range in difficult lighting situations (a backlit subject or a sunny day, for example). The problem is that converting history to regular snapshots requires an editing application and some knowledge about things like Lookup tables – So whether this will attract users depends on how Samsung implements it.

Samsung has also enabled 10-bit HDR video capture by default, allowing you to capture more detailed and colorful images. However, be aware that this content may not display correctly on apps and devices that do not support HDR (other smartphones, PCs, TVs, etc.).

To process photos after you shoot them, Samsung has enhanced Portrait Studio with new features like custom avatars with more realistic facial expressions. It’s also added new analogue filters for an aesthetic, film-like look to your photos and videos.

There are two other new tricks: Audio Eraser and Virtual Aperture. Although all cameras have a fixed aperture, the latter mimic having an adjustable aperture just like mirrorless cameras. However, this feat is accomplished through mathematical tricks, so it will likely look a bit artificial.

Meanwhile, Audio Eraser is an AI-powered noise reduction system designed to cut out background sounds in noisy environments when shooting video, no doubt inspired by Apple’s Audio Mix and Audio Magic Eraser on Pixel devices. During the demo, Samsung showed how it can reduce different types of noise such as wind, waves and nature.

The new Galaxy S25 Ultra’s camera is great if you can afford this $1,300 model, while improved low-light processing, Galaxy Log, and AI should provide nice, but not amazing, benefits. Finally, Samsung didn’t bring as much to the table as the iPhone 16 with a camera control button, or the Pixel 9 (Video Boost, Add Me, Auto Frame). For more information on how the Galaxy S25 cameras perform in the real world, check out our hands-on tests and stay tuned for full reviews.