Thinking a little bit about the future Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus

General
1

I explain: I am a dual user of a Galaxy S22 Plus. I live in the USA and therefore here the Galaxy of the series “S” are all released with the Snapdragon of the series 8 of the year; that means that the Galaxy S25 here will come with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 with its new Oryon cores

The Galaxy S25 strikes me to buy them as they will use those new Snapdragon with totally new architecture, but it is not the only change I expect. since the S22, the 3 sensors of the camera have not changed at all and all the improvements have come via processing and software, but there are already 3 generations with the same camera sensors and it would be ridiculous from my point of view that they did not update them for the new S25 and S25 Plus. If they don’t, they’re going to be too far away and outdated compared to the competition. For example, Google with the Pixel 9 updated all its camera sensors and now all the sensors in the Pixels are 50 Megapixels; for example, the main sensor of the camera went from being a Samsung GN2 sensor to the new Samsung GNK. I think if the S25 and S25 Plus do not update at least the main sensor of the camera, I will not buy it.

2

To the people saying they don’t really need to upgrade the camera hardware, the telephoto sensors on the non-ultras have been laughably small (1/4") by today’s standards for many years now. That’s much smaller than selfie cameras even back in the original Pixel, producing very nosiy and low quality photos at night. Software can only do so much before those photos turn to smudged watercolor paintings, or you have to hold your phone still for many seconds in night mode (your hands will inevitably shake and add motion blur) In addition, the ultra wide still cannot autofocus (and so cannot do macro) when even non-Pro iPhones can do that now. The camera hardware of the non-Ultra Galaxy S’s are really behind the competition. Only the main camera sensors are still “good enough”

3

Kaius said:
To the people saying they don’t really need to upgrade the camera hardware, the telephoto sensors on the non-ultras have been laughably small (1/4") by today’s standards for many years now. That’s much smaller than selfie cameras even back in the original Pixel, producing very nosiy and low quality photos at night. Software can only do so much before those photos turn to smudged watercolor paintings, or you have to hold your phone still for many seconds in night mode (your hands will inevitably shake and add motion blur) In addition, the ultra wide still cannot autofocus (and so cannot do macro) when even non-Pro iPhones can do that now. The camera hardware of the non-Ultra Galaxy S’s are really behind the competition. Only the main camera sensors are still “good enough”

Even the Ultra is lacking behind, maybe not to brands like Apple and Google ( their main competitors worldwide) but to chinese brands. The 3x is still a 10mp 1/3.5" which is laughable. The other sensors are fine but still can’t match those from chinese brands.

4

It’s a simple fact of the matter is that even if they don’t change up the camera hardware between generations. For most people these phones take more than adequate photos year over year. The vast majority of the heavy work is done by the processor rather than the actual camera lenses.

5

Devan said:

Reagan said:
It’s a simple fact of the matter is that even if they don’t change up the camera hardware between generations. For most people these phones take more than adequate photos year over year. The vast majority of the heavy work is done by the processor rather than the actual camera lenses.

>For most people these phones take more than adequate photos year over year

Unless it’s a child or animal or moving shot. This sub is full of critism of Samsung’s cameras inability to take moving objects

Rightfully so too, it’s so bad. Even in perfect lighting, moving objects blur.

6

Devan said:

Reagan said:
It’s a simple fact of the matter is that even if they don’t change up the camera hardware between generations. For most people these phones take more than adequate photos year over year. The vast majority of the heavy work is done by the processor rather than the actual camera lenses.

>For most people these phones take more than adequate photos year over year

Unless it’s a child or animal or moving shot. This sub is full of critism of Samsung’s cameras inability to take moving objects

By all rights that’s not a sensor or hardware issue afaik.

7

Didn’t Google use the same camera sensor from the Pixel 2 to Pixel 5?

8

Ben said:
Didn’t Google use the same camera sensor from the Pixel 2 to Pixel 5?

Pixel 2 to the 6a. Samsung has always been limited by their software, not hardware.

9

Kingsley said:

Ben said:
Didn’t Google use the same camera sensor from the Pixel 2 to Pixel 5?

Pixel 2 to the 6a. Samsung has always been limited by their software, not hardware.

The fact that this is an oft upvoted comment in this sub worries me since it shows that most people lack any understanding of camera hardware, and Samsung knows it. That’s the reason they are using the tiniest camera sensors in the entire smartphone industry - most people can’t read camera specs nor understand the effect it has on image quality.

FYI, increasing the sensor size would have the biggest impact on achieving a faster shutterspeed (what phone photographers call ‘shutter lag’) to eliminate motion blur. Most importantly a larger sensor helps a ton with the overall detail present in the shot. Software can help partially with some of these things, but it is mostly a game limited by sensor size, not software.

Take a photo taken with the oneplus 12’s 3x camera, the S24’s 3x camera, and the iPhone 15 Pro’s 3x cam. The difference in quality is astronomical - Oneplus 12 just crushes the other two when it comes to details in the shot since it’s 3x sensor is 4 times as large as the other two.

10

Asa said:

Kingsley said:
Ben said:
Didn’t Google use the same camera sensor from the Pixel 2 to Pixel 5?

Pixel 2 to the 6a. Samsung has always been limited by their software, not hardware.

The fact that this is an oft upvoted comment in this sub worries me since it shows that most people lack any understanding of camera hardware, and Samsung knows it. That’s the reason they are using the tiniest camera sensors in the entire smartphone industry - most people can’t read camera specs nor understand the effect it has on image quality.

FYI, increasing the sensor size would have the biggest impact on achieving a faster shutterspeed (what phone photographers call ‘shutter lag’) to eliminate motion blur. Most importantly a larger sensor helps a ton with the overall detail present in the shot. Software can help partially with some of these things, but it is mostly a game limited by sensor size, not software.

Take a photo taken with the oneplus 12’s 3x camera, the S24’s 3x camera, and the iPhone 15 Pro’s 3x cam. The difference in quality is astronomical - Oneplus 12 just crushes the other two when it comes to details in the shot since it’s 3x sensor is 4 times as large as the other two.

I think the other issue is design. The one plus and pixel have there Senors on the top side of the frame. While Samsung’s is in the corner and probably makes packaging more difficult. Plus the ultra has to take quite a bit of space for the spen which doesn’t help matters. Unless they introduce some crazy battery tech or make the phones even larger, they will continue to have the same battery and camera specs due to the limited internal space.

11

Keller said:

Asa said:
Kingsley said:
Ben said:
Didn’t Google use the same camera sensor from the Pixel 2 to Pixel 5?

Pixel 2 to the 6a. Samsung has always been limited by their software, not hardware.

The fact that this is an oft upvoted comment in this sub worries me since it shows that most people lack any understanding of camera hardware, and Samsung knows it. That’s the reason they are using the tiniest camera sensors in the entire smartphone industry - most people can’t read camera specs nor understand the effect it has on image quality.

FYI, increasing the sensor size would have the biggest impact on achieving a faster shutterspeed (what phone photographers call ‘shutter lag’) to eliminate motion blur. Most importantly a larger sensor helps a ton with the overall detail present in the shot. Software can help partially with some of these things, but it is mostly a game limited by sensor size, not software.

Take a photo taken with the oneplus 12’s 3x camera, the S24’s 3x camera, and the iPhone 15 Pro’s 3x cam. The difference in quality is astronomical - Oneplus 12 just crushes the other two when it comes to details in the shot since it’s 3x sensor is 4 times as large as the other two.

I think the other issue is design. The one plus and pixel have there Senors on the top side of the frame. While Samsung’s is in the corner and probably makes packaging more difficult. Plus the ultra has to take quite a bit of space for the spen which doesn’t help matters. Unless they introduce some crazy battery tech or make the phones even larger, they will continue to have the same battery and camera specs due to the limited internal space.

The S24+ is the same size as the Oneplus 12. No reason for the S24+ to have that teensy 1/4 inch 3x sensor. Nobody is forcing them to package their sensors in the corner. If oneplus can do it with a similar sized phone why not Samsung.

12

Asa said:

Keller said:
Asa said:
Kingsley said:
Ben said:
Didn’t Google use the same camera sensor from the Pixel 2 to Pixel 5?

Pixel 2 to the 6a. Samsung has always been limited by their software, not hardware.

The fact that this is an oft upvoted comment in this sub worries me since it shows that most people lack any understanding of camera hardware, and Samsung knows it. That’s the reason they are using the tiniest camera sensors in the entire smartphone industry - most people can’t read camera specs nor understand the effect it has on image quality.

FYI, increasing the sensor size would have the biggest impact on achieving a faster shutterspeed (what phone photographers call ‘shutter lag’) to eliminate motion blur. Most importantly a larger sensor helps a ton with the overall detail present in the shot. Software can help partially with some of these things, but it is mostly a game limited by sensor size, not software.

Take a photo taken with the oneplus 12’s 3x camera, the S24’s 3x camera, and the iPhone 15 Pro’s 3x cam. The difference in quality is astronomical - Oneplus 12 just crushes the other two when it comes to details in the shot since it’s 3x sensor is 4 times as large as the other two.

I think the other issue is design. The one plus and pixel have there Senors on the top side of the frame. While Samsung’s is in the corner and probably makes packaging more difficult. Plus the ultra has to take quite a bit of space for the spen which doesn’t help matters. Unless they introduce some crazy battery tech or make the phones even larger, they will continue to have the same battery and camera specs due to the limited internal space.

The S24+ is the same size as the Oneplus 12. No reason for the S24+ to have that teensy 1/4 inch 3x sensor. Nobody is forcing them to package their sensors in the corner. If oneplus can do it with a similar sized phone why not Samsung.

That’s a very good point. So it’s a design decision Samsung is purposefully making, probably to make the incremental updates year over year for marketing. There just not in the market for actual invations anymore. I read the executives are starting to get upset with the phone division as they are getting smoked by the Chinese manufacturers and Apple (too an extent). I’m guessing nothing will change till the management does as well

13

Keller said:

Asa said:
Keller said:
Asa said:
Kingsley said:
Ben said:
Didn’t Google use the same camera sensor from the Pixel 2 to Pixel 5?

Pixel 2 to the 6a. Samsung has always been limited by their software, not hardware.

The fact that this is an oft upvoted comment in this sub worries me since it shows that most people lack any understanding of camera hardware, and Samsung knows it. That’s the reason they are using the tiniest camera sensors in the entire smartphone industry - most people can’t read camera specs nor understand the effect it has on image quality.

FYI, increasing the sensor size would have the biggest impact on achieving a faster shutterspeed (what phone photographers call ‘shutter lag’) to eliminate motion blur. Most importantly a larger sensor helps a ton with the overall detail present in the shot. Software can help partially with some of these things, but it is mostly a game limited by sensor size, not software.

Take a photo taken with the oneplus 12’s 3x camera, the S24’s 3x camera, and the iPhone 15 Pro’s 3x cam. The difference in quality is astronomical - Oneplus 12 just crushes the other two when it comes to details in the shot since it’s 3x sensor is 4 times as large as the other two.

I think the other issue is design. The one plus and pixel have there Senors on the top side of the frame. While Samsung’s is in the corner and probably makes packaging more difficult. Plus the ultra has to take quite a bit of space for the spen which doesn’t help matters. Unless they introduce some crazy battery tech or make the phones even larger, they will continue to have the same battery and camera specs due to the limited internal space.

The S24+ is the same size as the Oneplus 12. No reason for the S24+ to have that teensy 1/4 inch 3x sensor. Nobody is forcing them to package their sensors in the corner. If oneplus can do it with a similar sized phone why not Samsung.

That’s a very good point. So it’s a design decision Samsung is purposefully making, probably to make the incremental updates year over year for marketing. There just not in the market for actual invations anymore. I read the executives are starting to get upset with the phone division as they are getting smoked by the Chinese manufacturers and Apple (too an extent). I’m guessing nothing will change till the management does as well

Yes 100%. Also I think they keep the base and plus models deliberately handicapped so people buy the Ultra. Very few people would buy the Ultra if the only difference was an S Pen. But that means you won’t get good sensors till you spend $1300 with them on a massive hunk of a phone.

14

Asa said:

Keller said:
Asa said:
Keller said:
Asa said:
Kingsley said:
Ben said:
Didn’t Google use the same camera sensor from the Pixel 2 to Pixel 5?

Pixel 2 to the 6a. Samsung has always been limited by their software, not hardware.

The fact that this is an oft upvoted comment in this sub worries me since it shows that most people lack any understanding of camera hardware, and Samsung knows it. That’s the reason they are using the tiniest camera sensors in the entire smartphone industry - most people can’t read camera specs nor understand the effect it has on image quality.

FYI, increasing the sensor size would have the biggest impact on achieving a faster shutterspeed (what phone photographers call ‘shutter lag’) to eliminate motion blur. Most importantly a larger sensor helps a ton with the overall detail present in the shot. Software can help partially with some of these things, but it is mostly a game limited by sensor size, not software.

Take a photo taken with the oneplus 12’s 3x camera, the S24’s 3x camera, and the iPhone 15 Pro’s 3x cam. The difference in quality is astronomical - Oneplus 12 just crushes the other two when it comes to details in the shot since it’s 3x sensor is 4 times as large as the other two.

I think the other issue is design. The one plus and pixel have there Senors on the top side of the frame. While Samsung’s is in the corner and probably makes packaging more difficult. Plus the ultra has to take quite a bit of space for the spen which doesn’t help matters. Unless they introduce some crazy battery tech or make the phones even larger, they will continue to have the same battery and camera specs due to the limited internal space.

The S24+ is the same size as the Oneplus 12. No reason for the S24+ to have that teensy 1/4 inch 3x sensor. Nobody is forcing them to package their sensors in the corner. If oneplus can do it with a similar sized phone why not Samsung.

That’s a very good point. So it’s a design decision Samsung is purposefully making, probably to make the incremental updates year over year for marketing. There just not in the market for actual invations anymore. I read the executives are starting to get upset with the phone division as they are getting smoked by the Chinese manufacturers and Apple (too an extent). I’m guessing nothing will change till the management does as well

Yes 100%. Also I think they keep the base and plus models deliberately handicapped so people buy the Ultra. Very few people would buy the Ultra if the only difference was an S Pen. But that means you won’t get good sensors till you spend $1300 with them on a massive hunk of a phone.

Yep. Same tactics apple does with the base iphones over the pros. Fortunately for me, I don’t need the best or lastest and greatest so I can get by perfectly fine with a base model or if I want better battery and better specs, the plus.

15

Keller said:

Asa said:
Keller said:
Asa said:
Keller said:
Asa said:
Kingsley said:
Ben said:
Didn’t Google use the same camera sensor from the Pixel 2 to Pixel 5?

Pixel 2 to the 6a. Samsung has always been limited by their software, not hardware.

The fact that this is an oft upvoted comment in this sub worries me since it shows that most people lack any understanding of camera hardware, and Samsung knows it. That’s the reason they are using the tiniest camera sensors in the entire smartphone industry - most people can’t read camera specs nor understand the effect it has on image quality.

FYI, increasing the sensor size would have the biggest impact on achieving a faster shutterspeed (what phone photographers call ‘shutter lag’) to eliminate motion blur. Most importantly a larger sensor helps a ton with the overall detail present in the shot. Software can help partially with some of these things, but it is mostly a game limited by sensor size, not software.

Take a photo taken with the oneplus 12’s 3x camera, the S24’s 3x camera, and the iPhone 15 Pro’s 3x cam. The difference in quality is astronomical - Oneplus 12 just crushes the other two when it comes to details in the shot since it’s 3x sensor is 4 times as large as the other two.

I think the other issue is design. The one plus and pixel have there Senors on the top side of the frame. While Samsung’s is in the corner and probably makes packaging more difficult. Plus the ultra has to take quite a bit of space for the spen which doesn’t help matters. Unless they introduce some crazy battery tech or make the phones even larger, they will continue to have the same battery and camera specs due to the limited internal space.

The S24+ is the same size as the Oneplus 12. No reason for the S24+ to have that teensy 1/4 inch 3x sensor. Nobody is forcing them to package their sensors in the corner. If oneplus can do it with a similar sized phone why not Samsung.

That’s a very good point. So it’s a design decision Samsung is purposefully making, probably to make the incremental updates year over year for marketing. There just not in the market for actual invations anymore. I read the executives are starting to get upset with the phone division as they are getting smoked by the Chinese manufacturers and Apple (too an extent). I’m guessing nothing will change till the management does as well

Yes 100%. Also I think they keep the base and plus models deliberately handicapped so people buy the Ultra. Very few people would buy the Ultra if the only difference was an S Pen. But that means you won’t get good sensors till you spend $1300 with them on a massive hunk of a phone.

Yep. Same tactics apple does with the base iphones over the pros. Fortunately for me, I don’t need the best or lastest and greatest so I can get by perfectly fine with a base model or if I want better battery and better specs, the plus.

iPhone 15 and 16 has smaller sensors than the S24 vanilla - and they’re often compared against the best of the best such as Pixels with larger sensors… and usually still trade blows or even wins in the case of video sharpness and noise. The sensor is no doubt part of the equation but it’s hard to ignore the importance of software - which Samsung lacks in. This is a bigger issue than most other phones as Samsung also locks down the camera2 api which means third party apps such as gcam ports or blackmagic camera cannot access the full quality of the sensors.

16

Asa said:

Kingsley said:
Ben said:
Didn’t Google use the same camera sensor from the Pixel 2 to Pixel 5?

Pixel 2 to the 6a. Samsung has always been limited by their software, not hardware.

The fact that this is an oft upvoted comment in this sub worries me since it shows that most people lack any understanding of camera hardware, and Samsung knows it. That’s the reason they are using the tiniest camera sensors in the entire smartphone industry - most people can’t read camera specs nor understand the effect it has on image quality.

FYI, increasing the sensor size would have the biggest impact on achieving a faster shutterspeed (what phone photographers call ‘shutter lag’) to eliminate motion blur. Most importantly a larger sensor helps a ton with the overall detail present in the shot. Software can help partially with some of these things, but it is mostly a game limited by sensor size, not software.

Take a photo taken with the oneplus 12’s 3x camera, the S24’s 3x camera, and the iPhone 15 Pro’s 3x cam. The difference in quality is astronomical - Oneplus 12 just crushes the other two when it comes to details in the shot since it’s 3x sensor is 4 times as large as the other two.

Only when you’re pixel peeping. Take a raw photo from each phone and compare in darktable or lightroom - that will demonstrate the differences in the sensor itself.

Samsung does not in fact use the tiniest sensors in the industry (though they *do* cheap out on features like ultrawide autofocus on the vanilla model). A smaller sensor changes depth of field and light gathering, but the lens itself has an equal impact (F and T stop) - and the software to compensate for such differences in sensor size. This is why an APS-C camera does not neccesarily have worse image quality than a full frame, for example.

Shutter speed and shutter lag are two completely different things, slow shutter speed is not the same as a sensor needing to autofocus and having slow sensor readout.

In fact, smaller sensors trade capturing lots of light for having a super fast sensor readout, which also means they can get away without a global shutter and still achieve relatively low rolling shutter effect.

A larger sensor just makes it easier to get more detail. But when it comes to comparing tiny sensor to slightly less tiny sensor, it’s still a small sensor and software has to make up for a lot of the missing details.

17

Kingsley said:

Asa said:
Kingsley said:
Ben said:
Didn’t Google use the same camera sensor from the Pixel 2 to Pixel 5?

Pixel 2 to the 6a. Samsung has always been limited by their software, not hardware.

The fact that this is an oft upvoted comment in this sub worries me since it shows that most people lack any understanding of camera hardware, and Samsung knows it. That’s the reason they are using the tiniest camera sensors in the entire smartphone industry - most people can’t read camera specs nor understand the effect it has on image quality.

FYI, increasing the sensor size would have the biggest impact on achieving a faster shutterspeed (what phone photographers call ‘shutter lag’) to eliminate motion blur. Most importantly a larger sensor helps a ton with the overall detail present in the shot. Software can help partially with some of these things, but it is mostly a game limited by sensor size, not software.

Take a photo taken with the oneplus 12’s 3x camera, the S24’s 3x camera, and the iPhone 15 Pro’s 3x cam. The difference in quality is astronomical - Oneplus 12 just crushes the other two when it comes to details in the shot since it’s 3x sensor is 4 times as large as the other two.

Only when you’re pixel peeping. Take a raw photo from each phone and compare in darktable or lightroom - that will demonstrate the differences in the sensor itself.

Samsung does not in fact use the tiniest sensors in the industry (though they *do* cheap out on features like ultrawide autofocus on the vanilla model). A smaller sensor changes depth of field and light gathering, but the lens itself has an equal impact (F and T stop) - and the software to compensate for such differences in sensor size. This is why an APS-C camera does not neccesarily have worse image quality than a full frame, for example.

Shutter speed and shutter lag are two completely different things, slow shutter speed is not the same as a sensor needing to autofocus and having slow sensor readout.

In fact, smaller sensors trade capturing lots of light for having a super fast sensor readout, which also means they can get away without a global shutter and still achieve relatively low rolling shutter effect.

A larger sensor just makes it easier to get more detail. But when it comes to comparing tiny sensor to slightly less tiny sensor, it’s still a small sensor and software has to make up for a lot of the missing details.

Can you tell me of a 1-2 year old flagship phone from another brand that uses a 1/4" or smaller sensor for its zoom lenses? Also can you let me know of a flagship phone that uses a 1/1.56" or smaller sensor for its main camera? You claim Samsung is not the tiniest but from what I know, it 100% is the tiniest in the industry. Happy to admit that I’m wrong here. Please note that we are talking about flagship phones from Apple, Google, Sony, Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oneplus, Oppo.

Of course the raw image is the best guide of what the sensor captures, and the Oneplus 12 will crush the S24 and IPhone 15 Pro there too when it comes to details. No need to pixel peep, just put the photos on a computer screen instead of a phone screen. Oneplus’s software processing is not that good so the difference in final output stems from what the sensor captures in the first place, not the software.

Most phone companies have good enough algorithms to squeeze out whatever details they can from their tiny sensors. The only way to increase detail now is to either increase sensor size or use some sort of generative AI to actually generate realistic looking fake details.

18

Asa said:

Kingsley said:
Asa said:
Kingsley said:
Ben said:
Didn’t Google use the same camera sensor from the Pixel 2 to Pixel 5?

Pixel 2 to the 6a. Samsung has always been limited by their software, not hardware.

The fact that this is an oft upvoted comment in this sub worries me since it shows that most people lack any understanding of camera hardware, and Samsung knows it. That’s the reason they are using the tiniest camera sensors in the entire smartphone industry - most people can’t read camera specs nor understand the effect it has on image quality.

FYI, increasing the sensor size would have the biggest impact on achieving a faster shutterspeed (what phone photographers call ‘shutter lag’) to eliminate motion blur. Most importantly a larger sensor helps a ton with the overall detail present in the shot. Software can help partially with some of these things, but it is mostly a game limited by sensor size, not software.

Take a photo taken with the oneplus 12’s 3x camera, the S24’s 3x camera, and the iPhone 15 Pro’s 3x cam. The difference in quality is astronomical - Oneplus 12 just crushes the other two when it comes to details in the shot since it’s 3x sensor is 4 times as large as the other two.

Only when you’re pixel peeping. Take a raw photo from each phone and compare in darktable or lightroom - that will demonstrate the differences in the sensor itself.

Samsung does not in fact use the tiniest sensors in the industry (though they *do* cheap out on features like ultrawide autofocus on the vanilla model). A smaller sensor changes depth of field and light gathering, but the lens itself has an equal impact (F and T stop) - and the software to compensate for such differences in sensor size. This is why an APS-C camera does not neccesarily have worse image quality than a full frame, for example.

Shutter speed and shutter lag are two completely different things, slow shutter speed is not the same as a sensor needing to autofocus and having slow sensor readout.

In fact, smaller sensors trade capturing lots of light for having a super fast sensor readout, which also means they can get away without a global shutter and still achieve relatively low rolling shutter effect.

A larger sensor just makes it easier to get more detail. But when it comes to comparing tiny sensor to slightly less tiny sensor, it’s still a small sensor and software has to make up for a lot of the missing details.

Can you tell me of a 1-2 year old flagship phone from another brand that uses a 1/4" or smaller sensor for its zoom lenses? Also can you let me know of a flagship phone that uses a 1/1.56" or smaller sensor for its main camera? You claim Samsung is not the tiniest but from what I know, it 100% is the tiniest in the industry. Happy to admit that I’m wrong here. Please note that we are talking about flagship phones from Apple, Google, Sony, Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oneplus, Oppo.

Of course the raw image is the best guide of what the sensor captures, and the Oneplus 12 will crush the S24 and IPhone 15 Pro there too when it comes to details. No need to pixel peep, just put the photos on a computer screen instead of a phone screen. Oneplus’s software processing is not that good so the difference in final output stems from what the sensor captures in the first place, not the software.

Most phone companies have good enough algorithms to squeeze out whatever details they can from their tiny sensors. The only way to increase detail now is to either increase sensor size or use some sort of generative AI to actually generate realistic looking fake details.

S24 Ultra compared to Pixel 9 Pro XL

Main sensor: 200MP f/1.7 1/1.3" vs 50MP f/1.7 1.31"
Telephoto 1: 10MP f/2.4 1/3.52" for 3x vs Sensor cropped Main sensor for 2x
Periscope Telephoto: 50MP f/3.4 1/2.52" vs 48MP f2.8 1/2.55"
Ultrawide: 12MP f/2.2 1/2.55" vs 48MP f/1.7 1/2.55"

As you can see, the Samsung S24 Ultra actually has equal or larger sensors than the Pixel 9 pro XL, even Samsung doesn’t fulfill your claims…

19

Kingsley said:

Asa said:
Kingsley said:
Asa said:
Kingsley said:
Ben said:
Didn’t Google use the same camera sensor from the Pixel 2 to Pixel 5?

Pixel 2 to the 6a. Samsung has always been limited by their software, not hardware.

The fact that this is an oft upvoted comment in this sub worries me since it shows that most people lack any understanding of camera hardware, and Samsung knows it. That’s the reason they are using the tiniest camera sensors in the entire smartphone industry - most people can’t read camera specs nor understand the effect it has on image quality.

FYI, increasing the sensor size would have the biggest impact on achieving a faster shutterspeed (what phone photographers call ‘shutter lag’) to eliminate motion blur. Most importantly a larger sensor helps a ton with the overall detail present in the shot. Software can help partially with some of these things, but it is mostly a game limited by sensor size, not software.

Take a photo taken with the oneplus 12’s 3x camera, the S24’s 3x camera, and the iPhone 15 Pro’s 3x cam. The difference in quality is astronomical - Oneplus 12 just crushes the other two when it comes to details in the shot since it’s 3x sensor is 4 times as large as the other two.

Only when you’re pixel peeping. Take a raw photo from each phone and compare in darktable or lightroom - that will demonstrate the differences in the sensor itself.

Samsung does not in fact use the tiniest sensors in the industry (though they *do* cheap out on features like ultrawide autofocus on the vanilla model). A smaller sensor changes depth of field and light gathering, but the lens itself has an equal impact (F and T stop) - and the software to compensate for such differences in sensor size. This is why an APS-C camera does not neccesarily have worse image quality than a full frame, for example.

Shutter speed and shutter lag are two completely different things, slow shutter speed is not the same as a sensor needing to autofocus and having slow sensor readout.

In fact, smaller sensors trade capturing lots of light for having a super fast sensor readout, which also means they can get away without a global shutter and still achieve relatively low rolling shutter effect.

A larger sensor just makes it easier to get more detail. But when it comes to comparing tiny sensor to slightly less tiny sensor, it’s still a small sensor and software has to make up for a lot of the missing details.

Can you tell me of a 1-2 year old flagship phone from another brand that uses a 1/4" or smaller sensor for its zoom lenses? Also can you let me know of a flagship phone that uses a 1/1.56" or smaller sensor for its main camera? You claim Samsung is not the tiniest but from what I know, it 100% is the tiniest in the industry. Happy to admit that I’m wrong here. Please note that we are talking about flagship phones from Apple, Google, Sony, Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oneplus, Oppo.

Of course the raw image is the best guide of what the sensor captures, and the Oneplus 12 will crush the S24 and IPhone 15 Pro there too when it comes to details. No need to pixel peep, just put the photos on a computer screen instead of a phone screen. Oneplus’s software processing is not that good so the difference in final output stems from what the sensor captures in the first place, not the software.

Most phone companies have good enough algorithms to squeeze out whatever details they can from their tiny sensors. The only way to increase detail now is to either increase sensor size or use some sort of generative AI to actually generate realistic looking fake details.

S24 Ultra compared to Pixel 9 Pro XL

Main sensor: 200MP f/1.7 1/1.3" vs 50MP f/1.7 1.31"
Telephoto 1: 10MP f/2.4 1/3.52" for 3x vs Sensor cropped Main sensor for 2x
Periscope Telephoto: 50MP f/3.4 1/2.52" vs 48MP f2.8 1/2.55"
Ultrawide: 12MP f/2.2 1/2.55" vs 48MP f/1.7 1/2.55"

As you can see, the Samsung S24 Ultra actually has equal or larger sensors than the Pixel 9 pro XL, even Samsung doesn’t fulfill your claims…

What is this post about? It’s about the S25 and S25 plus having the same cameras as the S22 and S22 plus which is what people in this thread are complaining about. Nobody is bringing up and ranting about the S24 Ultra’s camera system here in this entire discussion thread. OP complains about these two models specifically, to which your comment was that the camera hardware isn’t a problem in the base and plus models. By any measure, the S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra are all considered flagship phones and deserve flagship grade hardware. It’s ok if the S24 Ultra has an extra 5x lens, but the other sensors should match.

It should’ve been obvious from reading my previous comment - I gave figures 1/4" and the 1/1.56" which are references to sensors in Samsung’s S24 and S24 plus models. These are the smallest sensors in the flagship smartphone world today. The $1000 S24+ is a large phone (as large as any other flagship phone from other companies), and yet it still has these sensors.

Even the much smaller iPhone 15/16 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro have much larger sensors than what the larger S25+ will supposedly have. Again, if you find smaller sensors in another flagship phone than what the S24+/S25+ have, please do enlighten me.

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Asa said:

Kingsley said:
Asa said:
Kingsley said:
Asa said:
Kingsley said:
Ben said:
Didn’t Google use the same camera sensor from the Pixel 2 to Pixel 5?

Pixel 2 to the 6a. Samsung has always been limited by their software, not hardware.

The fact that this is an oft upvoted comment in this sub worries me since it shows that most people lack any understanding of camera hardware, and Samsung knows it. That’s the reason they are using the tiniest camera sensors in the entire smartphone industry - most people can’t read camera specs nor understand the effect it has on image quality.

FYI, increasing the sensor size would have the biggest impact on achieving a faster shutterspeed (what phone photographers call ‘shutter lag’) to eliminate motion blur. Most importantly a larger sensor helps a ton with the overall detail present in the shot. Software can help partially with some of these things, but it is mostly a game limited by sensor size, not software.

Take a photo taken with the oneplus 12’s 3x camera, the S24’s 3x camera, and the iPhone 15 Pro’s 3x cam. The difference in quality is astronomical - Oneplus 12 just crushes the other two when it comes to details in the shot since it’s 3x sensor is 4 times as large as the other two.

Only when you’re pixel peeping. Take a raw photo from each phone and compare in darktable or lightroom - that will demonstrate the differences in the sensor itself.

Samsung does not in fact use the tiniest sensors in the industry (though they *do* cheap out on features like ultrawide autofocus on the vanilla model). A smaller sensor changes depth of field and light gathering, but the lens itself has an equal impact (F and T stop) - and the software to compensate for such differences in sensor size. This is why an APS-C camera does not neccesarily have worse image quality than a full frame, for example.

Shutter speed and shutter lag are two completely different things, slow shutter speed is not the same as a sensor needing to autofocus and having slow sensor readout.

In fact, smaller sensors trade capturing lots of light for having a super fast sensor readout, which also means they can get away without a global shutter and still achieve relatively low rolling shutter effect.

A larger sensor just makes it easier to get more detail. But when it comes to comparing tiny sensor to slightly less tiny sensor, it’s still a small sensor and software has to make up for a lot of the missing details.

Can you tell me of a 1-2 year old flagship phone from another brand that uses a 1/4" or smaller sensor for its zoom lenses? Also can you let me know of a flagship phone that uses a 1/1.56" or smaller sensor for its main camera? You claim Samsung is not the tiniest but from what I know, it 100% is the tiniest in the industry. Happy to admit that I’m wrong here. Please note that we are talking about flagship phones from Apple, Google, Sony, Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oneplus, Oppo.

Of course the raw image is the best guide of what the sensor captures, and the Oneplus 12 will crush the S24 and IPhone 15 Pro there too when it comes to details. No need to pixel peep, just put the photos on a computer screen instead of a phone screen. Oneplus’s software processing is not that good so the difference in final output stems from what the sensor captures in the first place, not the software.

Most phone companies have good enough algorithms to squeeze out whatever details they can from their tiny sensors. The only way to increase detail now is to either increase sensor size or use some sort of generative AI to actually generate realistic looking fake details.

S24 Ultra compared to Pixel 9 Pro XL

Main sensor: 200MP f/1.7 1/1.3" vs 50MP f/1.7 1.31"
Telephoto 1: 10MP f/2.4 1/3.52" for 3x vs Sensor cropped Main sensor for 2x
Periscope Telephoto: 50MP f/3.4 1/2.52" vs 48MP f2.8 1/2.55"
Ultrawide: 12MP f/2.2 1/2.55" vs 48MP f/1.7 1/2.55"

As you can see, the Samsung S24 Ultra actually has equal or larger sensors than the Pixel 9 pro XL, even Samsung doesn’t fulfill your claims…

What is this post about? It’s about the S25 and S25 plus having the same cameras as the S22 and S22 plus which is what people in this thread are complaining about. Nobody is bringing up and ranting about the S24 Ultra’s camera system here in this entire discussion thread. OP complains about these two models specifically, to which your comment was that the camera hardware isn’t a problem in the base and plus models. By any measure, the S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra are all considered flagship phones and deserve flagship grade hardware. It’s ok if the S24 Ultra has an extra 5x lens, but the other sensors should match.

It should’ve been obvious from reading my previous comment - I gave figures 1/4" and the 1/1.56" which are references to sensors in Samsung’s S24 and S24 plus models. These are the smallest sensors in the flagship smartphone world today. The $1000 S24+ is a large phone (as large as any other flagship phone from other companies), and yet it still has these sensors.

Even the much smaller iPhone 15/16 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro have much larger sensors than what the larger S25+ will supposedly have. Again, if you find smaller sensors in another flagship phone than what the S24+/S25+ have, please do enlighten me.

Oh sorry, you mentioned Flagship so I compared flagship to flagship. S24 compared to say, iPhone 16 then. iPhone 16 doesn’t even have a telephoto… S25 compared to iPhone 16 is still the same story.

iPhone 16 uses a 1/1.56" sensor for the main shooter - same as the S24.

iPhone 16 doesn’t have a telephoto, and its ultrawide camera is a much smaller sensor - no official specs but it has a much smaller pixel pitch. iPhone 16 to the S24 is 0.7µm to 1.4µm. Given the same resolution of 12MP, the S24 has an ultrawide sensor twice the size of the iPhone 16.

Assuming S25 uses the exact same sensors as the S24, then you’re getting equal or bigger sensors compared to the vanilla iPhone 16.