The lack of camera upgrades is my biggest disappointment with the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus

The new Samsung Galaxy S24 series is a bit strange. Showing Samsung’s innovative side and recent complacency. On one hand, Galaxy AI and seven years of updates are changing the way we think about smartphone software. On the contrary, the design and internal hardware of the Galaxy S24 are almost unchanged from the Galaxy S23 and even the S22 series.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the camera department. The Samsung Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus feature the exact same camera hardware as the non-Ultra Galaxy S23 series, and exactly the same as the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus (save for a slight selfie upgrade). The top-notch flagship series and posters of Android smartphones haven’t changed in any meaningful way in three generations.

This isn’t a general complaint about the image quality on the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus. A good camera doesn’t suddenly become bad just because of a new product and Samsung’s latest software. However, when you compare the phone to the competition and weigh what to buy, Samsung’s stagnant camera makes it hard to stand out. After all, photography is a big part of the appeal of modern smartphones, and it’s a particular sore spot for me that the latest Galaxy lineup doesn’t do more to stand out.

The lack of changes on the $800 Galaxy S24 is perhaps more excusable. It still has a 3x telephoto camera, something you won’t find on similarly priced competitors like Apple’s iPhone 15 and Google’s Pixel 8. lead. However, the $1,000 Galaxy S24 Plus has to compete with the powerful Pixel 8 Pro, Xiaomi Mi 14 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro, and a few other phones that struggle to innovate in the camera department. With larger sensors, cutting-edge AI polish, and powerful zoom technology, these rivals are more competitive with the Samsung Ultra than the Plus in most cases, but cost less. While it’s great to have a premium S24 Ultra that pushes boundaries, the more affordable models also deserve their own innovations and upgrades, especially with the Ultra range’s price increases.

My real problem with the S24 and S24 Plus is that they are very capable, but far from perfect. It doesn’t take much to iron out these inconsistencies and make these cameras better. At times, it feels like sheer laziness is holding the series back from reaching higher levels.

Take the motion issue we highlighted in our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review and S24 Plus review, for example, which is caused by using a shutter speed that’s too long in order to collect more light. Light is important, but not at the expense of clarity, especially when few other phones can achieve it to the same extent. Competitors like the iPhone 15 Pro and Pixel 8 Pro continue to use larger main sensors, which may be the key. However, the problem with the S24 Ultra suggests this is also a software issue.

Likewise, the phone’s night mode is really powerful, but try to snap a photo in low light in a hurry and the results are even more mixed. Especially for moving objects. The noise-blur trade-off still feels very real, and frankly, the tiny 1/3.94-inch 3x telephoto lens doesn’t perform particularly well in low-light conditions either. Even a modest upgrade to the same 1/3.52-inch telephoto lens as the Ultra would be a nice touch.

Speaking of zoom cameras, the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus offer limited zoom capabilities. Compared to the Pixel 8 Pro’s 5x camera, there’s no doubt that the Google phone takes better photos at a distance. Many of my Samsung samples were a mess. But even at 3x zoom (where we expect the S24’s optical zoom to win), the difference between the two isn’t day and night. Pixel’s innovative image fusion technology plays an important role in giving the phone greater overall flexibility.

But it’s not just the lack of ranged upgrades that’s holding the series back. For example, selfies look great a lot of the time, and the Galaxy S24 is actually one of the better flagships when it comes to exposure and HDR control. However, skin tones skewed toward red in many of my portrait shots, highlighting imperfections not visible on other phones.

I still can’t get over Samsung’s over-reliance on heavy color and sharpness processing, which gives some images (particularly portraits) a cartoony pop. Compared to the more eye-catching specs from brands like OPPO and Sony, Samsung’s color science seems stuck in the past decade.

Likewise, portrait photos and serendipitous events. Samsung relies on a 3x telephoto sensor for default portrait shots to take advantage of the pleasant 70mm focal length, but once again this tiny sensor struggles to extract high levels of detail in anything but perfect lighting. You can fall back to 1x or 2x to get slightly better noise levels, but then you’re shooting with a less flattering 24mm lens. Consistency is once again the Galaxy S24’s Achilles’ heel, leaving the phone lagging far behind the market’s innovators.

I don’t think Samsung’s more affordable models will come with absolutely cutting-edge camera setups, so I wouldn’t insist that next year’s Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus will bring about a revolution in camera technology. However, if the wider Galaxy S range wants to maintain its reputation as a photography powerhouse, it will have to close the gap with Ultra.

If I were Samsung, I would reinvent the ultra-wide angle and zoom cameras. A bigger sensor would be the best place to start, even if it means the camera bump on these phones will be slightly larger. The OPPO Find X6 Pro and Find X7 Ultra provide a blueprint for success, using similar large sensors and specs across the entire camera array to ensure greater consistency in image quality from shot to shot.

The Galaxy S24 doesn’t need three or four bulky sensors like these ultra-expensive phones. Just three sensors larger than 1/2-inch allow for a better balance of detail, low-light and color capture capabilities in a triple-camera array.

There’s still no need for ultra-telephoto shooting here; mid-range zoom and portrait-focused focal lengths are enough at this price point. However, Samsung may be more adventurous with hardware and software to achieve better results. High-resolution sensor crops (such as Google’s Super Res Zoom) provide good-looking lossless zoom based on the optical zoom factor. Samsung could use similar technology to achieve lossless 2x, 3x and 6x zoom simply by upgrading its 3x telephoto camera to a higher-resolution sensor.

Unfortunately, early rumors suggest that the Galaxy S25 camera array may remain unchanged from the S22 series. I can only hope they are wrong.