What you need to know
- Samsung acknowledges the odd blur effect on the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus and is working on a software patch to correct it.
- The issue appears to be attributed to the bright aperture present on both devices' rear wide-angle lens.
- While not as widespread, the Galaxy S23 Ultra also had a weird effect but this could be due to high-res mode not supporting focus enhancer.
Months later, Samsung is finally bringing some acknowledgment to the unsettling blur effect present when taking photos on the Galaxy S23 series.
The Korean OEM has apparently expressed its willingness to implement a fix for the blurring of cameras on the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus, specifically, through a Polish Samsung Community post (via Android Authority).
The post states, "While testing the camera capabilities of the S23 or S23+, you may have noticed that the area around the subject looks a bit blurred when taking a close-up shot. This is because the rear wide-angle camera on the S23 and S23+ has a bright aperture, which helps when taking photos in the dark. However, this also means that more noticeable selective focus can make the background of your photos look a bit blurry."
Afterward, the newsroom post stated Samsung has some plans to rectify this problem in a future software update. For right now, those with a Galaxy S23 or a Galaxy S23 Plus experiencing this issue can try taking a photo from a little further away (about a foot away from your target). Additionally, try taking a photo with your phone held vertically, instead.
It's good that Samsung is finally acknowledging a problem that users have been reporting since March. Almost three months ago, users began noticing an odd blur effect on the edges of their photos, like a curve, which had been dubbed the "banana blur." Both devices in question utilize a 50MP main shooter on the back and a 12MP front-facing selfie camera. Each comes packed with enhanced Super HDR so, perhaps, there's some conflict there as Samsung looks to patch it.
Furthermore, while not as widespread, there was a report of this banana blur appearing on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, too. Samsung's Polish post touches on this by stating if a user is taking a photo in high-res mode, the device's focus enhancer is not supported during that time. It appears as though this is the culprit for any weird blurring for the latest Ultra model.
Samsung didn't give a date or timeframe for when users can expect this software update to roll in. Hopefully, it doesn't take the company another three months to push out a fix.
