Samsung Galaxy S25 Poor Photo Quality - Should I Expect a Software Fix?

[Josh_B2]

So I recently upgraded from a Samsung Galaxy S22, which I loved, but the battery was dying remarkably fast after just 3 years of average use, to the new Samsung Galaxy S25, which is great in all respects except for one - the camera seems to be significantly worse than that of the S22. From my research it seems to be merely a software difference (the S25 applies AI-brushing to photos automatically and that cannot be turned off), because the camera hardware on the S25 is either the same or better in specs. See the attached photo comparisons of the same pieces of art photographed with my S22 (OLD - TOP) and S25 (NEW - BOTTOM), some are more zoomed in than others and some don't show a huge difference but it should be clear that the new S25 has significantly less detail due to AI-smoothing, and the coloration is less appealing especially in darker lighting. See especially the last photo below.

The old S22 camera was fantastic and took delightfully sharp and detailed photos - the new S25 does not, but my question is whether I might expect some sort of software fix to this problem in the near future or should I just return my phone? I really only care about battery, camera, and decent processing speed in a phone, and I don't like large phones, I would keep my S22 forever if it wasn't for battery but that's unviable and getting a new S22 seems unwise due to lack of ongoing software updates support, so I am really feeling like I don't have a good option within the Samsung world to get everything I am looking for and although I am loath to switch back to Apple after 6 years I am thinking that might be the thing to do due to this abysmal AI camera ... The S22 camera system wasn't broke, and they certainly didn't fix it. The S25 battery is stellar, the speed is terrific, and the AI features are great, but a good camera is imo an indispensable element of any phone, especially an expensive flagship model, and the S25 Ultra is both too big and too expensive for my liking -- can anyone advise me whether I might expect fixes or updates to this counterproductive and undesirable AI photography software, or am I really going to switch to an iPhone 16? Wish I could tailor-make a phone with everything the S25 has but the S22 camera system.

[meself]

In camera settings theres a optimization settings set that to minimum that should show a difference if you had higher level i use the 50mp in photo mode occasionally 12mp if I need zoom

[Josh_B2]

I've already experimented with turning off intelligent optimization (including the sub-setting of scene optimization) and the pictures are generally even more fuzzy/blurry and less appealing overall when those features are turned off or minimized. I will play around a bit with 12MP versus 50MP. However, I think the issue is the AI smoothing that is automatically occurring, which seems designed to make photos look more social media worthy when you are zoomed out but which really fudges and destroys detail as is clear when you zoom in. Is there any chance that will change?

[meself]

Oh just reminded me turn off the ai feature

[Josh_B2]

How can I do that?

[meself]

In settings think like 3rd or 4th down a folder says ai galaxy also in that is a option to have ai limited to phone turn on it won't use the cloud

[Tom6068]

In Settings/Gemini AI/Photo assist and toggle that off. It really does not do much other than make image changes to/or add objects in the photos or make cartoons of them, etc. Also, in the Gemini AI at the bottom, toggle on "Process data only on device". I also agree with your take of the imaging. I have similar issues between my S22U and my S25U. Really since the S20 ultra, Samsung has only made a few small incremental hardware changes to the cameras. They have largely remained the same with software improvements over the years. Tbh, I don't think they can make anymore software enhancement as there is only so much that can eb done with basically using the same hardware for years. Considering it uses the current fastest most capable CPU in use in the world, one would think that processing images owuld be an easy improvement.

I guess you could consider getting the Pixel 10 when Google does it official announcement on Aug 20th and a few sites state it could be ready for purchase by the 28th.. It has a triple camera system (first time for their least expensive lineup) and from the web, it will start at $799. I would certainly wait for reviews and then really looking at the specs to make purchasing call, but Google is noted over the years at the best in the west for consistent image taking. Again, this is speculation, but here are the difference between the Pixel 9 and the upcoming 10 line. 

https://www.tomsguide.com/phones/google-pixel-phones/google-pixel-10-vs-pixel-9

[meself]

1. Open Settings:

Locate and open the Settings app on your Samsung device. 

2. Go to Galaxy AI:

Look for and tap on "Galaxy AI" within the settings menu. You may need to tap on "Advanced features" first, then find Galaxy AI. 

3. Disable Individual Features:

You'll see a list of Galaxy AI features. Tap on each one to access its settings and toggle it off. 

4. On-Device Processing:

If you want to limit AI processing to only your device, look for the "Process data only on device" toggle at the bottom of the Galaxy AI settings page and turn it on. This will disable some cloud-based features. 

[Josh_B2]

Thank you, I am familiar with these settings - unfortunately none of them make the camera behave like the S22, even though they have the same hardware. I think there are some built-in AI features within the camera that cannot be disabled, which is why I am curious whether a software update might change things.

[meself]

If your uodates are showing July which had 40 fixes than you should be good may need to poke around the camera settings see if you missed anything