Samsung aware of Galaxy S23 Ultra camera zoom bug after One UI 6.1.1 update

Update 01/10/24: The latest September security update rolling out in the US brings a fix for the Galaxy S23 Ultra camera zoom issue, at least according to some users. So be sure to grab it once the OTA notification pops up.

Update 19/09/24: After widespread reports, Samsung has halted the rollout of One UI 6.1.1 update for the Galaxy S23 Ultra as the company looks to address the camera zoom bug.

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Original article follows:

Samsung’s latest One UI 6.1.1 update is here, bringing a mix of improvements, fixes, and… a few hiccups. For one, it finally addressed the annoying issue with Google apps’ Material You theming. A win for the design purists. But, while users were eagerly waiting for the return of the vertical app drawer in the Home Up module, that promise remains unfulfilled. And just to spice things up, the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s 3x lens has decided to go on a vacation — it stops working in GCam and other third-party apps after the update, leaving users frustrated.

Now, speaking of camera-related frustrations, the Galaxy S23 Ultra seems to have landed itself in hot water with a brand-new camera bug thanks to the same One UI 6.1.1 update. While the update’s AI features were supposed to enhance the experience, some users have noticed that zooming between 16x and 19x creates a ghostly, blurry overlay in their photos. Yes, you read that right! This camera glitch has sparked chatter across social media and online forums, with many reporting strange shadowy effects during these zoom levels.

Reports have shown that at 14x zoom, everything looks fine (as per the sample images below), but once users push beyond 16x, the weirdness kicks in. The culprit seems to be the Intelligent Optimization feature — set it to maximum, and the bug rears its head. Some users have also pointed out that while Samsung has improved other areas of zoom and noise reduction, this specific range is definitely bugged.

The good news? Samsung has acknowledged the issue! A moderator from Samsung’s Korean forum confirmed that the problem has been reproduced and the company is already working on a fix. So, if you’re one of the unlucky Galaxy S23 Ultra owners experiencing this, rest assured that a solution is on the way.

In the meantime, there’s a temporary fix: switch your Intelligent Optimization setting to “medium.” This tweak seems to reduce the ghostly effect when zooming between 16x and 19.9x, making your photos less creepy in the interim. To do this, open the camera app’s settings, tap Intelligent optimization, and switch to the medium quality optimization setting.

Alternatively, try the Samsung Expert RAW app. While it offers more manual control options, it limits you to 20x zoom. Also, you can simply use the default settings for a similar picture quality to the standard camera app. To access Expert RAW, swipe to the Modes section in your camera app.

While this bug is frustrating, it’s important to note that the One UI 6.1.1 update did improve other camera algorithms and noise reduction at different zoom levels. For now, users who frequently zoom in the 16x to 19x range might want to adjust their settings or wait for Samsung’s fix, which is expected to roll out soon.