Galaxy S23 series rumored to receive a big update to improve camera quality

The Samsung Galaxy S23+ (left) and S23 Ultra (right)
(Image credit: Michael Hicks / Android Central)

What you need to know

  • Users have been reporting an odd "blurred banana" effect  happening on their Galaxy S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra.
  • While it's unknown what the cause of this issue is, one user suggests it could have something to do with field curvature.
  • A newly surfaced rumor floats the possibility of a large Samsung update in March with some added camera optimization improvements.

Samsung's latest flagship phone line is running into an extremely noticeable eyesore of a problem with its cameras, one that we hope might be fixed in a rumored update.

Users on the German forums of NotebookCheck have started reporting their experience with the odd blurry problem on the Samsung Galaxy S23 and S23+. According to the user complaints, upon taking a photo and then going to view it, some parts of the photo are very much so out of focus. These same users have coined the problem as the "blurred banana" because of the curved shape the problem takes on.

Examples of the odd blurring problem range from photographing text (where it is most noticeable) to typical photos of nature. While most of the photo may appear to be completely in focus, in some cases it's easy to see the curved or banana-like blur pattern on the photograph.

This odd blurry image problem does not appear to be contained to just the Galaxy S23 and S23+ as it's been spotted affecting the S23 Ultra, as well. However, as one user goes on to comment, this may be due to the presence of field curvature. Slightly tilting the camera of the latest S23 series appears to skew the focus area, thus we're left with the unfortunate blurry pattern in photos.

It's still unclear what the exact culprit is here (if there is one) but, as the user does add, another problem could be with a decentered lens. The Galaxy S23 and S23+ both utilize a 50MP triple camera array while the S23 Ultra boasts its strong 200MP main shooter. We're just going to have to see where things go from here and if this is a bigger problem than we currently know.

However, there could be a light at the end of this blurry tunnel, as a large camera update may be on the way for the Samsung Galaxy S23 series, as suggested through a tweet by IceUniverse (via SamMobile). The rumor states that Samsung may be prepping a large update at the end of March which could include camera optimization in some form.

While users are hoping for some camera improvements to roll in, the rumors right now play more toward the series' Night Mode and its overall photo quality. On a related note, Galaxy S23 Ultra has recently gone under some "scrutiny" for its lack of proper moon photography due to its Scene optimizer function.

Samsung has yet to confirm such an update, so we'll have to wait and see. That said, we wouldn't be surprised, as these sorts of updates often follow big smartphone releases, particularly after the reviews come rolling in.

Nickolas Diaz
News Writer

Nickolas is always excited about tech and getting his hands on it. Writing for him can vary from delivering the latest tech story to scribbling in his journal. When Nickolas isn't hitting a story, he's often grinding away at a game or chilling with a book in his hand.