Samsung has finally started updating US variants of the Galaxy S10 smartphones with a new camera mode, which is a dedicated Night Mode.
This is a mode that we first started seeing in international variants (to be more specific, Exynos variants) of the Galaxy S10 family last month. It’s a dedicated night mode, that is going to try and compete with what Google has done with Night Sight. From what we’ve seen on the Exynos version, it does look pretty good. Not quite to the level of the Pixel 3, but it’s close.
Currently, the update is rolling out to AT&T’s Galaxy S10+. But as Sammobile points out, it looks like that is the same build that Verizon is rolling out to its Galaxy S10+ this month with the June 2019 security update too. So it’s only a matter of time before more carriers get this update.
Those of you with a Galaxy S10 smartphone (whether that be the Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10 or Galaxy S10+) might be a bit confused, seeing as Samsung launched these phones with a feature called “Bright Night” which would allow the camera to take in more light when it’s in a darker situation. Which is true, but there was no way to manually turn that on. So if it was at dusk and there was still enough light, the Galaxy S10 wouldn’t turn it on, even if it was needed. Now with this new Night Mode, you can turn it on at will.
Once you do get the update, you’re going to want to make sure that you enable that mode, so that it appears in the switcher just above the shutter button. To do that, tap on the gear icon within the camera app. Then tap on Camera Modes and then Edit. Night Mode should be the first option on this list, just click on it so the checkmark appears and it should then show up in the mode switcher within the camera app. Now you’ll be able to easily switch to it when you need too.
Night mode is a pretty popular mode for smartphone cameras these days, with more and more smartphone manufacturers adding these features. The reason for this is because we are ditching our DSLRs and using our smartphones more for pictures. But the sun isn’t up all the time. And when it comes to taking pictures at night, a smaller lens isn’t going to do to well with getting a good shot. Thanks to larger sensors, more sensors and better software, though, smartphone cameras are able to take better l0w-light shots, and it’s a really cool thing to see.
If you are on AT&T and have the Galaxy S10+, head into Settings and then tap on Software Update so you can check for your update. It is rolling out now, but as usual, it’s going to be a staged rollout, so it could take a day or two before it actually arrives on your smartphone. Other Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10e models as well as the Galaxy S10+ should be getting this update rather soon.