Samsung seems to have shipped some Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ units with faulty camera hardware that needs replacing. Shortly after the phones hit the market, reports emerged that the new Galaxy flagships have a weird camera focusing issue out of the box. Those reports have grown in recent days. Worst yet, the company has shown little regard for the problem, leaving affected users furious.
According to reports and camera samples provided by users, Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ units affected by this problem can’t keep the entire scene in focus. Photos captured with the 50MP primary rear camera of this phone come out with patches of blurriness, which typically appear around the center. The problem is more visible in photos of documents, though you’ll notice blurred areas in other photos as well. The blurred patches are mostly shaped like a banana, giving the issue its name: blurred banana.
Many Galaxy S23 users have this camera focusing problem
A Reddit user recently pointed out a survey by a German forum where 75 out of 82 respondents said they are affected by this issue. A similar survey by an Italian forum also shows 17 out of 25 people have the problem. Unfortunately, Samsung doesn’t care. A user who sent their new Galaxy S23 to an official Samsung Service Center for repair was told that the company can’t fix the issue “for now”. That’s because the official stance currently is that the blurriness is “a characteristic of the big sensor”. It’s supposed to provide a “DSLR-like bokeh effect”.
However, in reality, the photos often come out unusable. More so if it’s a document. The text is unreadable in some areas. By the looks of it, Samsung doesn’t have guaranteed non-faulty camera modules to replace the faulty ones on affected devices. A user who had the camera hardware replaced faced the same issue with the replacement unit as well.
Since the Galaxy S23 Ultra uses a 200MP primary rear camera, the problem doesn’t exist on it. Affected Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ users, meanwhile, have no other option but to live with faulty cameras or return the phones.
Hopefully, Samsung will come up with a solution before this issue grows out of hand. The Galaxy S23 phones have been selling like hotcakes since pre-order days. But if this problem is widespread, people may soon stop buying the new Galaxy flagships. We will keep a close tab on the matter and let you know as soon as we have more information. In the meantime, if you’re having this problem with your Galaxy S23 or Galaxy S23+, don’t forget to report it to Samsung. You can send feedback via the Samsung Members app.