The flagship tentpole feature of the Samsung Galaxy S20 range is its cameras, but so far its cameras have failed to impress, with PC Mag saying for example:
I ran into some disturbing software bugs while trying out the camera. Focus pulsing is the most annoying; sometimes the focus just doesn’t want to lock, or only locks after clearly trying out a few different focal lengths for a second or two. That can be enough to lose a shot. This happened to me most often when trying to focus on something close to the camera; the focus would switch to the close-up object, then to the distance, then back. It also happened in low light time and again.
InputMag similarly said:
While there’s no arguing that Samsung has crammed in more powerful cameras (on paper), the iPhone 11 Pro is still the superior smartphone camera with wider dynamic range, more life-like colors, sharper details when it comes to skin tones and hair, and smoother video stabilization.
Samsung has now responded to the criticism with an official statement, promising a fix.
They say:
“The Galaxy S20 features a groundbreaking, advanced camera system. We are constantly working to optimize performance to deliver the best experience for consumers. As part of this ongoing effort, we are working on a future update to improve the camera experience.”
SamMobile notes Samsung uses a new PDAF (phase-detection autofocus) system which may be the root cause of the issues. Samsung has already released a firmware update for the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra in South Korea promising camera fixes, so we will hopefully see the S20 live up to its promise sooner rather than later.