Samsung to offer Camera Assistant app on even more Galaxy models

Announced as a Galaxy S22 exclusive, the Camera Assistant app allows users to customize camera settings to a level far beyond what is possible from the basic camera interface.

Among the options exposed with the Camera Assistant app we also have disabling the Auto HDR function, or turning off the sharpness filter, which can sometimes make shots look too “artificial”. Once installed, the app can be accessed from both the phone menu and the camera settings menu.

One of the biggest shortcomings of the pre-installed capture app on Samsung phones is the delay between when you press the on-screen shutter button and when the photo is taken. The Faster Shutter feature in Camera Assistant reduces this lag and allows you to capture multiple photos in quick succession. According to the description in the app, this feature may degrade the quality of the final images, as fewer frames will be used for post-processing.

There are other useful settings, such as the option to disable automatic switching of the camera you’re taking the photo from when you zoom in, for example, and the phone decides the light is too dim to use the zoom camera, resorting to digital zoom. Or you can program how many minutes the camera stays on when not in use but switched on, in intervals of 1, 2, 5 or 10 minutes. Or how many photos to take when you set a timer, for group shots or self-portraits.

The app gives users the option to turn HDR on or off, as well as the sharpness feature, helping to achieve more artistic-looking photos. The app also allows users to record videos even in photo mode by holding down the shutter button.

Currently only available for Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+ and Galaxy S22 Ultra owners, the Camera Assistant app will be offered for “as many Galaxy phone models” as possible in the near future. To be fair, the Samsung representative who made the reveal didn’t offer a concrete timetable for expanding compatibility to other phone models.