One UI 9 Camera and Gallery Changes for Galaxy Photographers

Besides the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, One UI 9, based on Android 17, launched for Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 and Galaxy Z Flip8 first. It started rolling out to the Galaxy S26 series on 16 September 2026.

Don’t expect major changes as there aren’t many camera-related updates with One UI 9, according to SamMobile. The most noteworthy photo and video-centric improvement is in the Gallery app. Find out more below.

Check the list below to find out which phone is getting what with One UI 9 camera-related updates.

When One UI 9 reached each Galaxy

My FanCam first showed up on One UI 9, which debuted on the Galaxy Z Flip8, Z Fold8 and Z Fold8 Ultra. The Galaxy S26 FE shipped with One UI 9 as well. As of 16 September, the stable One UI 9 update has begun rolling out in South Korea for the Galaxy S26 line of phones, with wider global availability to follow. On 28 September, Samsung started rolling out One UI 9 in South Korea for the Galaxy S25 line of phones, and on 6 October for the Galaxy S24 line of phones, with other countries following. According to reports from Android Central, One UI 9’s rollout for the Galaxy S26 line of phones outside of South Korea has been a bit messy, with T-Mobile rolling the update out for its Galaxy S26 phones ahead of Samsung even publishing a changelog.

In addition to Samsung’s Galaxy Z and S series flagships, many of its older phones are also likely to get One UI 9 down the line. Based on Samsung’s update policy, SamMobile predicts that the Galaxy A24, A34, A54 and many later Galaxy A phones, Galaxy S23 line of phones, Galaxy Z Flip5 and Galaxy Z Fold5 will all get One UI 9 at some point. That said, SamMobile stresses that its list of One UI 9-eligible Samsung Galaxy phones isn’t official and is simply based on Samsung’s stated update policy for its devices.

To check if One UI 9 has rolled out to your Samsung Galaxy phone, head to Settings → Software update and check for updates.

How My FanCam reframes a video around one person

One handy Galaxy AI feature, My FanCam, will find a particular person in a video and keep them centred in the frame as they move around. Samsung says it’s particularly useful for videos of things like kids performing or friends on the dance floor, but it also works with older videos, even ones you shot before updating.

On a Galaxy S25 Ultra running One UI 9 it has its own page in Settings → Galaxy AI, which explains how it works and also notes that all the processing happens on-device and Samsung doesn’t access or store any biometric information.

1. 1

   Open the video in Gallery

   Scrub the video until you find a shot of the subject.

2. 2

   Tap the Galaxy AI icon

   Select My FanCam and wait for people detection.

3. 3

   Pick the person and the shape

   Select the subject and pick the desired video orientation and aspect ratio. It’s particularly useful for extracting a portrait-oriented video from a landscape video.

4. 4

   Tap Follow

   Galaxy AI will detect and crop around your selected subject throughout the entire video. You can save the cropped video as a copy, so your original video will remain intact.

Samsung’s fine print says that you’ll need to be logged into a Samsung Account to use FanCam, availability can vary from clip to clip, the feature won’t work without a subject to follow and accuracy isn’t guaranteed.

Note that this isn’t Samsung’s Auto Track feature, which tracks a subject in real time while you’re recording video.

As a crop, FanCam quality tops out at that of the original video, so if you know you’ll be reframing a shot with FanCam, you may want to record in 4K (if available) and frame a bit wider than you normally would.

Also, since FanCam is people-only, don’t expect it to follow your dog. If FanCam loses track of a person, Android Central suggests trying to start again from a frame in which they’re more visible.

What changed in the Camera app

The S25 (with One UI 9) and S26 (available since One UI 8.5) add Horizontal Lock to Super Steady video, using the accelerometer and gyroscope to keep the horizon level even if you twist or turn the phone around. Samsung says it’s limited to the rear camera and isn’t available in Portrait Video or Pro Video mode. To use it, start in Video mode, tap Super steady (person in motion icon), then tap Horizontal lock (same person icon in a box) and start recording.

Meanwhile, Samsung Galaxy S26 users have been able to access Dual Recording (using front and back cameras simultaneously) directly from the Video mode since launch thanks to One UI 8.5, according to Samsung’s Galaxy S26 user guide and a SamMobile report from February 2026. One UI 9 brings this feature to the Galaxy S25, and on both phones users can now select a split-screen layout in either a horizontal or vertical orientation when using Dual Recording, as per SamMobile. The Galaxy S24, on the other hand, does not receive either of these updates and still uses the older version of Dual Recording. On a Galaxy S25 Ultra running One UI 9, there’s a Dual recordings option under Videos in the Camera app’s settings, which lets you save recordings in a single file, just as you preview them. There’s also a toggle for the separate Dual rec mode, but it’s only in Camera Assistant. Our video settings guide covers the rest of the Video mode basics.

Samsung has also updated Camera Assistant with One UI 9, adding a couple of new features. According to SamMobile, users can now prevent the Camera app from automatically exiting after a period of inactivity, and a 1/60s minimum shutter speed was due to be added to Photo mode. The former setting appears as Camera timeout under Camera preview in version 4.5.00.20, which a Galaxy S25 Ultra ran when checked in November 2026, and it can be set to last for 1, 2, 5 or 10 minutes before the app closes itself, but not indefinitely. The 1/60s option wasn't there on that phone, where Minimum shutter speed still offered 1/1000, 1/500, 1/120 and 1/30. SamMobile also reports that Mirror View is available on the Galaxy Z Fold8 and Z Flip8. Our Camera Assistant guide explains every setting.

Camera settings that moved or were renamed

Samsung’s announcement skips the Camera settings menu, so here’s a comparison of Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series’ US-based support page (created prior to One UI 9) and the actual Camera settings menu on a Galaxy S25 Ultra with One UI 9 in November 2026. It’s worth noting that some of these changes have already landed on the Galaxy S26 series, including the RAW option now sitting under Photo format in One UI 8.5’s user guide.

Under Prioritize quality, the phone explains that this option will take photos with the best possible quality. Meanwhile, Prioritize speed will take photos quickly with little photo processing. There’s also a Scene detection toggle that, when turned on, will optimise colours and contrast in photos based on what’s being photographed. Note that all of these settings only apply when taking photos in Photo mode. See our Scene Optimizer guide, which explains when you shouldn’t use it, and our camera settings guide, which goes through each and every menu option in One UI 9’s Camera settings from top to bottom.

Single take and Dual rec in Camera Assistant

Camera Assistant also controls access to Single take and Dual rec on the S25 Ultra: these have become options/switches (under Additional modes) that need to be enabled in order to show up as camera modes. Other features tucked away in Camera Assistant include focus peaking, zoom shortcuts, a swipe gesture to take burst photos and Auto HDR. Our Single Take guide explains what the mode records.

Exposure tips in the One UI 9 Tips app

The Tips app in One UI 9 lists 11 tips related to taking photos and videos, with two of those being about exposure.

• Exposure memory means a value set with Exposure in Quick controls will stick per shooting mode.
• Exposure monitors in Pro and Pro video modes include a Zebra option that adds stripes to help indicate overexposed areas.

Neither is exactly new. Samsung mentioned in the One UI 7 camera updates on Samsung Members that the Galaxy S24 series can have different exposure settings per shooting mode and get zebra stripes on Log videos shot in Pro video mode.

Expert RAW's new Virtual Reflector

If you take pictures of people with strong backlighting (say standing in front of a window or with the sun behind them), you may find the Virtual Reflector (in the Labs/flask icon menu) useful. This emulates the effect of using a reflector to shine some light back on to the face to avoid it being silhouetted. You can specify if the reflector is Silver (neutral) or Gold (to add some warmth), and either specify the reflectance and direction of the reflected light, or leave both on Auto.

It debuted on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Expert RAW v6.0.02.4 on One UI 9 marks Virtual Reflector as new for the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy S26 Ultra. It can also be found as a downloadable feature in Expert RAW’s Labs section. According to SammyGuru, after the One UI 9 update Expert RAW on the Galaxy S26 series asks you to switch on and download Virtual Reflector and Virtual Aperture again. If these features are not found in Expert RAW after updating to One UI 9, check in Labs.

SammyGuru reported that Virtual Reflector was available as part of Expert RAW on the Galaxy S25 from One UI 8.5. Meanwhile, Android Authority reported in August 2026 that Virtual Reflector was still being tested on the Galaxy S25 series on internal builds of One UI 9. When checked on a Galaxy S25 Ultra running Expert RAW v6.0.02.8 on One UI 9 in November 2026, Virtual Reflector is indeed available in Expert RAW’s Labs section (listed between Ocean mode and Virtual aperture). If you can’t find Virtual Reflector on your Galaxy S25 series phone, make sure Expert RAW is up to date from the Galaxy Store and look in the Labs section. Everything else about this app is discussed in our Expert RAW guide.

Gallery and editing changes

The biggest change is that, according to notices from both Microsoft and Samsung, Samsung Gallery stopped syncing photos and videos to OneDrive on 30 September 2026. With One UI 9, this is replaced by a new feature, Sync with Google, which lets you sync your photos and videos to Google Photos. You turn it on in Gallery under Menu → Settings → Sync photos and videos → Sync with Google. As mentioned in Samsung’s Singapore support page, by default, only photos and videos in the Camera album will be synced to Google Photos. More albums can be selected for syncing under Albums.

It’s prominently featured in Tips’ What’s new section (one of only three cards featured there, none of which have anything to do with the camera). Photos and videos will be synced in original quality, according to Samsung’s India website, and take up space from your Google account’s 15GB of storage. Deletions will also be synced. Deleted photos and videos will be sent to the bin, and will be retained for 30 days. A personal Google account is required, as Workspace and supervised accounts won’t work. Photos and videos stored on an SD card won’t be synced unless they’re transferred to internal storage. On a Galaxy S25 Ultra, this feature is even the highlight of Samsung’s One UI 9 Tips app. Our Gallery app guide covers organising and backing up your library.

Meanwhile, Samsung says the Gallery’s AI-powered Photo Assist (introduced in One UI 8.5) will now support voice commands for describing edits. It’ll also let you view images side-by-side to compare changes made. As with most AI features, Samsung Account and network connectivity may be required, image dimensions may be adjusted, and AI-generated content will come complete with watermarks. Our One UI 8.5 photo features guide walks through each Photo Assist tool.

Samsung says Document Scan has also been tweaked to better account for curves in book pages and papers with folded corners, requiring less manual intervention. The Finger Eraser feature, which removes fingers that might have ended up in the shot, has also seen improvements. You can read all about Samsung’s other AI-based camera features in our Galaxy AI camera features guide, and its photo editing capabilities for day-to-day use in our photo editor guide.

Model checklist

After updating them to One UI 9, SamMobile also looked at the changes that landed on the three generations of S-series phones it has for comparison.

Samsung hasn’t broken down One UI 9’s improvements on a per-device basis for foldables or A-series handsets.

My FanCam made its debut on the Z Fold8 and Z Flip8, but the camera rows above haven’t been documented for other phones (other foldables or the A-series, for example), so check in your own camera app after updating.

What to check after updating

• If OneDrive sync was used in Gallery, enable Sync with Google in Gallery or Camera backup in the OneDrive app as Gallery doesn’t sync with OneDrive anymore.
• On an S26, open Expert RAW → Labs and download Virtual Reflector and Virtual Aperture again if they’re nowhere to be found.
• Look for the Single take and the burst swipe options in Camera Assistant under Additional modes and Shutter.
• Check if your Camera Assistant settings (such as 24MP on an S26) are still intact.
• Test out My FanCam with an older video clip with one person walking around to see if you like how it tracks people.
• Enable Horizontal Lock in Video mode at least once (on an S25) so you know where to find it.
• Expert RAW and Camera Assistant receive updates separately from the rest of the phone, so check for any new versions in Galaxy Store → Menu → Updates.