Samsung Camera HDR: Where the Toggle Went and What's Left

There’s no HDR mode on the Galaxy’s camera app, but that’s not because HDR photos aren’t supported, quite the opposite. On Samsung’s flagship phones, HDR is enabled by default every time you take a photo in Photo mode, and there’s no separate HDR mode or setting in the camera to switch it on or off. Samsung removed the HDR option from its flagships’ camera apps a few years ago. Confusingly, there are a few options with HDR in the name that do different things.

Why the HDR switch disappeared

HDR (high dynamic range) imaging stitches together multiple exposures to capture images with a greater range of light, preserving detail in bright and dark areas (e.g. sky and foreground). On older Galaxy phones you could control when HDR was used either through the Auto HDR setting or the HDR (rich tone) option found in Camera settings.

According to Samsung’s Galaxy Camera FAQ, HDR became enabled all the time starting with One UI 4.0 to provide better quality photos, and the option to turn it off was removed. However, the Auto HDR toggle is still present on some devices. Samsung’s US support page for the Galaxy A16, A26, A36 and A56 phones lists it under Camera settings, General.

In October 2022, Samsung beta tested the Camera Assistant app for Galaxy S22 series phones. As MobileSyrup mentioned at the time, one of the features offered by the app was an option to disable HDR, a setting that was previously available within the Camera app itself.

Six HDR myths, checked against Samsung's own documents

We fact-checked six Samsung-related claims that you’re likely to come across in a comment thread, using Samsung’s support pages and user guides.

“My Galaxy doesn't do HDR any more”

This is incorrect. HDR is still used automatically in Photo mode.

HDR can dramatically improve photos taken in certain lighting situations, particularly when there is strong backlight. Instead of having an overexposed (blown out) sky and underexposed (too dark) subjects, HDR attempts to retain detail in both areas. Recent flagships dropped the HDR switch because Samsung wanted it on all the time.

“Super HDR is the camera's HDR setting”

Samsung’s Galaxy S26 user guide describes Super HDR as optimising the display to view the full range of colours and contrast in photos taken with Samsung Galaxy devices.

It’s not quite as simple as that, though. Super HDR isn’t new to the Galaxy S26; it first appeared with the Galaxy S24 as a system-wide implementation of Google’s Ultra HDR format. SamMobile adds that you can see Super HDR in action in the camera viewfinder when taking pictures.

What has changed since then is where you can enable and disable Super HDR, and what it affects. In One UI 6.1, there was a setting in the Gallery app that limited Super HDR to Samsung’s own photo viewer.

Meanwhile, One UI 7 moves the setting to Advanced features in the Settings app, and extends its remit beyond Gallery. SamMobile reports that it also covers Instagram and Threads.

“The HDR option in video settings changes my photos”

The video options only affect video. It’s worth noting that last year’s Galaxy S25 had a somewhat convoluted setup for enabling HDR10+ video recording. According to SamMobile, enabling HDR in Advanced video options enabled 10-bit HDR video recording, and a Camera Assistant toggle could switch this over to HDR10+. Samsung’s own general support documentation says HDR10+ recording can be enabled in Advanced video options in Camera settings, adding that it’s incompatible with 60fps recording and recording using the front camera.

Meanwhile, on the Galaxy S26 the Video format menu in Camera settings has received a new HDR option, which when enabled will add an HDR button on the preview screen for 10-bit recording. The Galaxy S25 Ultra has the same HDR switch in Video format after its One UI 9 update, next to High bitrate videos and Log (checked November 2026). The Galaxy S26 user guide adds that HDR-enabled videos can only be played back normally on HDR-capable devices. So you might run into issues where HDR content appears washed out, with Instagram being the most common app for this to happen. Our Samsung video quality on Instagram guide covers this in more detail. Our video settings guide and Log video guide cover the other formats.

“Pro mode photos get the same HDR processing”

Samsung’s FAQ for its cameras says HDR processing isn’t done in Pro mode, making that the easiest way to get a single-exposure image. But if there’s a bright window or sky in the frame, it can be blown out. Shoot for the highlights, and you can always lighten the darks later (preferably from a RAW file). Our RAW vs JPEG guide explains why the DNG gives you more room.

“Expert RAW switches HDR off”

It’s mostly the other way around. Expert RAW’s DNG is the result of multiple images, and one of the benefits of Expert RAW cited by Samsung is improved dynamic range. Android Authority echoes Samsung by saying the DNGs have greater dynamic range thanks to being created from multiple images, and it also notices Expert RAW applies slightly less processing than Pro mode.

You’ll be able to tweak the contrast yourself in post-processing software if you shoot in Expert RAW and import the DNGs into your preferred photo editing app.

Samsung’s camera FAQ page for 2023 also mentioned an Auto HDR toggle in Expert RAW’s settings to disable HDR processing, but the app’s layout can vary depending on the version, so make sure to check for yourself.

“Turning Auto HDR off always looks more natural”

Partly. Turn off Auto HDR and images will retain more of the contrast you’d expect from a more traditional camera. Scenes like sunsets and backlit portraits, however, won’t have as much detail in the highlights and shadows. Samsung’s Camera Assistant page claims Auto HDR can capture more detail in both the bright and dark areas of pictures and videos.

When the sun sets over a harbour, Auto HDR really comes into its own, because otherwise the boats would be too dark in comparison to the sun. Conversely, turning Auto HDR off doesn’t necessarily result in a loss in image quality if there aren’t a lot of bright or dark areas in the image.

Every HDR-related setting on a current Galaxy

Samsung also lists Scene optimizer and quality options in its Auto HDR FAQ since these settings affect the overall image processing. Our Scene Optimizer guide explains when to switch it off, and the camera settings guide covers the rest of the menu.

How to get a less HDR look

All of the following steps have to do with HDR itself. The natural-looking Samsung photos guide will walk you through matching symptoms to likely causes. Both noise reduction and sharpening can result in a similar processed appearance.

1. 1

   Turn off Auto HDR in Camera Assistant

   Auto HDR may also be available to turn on/off under Camera settings > General on A-series phones (for example, the A36 and A56), so check there first. On Samsung flagships you need to download an app called Camera Assistant (available on Galaxy Store) and you can launch it from Camera settings, then turn off Auto HDR in the app. According to Samsung’s camera FAQ, it’s also recommended to turn off a setting called Picture softening (Photo softening in Camera Assistant on One UI 9). Our Camera Assistant guide covers the rest of the app.

2. 2

   Cut the processing in Photo mode

   Go to Camera settings and disable Scene optimizer, then change quality to Minimum (according to Samsung this minimises post-processing and means fewer frames are used, so the camera should perform faster). On One UI 9 these options are under Photo enhancer. Disable Scene detection and choose Prioritize speed (which the phone describes as minimising image processing for faster picture taking, checked on a Galaxy S25 Ultra, November 2026).

3. 3

   Use Pro mode for difficult light

   Tap More > Pro. Set exposure based on the highlights, and make sure you’re saving a RAW image in addition to the JPEG (the S26 lists this as Pro mode picture format in Camera settings; phones running One UI 9 show it under Photo format).

4. 4

   Put the contrast back when you edit

   Some photos have been HDR’ed so much they look flat and glowing. If this is the case, try adding some contrast and slightly darkening the shadows to bring back some depth. This can be easily done in Gallery’s photo editor or in Lightroom.

5. 5

   Turn off Super HDR if the screen is the problem

   If some photos appear to have a lot of glare on your phone, but are fine on other devices (e.g. your laptop), you can turn off Super HDR in Settings, then Advanced features. According to Samsung, this display setting is meant to optimise viewing of HDR photos.

What's different on Galaxy A-series phones

Before installing anything, make sure the Auto HDR option is available under Camera settings > General on your Galaxy A16/A26/A36/A56 (according to Samsung’s website for the US).

Older flagship Samsung phones from before the change also kept the HDR toggle, as Samsung’s FAQ instructs users to turn off Auto HDR or HDR (rich tone) in Camera settings, depending on the phone.

Alternatively, on some mid-range phones you can turn off Auto HDR in Camera Assistant. The app made its way to the Galaxy A53 and A54 as of December 2023, listed the Galaxy A56 in its release notes as of January 2025 and became available on the Galaxy A34/A35/A36 with One UI 8.5 in 2026. The toggles available in Camera Assistant vary from phone to phone, so make sure Auto HDR is among them.

As for HDR video recording, GSMArena couldn’t find any such option on the Galaxy A57 or Galaxy A37, and Super HDR debuted with the Galaxy S24. According to a list of compatible phones published by SamMobile in December 2024, only the Galaxy S24 series and Z foldables support this feature.

The simplest option is to shoot photos in Pro mode (where available), which doesn’t apply HDR. Note that Samsung’s Expert RAW landing page claims that Expert RAW is available on some Galaxy A phones “with advanced camera systems”, without specifying which ones.