I finally understand why I love Samsung tablets but can't force myself to use a Galaxy phone
I can't rely on Samsung phones in this area
This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
When will Samsung fix the camera? | Image by PhoneArena
Although as a digital nomad I'm always juggling my SIM card between phones, there's one device that is a mainstay at home and is religiously used when any kind of multimedia or light gaming with the kids is involved. It's the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11, Samsung's latest high-end tablet (at least until the Galaxy Tab S12 rolls out).
I use it mainly for catching up on the latest TV shows and movies, where it excels thanks to the lovely AMOLED screen, superb quad speakers, and fairly compact size that hits just the perfect spot. One UI is also very user-friendly on the larger screen, just as it is on Samsung's Galaxy phones.
And by all means, it's my favorite device to use at home. I have no plans of getting rid of it anytime soon.
But I recently realized something. While I absolutely adore the Galaxy Tab S11 I have at home, I just can't force myself to use a Galaxy phone these days, and the reason for that is the camera. Even the Galaxy S26 Ultra, yes.
Samsung's Achilles' heel remains the camera
Yes, it's the camera system that's the biggest letdown with Samsung's smartphones.
In my experience, Samsung phones struggle with noise and artifacts in pretty much any scenario where the lighting is less than a bright day's noon.
Moreover, for years, Galaxy S Ultra flagships have favored a lower shutter speed in order for those dense 200 MP sensors to soak up as much light as possible.
Great when taking landscapes out in nature, but totally impractical when you want to capture the precious moments of your children playing around or your pets having a blast around the house.
And ever since becoming a father, 90% of my camera roll is kids, not landscapes or still subjects.
Can you live with such a compromise? Not me.
I simply can't compromise on having a less than perfect camera with me all the time. Using a Galaxy phone still feels like such a compromise.
Earlier this year I definitely hoped that the Galaxy S26 series would finally resolve the issue, but it didn't.
Samsung has introduced some software settings that allow you to force the camera to use a faster shutter and therefore minimize blur, but it's a hidden setting in the Camera Assistant module that doesn't yield significantly better results. I limited the Galaxy S26 Ultra to never go below 1/120s, but this led to grainier and often underexposed shots.
I'm mad because the rest of the hardware and software are great
Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating for the sake of hating. I'm merely criticizing a line of products that have all the makings of being all-time greats but still can't nail the essential camera element.
For all the great features available in One UI, for all the impressive hardware and overall value, Galaxy cameras continue to let me down to this day, which is why Samsung product usage at home is limited to devices that you don't use for photography. Hence, enter the Galaxy Tab S11.
What am I using as a daily-driver? You might be surprised
When not daily-driving a specific phone for the purposes of a review, I've been dailying an Oppo Find X9 Pro.
It has a superb camera system that gels exceptionally well with my use case and captures lovely pictures and portraits of my kids. Ten out of ten, no notes.
It also has exceptional battery life and lots of great interface features that make it my favorite smartphone from the past few years. It's easily a multiple-day phone, depending on the usage, but it is one of the few devices that make it challenging to go through a full battery charge in a day.
The only issues? ColorOS is an unapologetic iOS clone, and the audio quality coming out of the loudspeakers is quite bad.
Still, not merely enough issues to sway me over the Samsung side.
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