While this feature is exclusive to the Ultra model, there's one brilliant camera trick that's available in all the latest S series phones. I'm talking about Horizontal Lock, and it is now reported to become available in the S25 family as well.
What's the Horizontal Lock feature in the Galaxy S26 series phones?
Horizontal Lock is a very useful capability that's currently only available in the Galaxy S26 series. You will find its icon in the top row of the Camera app, just next to the flashlight icon. Once you enable it, you will have a perfectly straight horizon no matter how much you move your phone.
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The horizon will remain straight even if you flip your Galaxy phone upside down. The feature basically uses the ultra-wide lens and allows you to choose between FHD and QHD resolutions.
It could come to Galaxy S25 phones
Unlike the Privacy Display, which relies on hardware, the Horizontal Lock is based on software, so Samsung users were really hopeful that it would be backported to previous S-line phones. Turns out, it actually is with the upcoming One UI 9 update. An X user named Fahad Ali Javed, who has access to a One UI 9 internal test version with build number DZG4, claims that he spotted the Horizontal Lock feature on his Galaxy S25 Plus.
Diving into the new One UI 9 internal on S25+ and found some incredible new additions—including features we thought were staying exclusive to the S26!
He apparently used the feature and found that the video remains flat even upon tilting or rotating the phone. Although Samsung hasn't officially confirmed its plan to backport this feature, if this leak turns out to be true, then it would definitely be great news for the Galaxy S25 users.
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As mentioned above, this camera trick has been spotted in the One UI 9 update, so it could be possible that the tech giant decides to introduce it to even older S series devices that are compatible with the upcoming One UI version. But that's just my educated guess, so please take this information with a grain of salt.
Would this camera upgrade make you drop your plan to get the Galaxy S26?
The feature is great, but…
Horizontal Lock feature spotted in S25 Plus. | Image by Fahad Ali Javed on X
The Horizontal Lock capability is definitely great and can turn out to be very helpful in different situations. However, it has a small drawback that you need to be aware of. Before I talk about that, it's important for you to understand how this feature actually works in the background.
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It uses a combination of very heavy software cropping and the phone's gyroscope data to ensure the horizon remains straight. This eventually results in you getting comparatively lower quality video than you would generally get when recording in the normal camera mode. That's one concern that users who have used this feature have pointed out.
A user mentioned on Reddit that although the feature is like total magic, you will experience a massive loss in the video quality upon using it. It struggles even more in low-light conditions that lack proper lighting. But I think Samsung could address these concerns through a software update.
I'm eager to give this feature a try
If you keep the above-mentioned complaints aside, you will realize that this S26 camera trick is really impressive. While vlogging his entire day using the Galaxy S26 Ultra, my colleague Victor used the Horizontal Lock feature and was really impressed by its output. Even popular creators like MKBHD consider it one of the best stabilization capabilities on a smartphone.
However, I wasn't able to give it a try personally since I have the S25 Plus, and it is currently exclusive to the S26 series. But if Fahad's claims turn out to be true, then I would be able to give this feature a try on my phone after upgrading it to One UI 9.
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Aman Kumar is a news writer at PhoneArena covering Google Pixel phones, Android features, AI-powered smartphone tools, and mobile tech news. Before joining PhoneArena, he spent over five years writing about consumer technology for publications like MakeUseOf, How-To Geek, and Guiding Tech. His current daily drivers are the Pixel 10 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus, while his red iPhone SE (2nd gen) remains a personal favorite. Aman also appreciates bold smartphone experiments and still considers the Nokia N-Gage one of the industry’s most iconic designs.
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