On Samsung smartphones, the highest photo resolution is unavailable in pro (manual) mode. Only a quarter of that resolution is available in pro mode.
For example, on the S24 Ultra and S25 Ultra, 200 megapixels are unavailable in pro mode (tested in electronics store; I don't own one because it is far too expensive), and the highest available resolution there are 50 megapixels. 200 megapixels are only available in automatic mode.
On the A series, 50 megapixels or 64 megapixels (depending on the phone) are not available in manual mode, only 12.5 or 16 megapixels respectively. You can't even chose the resolution in pro mode, only the aspect ratio, where anything besides 4:3 just cuts down the field of view.
Even in automatic mode, the effective resolution will not be 50 or 64 megapixels if too little light is available. The phone enforces the use of pixel binning and scales the picture up from 12 or 16 megapixels respectively. There seems to be no way to turn this behaviour off, even though it would make sense to turn it off if a tripod is used, meaning exposure can be extended indefinitely.
Unlike Samsung, Xiaomi (and by extension Poco) does allow the highest resolution in pro mode.
How come Samsung doesn't allow it? And is there some way to enforce it?
My closest guess as to why they don't allow it would be to prevent inexperienced photographers from using it anywhere darker than daylight.
Samsung wants to enforce pixel binning in low light (4x more light but only 1/4 of resolution) and in manual mode to avoid underexposed handheld photographs, to protect the reputation of its cameras. But it would be better for power users to have the ability to manually pick the highest resolution if they want to, so they can use long exposure with a tripod. Exposure can be extended indefinitely with a tripod, so it doesn't matter there. The user should be given the choice.
Tip: if you are in the "twilight zone" where you have just a little too little light, you can still get the full resolution if you reduce the exposure value. Tap and then drag the sun icon to the left a bit. The picture will be underexposed but you get more detail.
Also, Samsung got rid of any resolution options below 12.5 or 16 megapixels (depending on phone), probably because smartphones' internal storage has grown significantly. 256 GB is not out of the ordinary nowadays, whereas the S7 from 2016 had only 32 GB in some regions such as Europe, which was even very little by 2016 standards. On the S7, the minimum photo resolution was 3.7 megapixels. On the S5, it was 2.1 megapixels. So the minimum resolution crept up over time, probably to enforce higher quality photographs.
The iPhone never had a photo resolution selector to begin with, and only added it once it entered high-megapixel realm (48 megapixels). For example, on the 2011 iPhone 4s, there was no option below 8 megapixels. I did not own one but I know this from testing in an electronics store.
To Samsung's credit, at least they allow real-time 120fps recording in "pro video" mode on their flagships. These 120 fps videos are not slowed down but encoded in real time, which is beneficial for video editing and also realistic appearance on an 120 Hz screen.
[I hereby release this post into the public domain under CC0 1.0.]
For example, on the S24 Ultra and S25 Ultra, 200 megapixels are unavailable in pro mode (tested in electronics store; I don't own one because it is far too expensive), and the highest available resolution there are 50 megapixels. 200 megapixels are only available in automatic mode.
On the A series, 50 megapixels or 64 megapixels (depending on the phone) are not available in manual mode, only 12.5 or 16 megapixels respectively. You can't even chose the resolution in pro mode, only the aspect ratio, where anything besides 4:3 just cuts down the field of view.
Even in automatic mode, the effective resolution will not be 50 or 64 megapixels if too little light is available. The phone enforces the use of pixel binning and scales the picture up from 12 or 16 megapixels respectively. There seems to be no way to turn this behaviour off, even though it would make sense to turn it off if a tripod is used, meaning exposure can be extended indefinitely.
Unlike Samsung, Xiaomi (and by extension Poco) does allow the highest resolution in pro mode.
How come Samsung doesn't allow it? And is there some way to enforce it?
My closest guess as to why they don't allow it would be to prevent inexperienced photographers from using it anywhere darker than daylight.
Samsung wants to enforce pixel binning in low light (4x more light but only 1/4 of resolution) and in manual mode to avoid underexposed handheld photographs, to protect the reputation of its cameras. But it would be better for power users to have the ability to manually pick the highest resolution if they want to, so they can use long exposure with a tripod. Exposure can be extended indefinitely with a tripod, so it doesn't matter there. The user should be given the choice.
Tip: if you are in the "twilight zone" where you have just a little too little light, you can still get the full resolution if you reduce the exposure value. Tap and then drag the sun icon to the left a bit. The picture will be underexposed but you get more detail.
Also, Samsung got rid of any resolution options below 12.5 or 16 megapixels (depending on phone), probably because smartphones' internal storage has grown significantly. 256 GB is not out of the ordinary nowadays, whereas the S7 from 2016 had only 32 GB in some regions such as Europe, which was even very little by 2016 standards. On the S7, the minimum photo resolution was 3.7 megapixels. On the S5, it was 2.1 megapixels. So the minimum resolution crept up over time, probably to enforce higher quality photographs.
The iPhone never had a photo resolution selector to begin with, and only added it once it entered high-megapixel realm (48 megapixels). For example, on the 2011 iPhone 4s, there was no option below 8 megapixels. I did not own one but I know this from testing in an electronics store.
To Samsung's credit, at least they allow real-time 120fps recording in "pro video" mode on their flagships. These 120 fps videos are not slowed down but encoded in real time, which is beneficial for video editing and also realistic appearance on an 120 Hz screen.
[I hereby release this post into the public domain under CC0 1.0.]
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