What you need to know: • DXOMark confirms that the Galaxy S24 Ultra has “a slight delay between pressing the shutter and the actual capture” • Early tests show Samsung has reduced shutter lag by 150ms on the S25 Ultra • The Galaxy S26 Ultra could finally solve this with new multi-mode sensor technology patents
The million-millisecond question: Why is Samsung lagging behind?
Here’s the thing: Samsung’s shutter lag isn’t all in your head. Over three months of side-by-side testing with the S24 Ultra, research confirms that the Galaxy S24 Ultra typically displays between 300 and 400 milliseconds of lag compared to competitors like the Pixel 8 Pro. It may not seem like much, but in photography terms, it’s the difference between capturing your toddler’s first steps and seeing a blurry mess of tiny sneakers.
The culprit? Samsung’s camera app has some peculiar default behaviors that prioritize image quality over speed. By default, Samsung takes the photo when you release the shutter button, not when you first press it, a decision that seems counterintuitive if you’ve used literally any other camera. Add to that Samsung’s trend of “favoring longer shutter times” for better image processing, and those milliseconds add up quickly.
Compare this to Apple’s approach: DXOMark notes that “the iPhone 16 Pro Max offered no shutter lag in most conditions, resulting in instant capture.” Meanwhile, Samsung’s own support documentation talks about “Zero Shutter Lag” technology, but the reality doesn’t quite match the marketing promise.
For parents at birthday parties or sporting events, this delay translates to lost expressions, interrupted movements, and that sinking feeling when the perfect moment slips away because your phone faltered.
Progress at last: Galaxy S25 improvements show Samsung is listening
I have encouraging news from recent testing of the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Early reports show that Samsung has “halved the shutter lag” compared to the S24 Ultra, reducing the lag by around 150 milliseconds. More importantly, this improvement translates to real-world shooting scenarios where you’re actually capturing the moments you want.
Testers confirm that the improvement is noticeable: “You are less likely to miss important moments and photos of your loved ones because your phone took a while to capture the photo.” The motion blur issues that plagued moving subjects also appear “reduced, if not completely gone” in the first few test sessions.
What this means for your photography: Instead of anticipating the shot and pressing early (a habit many Samsung users develop), you can now trust the camera to respond more like your finger expects. That 150ms improvement may seem technical, but it’s the difference between capturing the genuine surprise on a birthday child’s face and the moment after they’ve processed what’s happening.
However, Samsung still has work to do. Even with these improvements, recent tests show that “the Galaxy S25 Ultra was the only phone where I lost the theme repeatedly” compared to rivals in fast-action scenarios.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra could change everything with new sensor technology
Now, here’s where things get really interesting for 2026. Samsung has been quietly working on what could be the ultimate solution: advanced multi-mode sensor technology that could finally offer true zero shutter lag.
The patent filings reveal that Samsung is developing a “multi-mode image sensor architecture” with both “rolling shutter mode” and “global shutter mode” capabilities. In global shutter mode, “the processor is configured to cause at least one sensor in each of the plurality of detection modules to activate simultaneously,” technical jargon for instant capture without the rolling artifacts that cause delay.
Here’s why this is important: Today’s smartphone cameras capture images line by line (rolling shutter), creating inherent delays. Global shutter technology captures the entire image simultaneously, eliminating the root cause of shutter lag. Think of it as the difference between slowly unrolling a window blind and instantly opening them.
The S26 Ultra is also expected to feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 with a “main core clocked at 4.74 GHz.” This processing power becomes crucial for global shutter implementation because simultaneous sensor activation requires real-time processing of massive streams of data from multiple sensors activating at once. Combined with what is rumored to be an improved 12MP 3x telephoto sensor (the first telephoto upgrade “in five generations”), we could be looking at a fundamentally more responsive camera system in all shooting modes.
PRO TIP: While waiting for the S26 Ultra, Galaxy users can enable “Quick Tap Shutter” in Camera Assistant to “take the photo as soon as you press the shutter button” instead of when you release it.
Why this matters more than megapixels
Samsung has stuck with the same 200MP main sensor since the Galaxy S23 Ultra and, frankly, it’s fine. What Samsung really needs to achieve is responsiveness: the ability to capture life as it happens, not as it was happening a third of a second ago.
This gap in responsiveness affects how we actually use our cameras. When you can’t trust your phone to capture the moment, you start to overthink the shots instead of living them. You take five photos instead of one perfect one. You miss sincere expressions because you are compensating for the delay. The psychological impact goes beyond simple inconveniences: it fundamentally changes the confidence one feels when documenting important moments.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra represents Samsung’s best chance to finally match the instant gratification we get from the iPhone and Pixel cameras. With new sensor technology, more powerful processing, and hopefully some software improvements, Samsung could finally deliver on those “zero shutter lag” promises.
Until then? Burst mode is your friend, and you might consider keeping the Camera Assistant settings handy. Because while Samsung works on the perfect sensor, life’s perfect moments won’t be long in coming.