Samsung Galaxy S10 range dedicated night mode update with major camera improvements finally hits the US

About a month ago, Samsung started sending out an update that brought a dedicated night mode to the Galaxy S10 phones. While the devices launched with the night mode feature, it was automatic and could only be triggered by AI scene recognition. That update, as is usual, hit the company's Exynos models first, but is finally being brought to the Snapdragon devices. It did hit Hong Kong models, which feature the Snapdragon 855, a while ago, so this is another case of the US lagging behind the pack.

In the US, the only carrier to bring the feature is AT&T. The carrier's June OTA was delayed, and it may have been in an attempt to implement the new camera features. The update ensures that users can now toggle on the Night Mode—which is particularly useful as some users may opt to shoot in Night Mode even in good lighting conditions, in an attempt to improve details. Google and Huawei's Night Modes manage to pull in more detail than other modes when used in regular lighting conditions, for example.

Samsung has steadily improved the S10 range's cameras and this camera update is one that ensures that the S10 phones now compete against the Pixel 3 in low-light conditions, even managing to come out on top in a number of scenarios. From the images below, we can see that the S10+, on the new update, manages to handle light and shadows much better than the Pixel 3's Night Sight. While the Pixel's images remain brighter, the S10+'s shots are objectively better and more aesthetically pleasing.

We expect the other three major US carriers to implement the improvements in the next OTA. 

Images courtesy of AnandTech.