It looks like Samsung is covering all possible bases to keep up with manufacturers like OnePlus and Google and retain their buyer base. While the Galaxy S10 series is still the cream of the crop and get all major updates first, Samsung is rolling out updates to S9 and S9+ at a surprisingly swift pace as well.

The most recent OTA update is a testament this, with the inclusion of ‘Night mode’ that was only available for the S10 series. This feature is supposed to significantly improve pictures taken in Night time or low-light. This new update is also Samsung’s response to Google’s Night Sight and OnePlus’s Nightscape.

At this point, the hardware is not up for question thanks to the powerful 12MP camera (dual in case of S9+) so it all comes down to the image processing and Night Mode’s algorithm. Reddit user tehosiris posted a thread that compares pictures (camera has been hand-held) in auto mode vs the new night mode on the Galaxy S9, and they are worth a peek.

Here’s a look:

Comparison #1

  • Auto
  • Night

There definitely is a significant improvement in Night Mode, the image is certainly more detailed and the lights are also more defined in the image towards the right. The image taken in Night Mode is also significantly sharper.

Comparison #2

  • Auto
  • Night

Usually, the image is very over-exposed in Night Mode at the cost of capturing all the elements but we were surprised at how natural this image looks. Also, notice how detailed the image manages to be in Night Mode without an excess focus on one particular element like it is for the balcony and sofa in the Auto shot.

Comparison #3

  • Auto
  • Night

There is absolutely no light in this set and the image is pretty bad, but we do acknowledge that the image is at least slightly coherent in Night Mode. It looks like there is no way to salvage an image if there is absolutely no light.

What do you think about these comparisons? Let us know in the comments!

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