Your Galaxy camera can secretly ditch 24MP for 12MP, and Samsung explains why

Aug 11, 2026 — 3:38 AM ET

• Samsung says Galaxy cameras can fall back to 12MP under certain conditions, even when set to 24MP in the Camera Assistant app.
• These conditions include zoom, low light, Motion Photo, flash, continuous shooting, and heat.
• Some Galaxy Z Fold 8 and S26 Ultra users have reported seeing this downgrade behavior.

Samsung has explained why some Galaxy phones can switch from 24MP to 12MP shooting even when users have enabled the option to keep 24MP active in the Camera Assistant app.

The explanation comes after a Galaxy Z Fold 8 user reported the behavior on Samsung’s Korean community forum. A Samsung moderator initially said the feedback had been forwarded to the relevant team before returning with findings based on the affected users’ logs and original photos.

According to Samsung, the camera can automatically fall back to 12MP in certain situations to maintain stable shooting quality. Those conditions include zoom, low-light photography, Motion Photo, flash photography, close-up shots, continuous shooting from the third photo onward, and when the device’s surface temperature exceeds 45 degrees Celsius.

In the case investigated by Samsung, the Fold 8 was being used outdoors in hot conditions, causing its surface temperature to rise continuously. Samsung said this triggered a protective measure that resulted in photos being saved at 12MP.

The company also said that rapid consecutive shooting had triggered its continuous-shooting condition, providing another reason for the 24MP-to-12MP switch. Samsung recommends shooting at 1x zoom, keeping the phone at a moderate temperature, and allowing sufficient time between shots if you want to maintain 24MP resolution.

The behavior also doesn’t appear to be exclusive to the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Some Galaxy S26 Ultra owners have reported similar complaints on Reddit, although that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a software bug affecting all Galaxy phones.

Samsung’s explanation suggests the Camera Assistant setting isn’t an absolute override. Instead, the phone can still prioritize other camera and thermal safeguards under certain conditions.

If you’ve enabled the 24MP resolution setting in Camera Assistant > Advanced resolution options, don’t necessarily expect every photo to be captured at 24MP. In particular, shooting in hot conditions or rapidly taking multiple photos can still result in a 12MP image.