[Updated] Samsung Galaxy S23 'bananagate' or camera blur issue reportedly persists after April update

Here’s the crux of the article in video form:

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on April 4, 2023) follows:

Samsung’s Galaxy S series is known for its flagship features and performance, and the latest Galaxy S23 is no exception.

The Galaxy S23 camera can capture high-quality images in most light conditions and has a wide dynamic range, accurate colors, and good detail.

However, like any technology, issues can arise, and in recent weeks, Samsung Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus users have been experiencing a camera bug that has caused significant frustration (1,2,3).

Affected users have reported that when they take a picture of text from a close range, a strange banana-shaped blur appears on the image.

Samsung has just released an update that bundles April security patch so users assumed that it would fix this bug. But unfortunately, the so-called ‘bananagate’ still persists even after updating their devices.

The persistence of this camera bug is particularly concerning given the importance of smartphone cameras in modern life.

the main camera only delivers blurred images when photographing documents. this is also noticeable in other images. nobody cares here? the Germans want to give back the scrap. Do the test yourself and photograph a text page. that’s awful! Almost all S23 and S23+ models are affected.
Source

I am having issues with trying to get the camera to focus on up close items. I’m getting some extreme blur with focus enhance being off but turning focus enhance on makes the the picture looks grainy.
Source

A Samsung moderator has responded by recommending users to maintain a distance of 40cm or more before shooting, or by zooming in using the zoom factor (x2x):

They also provided the reason why S23 Ultra users can’t reproduce this issue:

Regarding S23 Ultra, it’s a different story. That model has AF function in UW lens, and it automatically changes from Wide to UW lens in near distance, that’s why it looks different between S23 Ultra & others. Thanks.
Source

Allegedly a user contacted Samsung support regarding this issue and they acknowledged it as hardware related. Furthermore, they claimed that Samsung was going to change the camera module of affected phones:

Samsung Korea support has acknowledged that banana-issue is a hardware-fault and they gonna change the camera-module of the affected users phone based on the german forum reply.
mod to clarify: only if the user asks it of course, no global recall or anything.
Source

So, if you are facing Samsung Galaxy S23 camera blur issue, you can try contacting support and providing them with detailed information about this issue.

That said, we will closely monitor the situation and keep you informed of any updates as they become available.

06:05 pm (IST): We have come across another alleged acknowledgement, but unlike the previous one that suggested a hardware change, this says that the problem will be fixed via software update.

12:00 pm (IST): It seems that June 2023 update didn’t fix ‘bananagate’ bug as fresh reports (1, 2, 3) continue to pour in.

Note: You can check out our dedicated Samsung Galaxy S23 series update and bugs tracker for related information.

Featured image source: Samsung

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