
Samsung just rolled out One UI 8.5 to millions of Galaxy devices. The update promises refined interfaces and fresh AI tools. Yet users discovered something missing the moment they opened the camera in video mode. Filters vanished.
The change caught many off guard. For years Galaxy phones let shooters apply color effects or artistic looks directly while recording at 1080p. That option sat prominently in the quick controls. Now the icon is gone. It stays absent across 1080p at 30 or 60 frames per second and in 4K. Photo mode still shows the full set of filters. The split feels arbitrary.
Android Authority tested the behavior on a Galaxy S26 Ultra running the One UI 9 beta. Filters simply do not appear in video. The site noted the removal spans both the stable One UI 8.5 and early beta builds of the next version. Such consistency points away from a simple glitch.
Complaints surfaced quickly on Reddit and TikTok. One user on a Galaxy S23 Ultra described hunting through every menu only to find the feature excised. Another posted a short video demonstrating the empty spot where the filter button once lived. The outcry echoes older frustrations. Samsung previously limited beauty effects on rear video cameras years ago. This time the entire filter palette took the hit.
Why drop the capability? Samsung has offered no public explanation. The company did not highlight the shift during the One UI 8.5 beta program. Nor has it responded to direct inquiries from journalists. That silence leaves owners to guess. Perhaps the move aligns with a broader redesign that favors post-capture editing. Or maybe engineering priorities shifted toward new AI video features that demand cleaner raw footage.
One UI 8.5 does bring genuine advances in video handling. Auto trim can identify highlights across multiple clips and assemble them automatically. Audio eraser isolates and removes background noise with surprising accuracy. Log recording support arrived for older flagships too. These additions target serious creators who plan to edit on desktop or in dedicated apps. They do not replace the quick creative spark a live filter once provided.
Some owners already found imperfect fixes. Record first without effects. Then open the Gallery editor and apply a look afterward. The process works but compresses the file. Quality takes a noticeable step down. A second workaround starts in photo mode. Choose a filter there. Then hold the shutter button to begin video recording. The effect carries over. The method feels clumsy. It breaks the natural flow many users expect from a flagship camera app.
The pattern of quiet feature cuts appears across recent One UI releases. Earlier versions removed face smoothing from the video editor on S23 and S22 models. Another update dropped a sharpen tool from the Gallery. Each time users voiced disappointment. Each time Samsung offered little comment. The company instead directs feedback through the Members app. Reports pile up. Occasionally a fix returns. More often the change stands.
This latest decision lands at an awkward moment. Samsung spent the past year promoting creative freedom. One UI 7 introduced custom AI filters generated from reference images. The Gallery gained undo and redo for every adjustment. Studio app received animation tools for text and stickers. Marketing emphasized expression. Removing a basic filter option during video capture undercuts that message.
Professional videographers may shrug. They shoot flat log footage anyway and grade later. Casual users who film family events or social clips feel the loss more acutely. A parent recording a child’s birthday wants warm tones in the moment. A traveler capturing street scenes wants instant drama. Post-production adds steps and requires more time. Not everyone carries the patience or skill.
Broader context matters. Samsung’s camera software now competes against Google’s computational photography and Apple’s Photographic Styles. Both rivals keep live creative controls accessible. Google offers real-time color grading in video. Apple lets users select tonal presets that apply across photo and video without switching modes. Samsung’s split approach looks like a step backward.
Yet the company shows no sign of reversing course quickly. One UI 8.5 continues its phased rollout. Millions more phones will lose the feature in coming weeks. Affected owners can submit reports through Samsung Members. Past experience suggests volume of complaints can influence outcomes. When enough voices highlight a pain point the software team sometimes listens.
Meanwhile the video editor in Gallery remains capable. It supports the same filter library that disappeared from live recording. Tones adjust with sliders. Effects stack. The tools simply arrive after the fact. For users willing to adapt the workflow stays viable. For those who prized immediacy the experience diminished.
And the silence from Samsung frustrates most. A short statement could clarify intent. Is this permanent? Will future betas restore the option with new refinements? Without answers speculation fills the gap. Some fear the change foreshadows further simplification that prioritizes AI automation over manual control.
Recent coverage adds weight to the frustration. PiunikaWeb cataloged user reports from multiple platforms and confirmed the interface no longer displays the filter icon even though surrounding controls stayed intact. Sammy Fans tested pre- and post-update devices side by side. The difference proved stark. Filters that appeared in One UI 8.0 simply evaporated in 8.5.
The episode reveals tensions inside Samsung’s product strategy. Hardware keeps improving. Sensors grow larger. Processing power expands. Software choices sometimes pull in the opposite direction. Features that once felt core become optional or absent. Owners who upgraded expecting continuity instead confront adaptation.
Whether the removal sticks remains unknown. Samsung has reversed course before when backlash grew loud enough. For now the camera app in video mode offers one less creative lever. The change is small on paper. Its effect on daily use feels larger. Users will keep filming. Many will keep wishing for the filter button that used to sit right there.
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