Samsung will deliver one of the Galaxy S26's key camera features to last year's S25 series through a software update, extending portrait photography capabilities beyond the primary lens for the first time.
The Virtual Aperture feature, which debuted on the Galaxy S26 series earlier this year, allows users to adjust background blur intensity in portrait photos using software simulation. While already available on Galaxy S25 devices for the main camera through Samsung's Expert RAW app, a company executive confirmed plans to expand support to telephoto lenses.
A Samsung camera development team leader responded to user requests about bringing Virtual Aperture to the S25 series' 3x and 5x zoom cameras, stating the company is considering adding support. Community moderators provided more definitive confirmation with a blunt response: "Yes. We will support up to S25."
Virtual Aperture mimics DSLR aperture priority mode by using depth map data from dual camera arrays to create adjustable background blur effects. Since smartphone lenses have fixed physical apertures, Samsung's software analyzes subjects' hair, skin, eyes, and facial contours to generate natural-looking blur adjustments.
The expansion makes particular sense for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which features high-quality 3x and 5x telephoto cameras that currently lack software-controlled depth adjustment capabilities. Adding Virtual Aperture support would provide photographers with greater creative control when shooting portraits at different focal lengths.
Samsung introduced several software-based camera improvements with the Galaxy S26 series rather than focusing solely on hardware upgrades. Another notable addition exclusive to the newer device is Horizon Lock video stabilization, which keeps footage perfectly level even when rotating the phone 360 degrees by cropping and digitally rotating images in real-time.
The company unveiled its latest Camera and Gallery features last month but didn't initially specify which capabilities would reach older models. The decision to bring Virtual Aperture to previous-generation flagships follows user feedback requesting expanded functionality for telephoto lenses already present on premium devices.
Galaxy S25 series owners can expect the feature update through future software releases, maintaining camera parity between generations without requiring hardware upgrades.
