Samsung’s Expert RAW app is getting its biggest overhaul in years — and it’s built for the Galaxy S27 series and One UI 9.5. The changes aren’t cosmetic tweaks. They’re structural: a reorganized interface, expanded manual controls, deeper RAW workflow tools, and clear signs that Samsung is finally preparing to add video support, even if it’s not ready yet.
This isn’t just an update. It’s a signal that Samsung sees pro-grade mobile photography as a differentiator again, not just for hardware, but for software control. And it arrives before the S27 launches, meaning users won’t have to wait for firmware patches or beta drops to get it. It ships with the phone.
The redesigned app opens with larger, clearer labels for ISO, shutter speed, and white balance. Manual adjustment panels are bigger. The quick controls menu has shifted from a single row to a multi-row grid, more space, less scrolling. At the top left, a new shooting mode selector gives one-tap access to Virtual Aperture, Virtual Reflector, ND filter, and astrophotography, all existing features, now surfaced differently.
You can force the app to remember your last-used mode on launch. Two customizable buttons sit beside the shutter. Assign them to exposure lock, histogram toggle, focus peaking, metering mode, autofocus area, aspect ratio, timer, or picture size. A padlock icon at the top right locks all settings, no more accidental taps mid-shoot.
The histogram now expands into a full-screen panel with separate red, green, blue, and luminance curves. That’s useful for precise exposure judgment, especially in high-contrast scenes. Virtual Aperture gets a wider range: f/1.4 to f/22, up from f/16 on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It’s still software-only, no physical variable aperture expected on the S27 Ultra, but the broader range gives more flexibility in simulating depth of field.
Burst mode is new. Up to 30 frames per session, saved as DNG files. A warning appears about storage use, fair, since each frame is a full-resolution RAW. Tint control joins white balance temperature.
Before, you could only shift between cool and warm. Now you can adjust green-magenta bias too, a basic but critical tool for accurate color correction. Aspect ratio selection is also now available within Expert RAW, not just in the main camera app. Video remains absent, but not ignored.
There’s a Videos section in settings with a Video stabilization toggle. Ocean mode includes options to change video resolution and frame rate. Neither works in this early build, but their presence confirms Samsung is building toward video capture in a future version. No timeline, no supported resolutions, no confirmation of Log profiles or bit depth, just scaffolding.
This is for the Galaxy S27 series, not retrofitted to older devices. SamMobile says the changes are tied to One UI 9.5 and the S27 launch cycle. No pricing or availability details were given, because Expert RAW is free, preinstalled, and part of the OS. It doesn’t cost extra.
It doesn’t require Galaxy AI Premium. It’s there, ready, when the S27 Ultra lands.
MDFiled by The Mobile Desk
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