Android Central Labs
(Picture credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)
Android Central Labs is a weekly column dedicated to deep dives, experiments, and a centered look into the tech you employ. It covers telephones, tablets, and every thing in between.
When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S26 sequence on the finish of February, one of many greatest wow moments of the present was Horizontal Lock, a brand new video recording characteristic that retains your movies regular and straight, regardless of how a lot you bounce or flip the cellphone.
In different phrases, Samsung customers who purchase an costly Galaxy S26 cellphone may be getting an incredible new video recording characteristic, however folks can save some huge cash by selecting Motorola and never miss out. Which means $500 telephones just like the Motorola Edge 2025 and the costlier Motorola Razr Extremely 2025 all help the identical characteristic, however can the standard match up with Samsung’s greatest? Let’s discover out.
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Discovering the horizon line
(Picture credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)
Horizon Lock on Motorola telephones and Horizontal Lock on the Samsung Galaxy S26 sequence seem to work identically from a descriptive standpoint. Each options make the most of the primary and ultrawide sensors on the again of your cellphone to create a fused video. As such, these options cut back video high quality a bit, sometimes capping out at 1080p decision at 30 FPS, though the Galaxy S26 Extremely upgrades that to QHD decision.
As these cameras report video, a complicated AI-based algorithm makes use of scene understanding to find out the horizon line. Regardless of what that feels like, you do not have to be outdoors or have a transparent horizon line or panorama in your video. I even recorded it in a room with a clean wall, and the Motorola Edge 2025 saved the video oriented straight, whilst I spun it round.
Along with utilizing each essential and ultrawide cameras on the again, Motorola and Samsung telephones use the cellphone’s gyroscope and accelerometers to find out how the cellphone is being moved. This information is then translated in actual time, serving to to maintain the video in portrait or panorama orientation regardless of how a lot the cellphone is rotated.
Most demonstrations, like my very own above from 2023, give attention to spinning the cellphone 360 levels. In most real-world conditions, there is not any likelihood you may be doing this with a cellphone whereas recording a video. That is high-quality, as Horizon or Horizontal Lock are designed to adapt to any motion and hold your video locked in place.
You may be driving as a passenger in a automobile, recording video out the window, or perhaps you take a summer time trip on a ship, filming the lake whereas a member of the family drives the boat. The traditional bumps and turns of auto motion are smoothed out by these options, they usually work even higher than the digital stability options on older telephones.
Samsung vs. Motorola
Samsung vs Motorola: Horizon lock in contrast – YouTube
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Within the video under, you may see the distinction between Samsung’s Horizontal Lock and Tremendous Regular mode on the Galaxy S26 Extremely in contrast with a traditional (non-stabilized) recording utilizing the identical actions. The Motorola Edge 2025 demonstration within the second half makes use of the 2 out there modes, Horizon Lock and commonplace video, as Motorola does not supply the center choice on this cellphone.
My colleague, Derrek Lee, additionally used his Motorola Razr Extremely 2025 to check the characteristic and located that Motorola has an orientation button on that cellphone that is not discovered on Motorola’s cheaper telephones (or the Galaxy S26 sequence) to vary the orientation to portrait or panorama mode. This allows you to report in both orientation with out bodily turning the cellphone (though you may most likely need to), which might turn out to be useful, significantly when recording one-handed.
What to learn subsequent
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(Picture credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Picture credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)
As you may count on when evaluating a $549 cellphone to a $1,299 cellphone, the cheaper mannequin’s video recording high quality is considerably decrease. There is a substantial drop in high quality on the Motorola Edge 2025 when Horizon Lock is enabled, so it is not a characteristic you may need to use on that mannequin if you happen to’re searching for top-notch high quality.
In the meantime, the Galaxy S26 Extremely does a surprisingly good job of sustaining constant video high quality whereas utilizing Horizontal Lock mode, regardless of a drop in decision from my regular 4k60 setting. Extra succesful Motorola telephones just like the Motorola Razr Extremely 2025 will get higher-quality video from the Horizon Lock characteristic.
You may additionally discover that movies recorded utilizing Horizon Lock or Horizontal Lock are fairly a bit wider than movies recorded from the primary digital camera lens. That is as a result of these stabilization options rely closely on the ultrawide digital camera and, as such, use it as the primary video feed.
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(Picture credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Picture credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Picture credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)(Picture credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)
I additionally observed that the Galaxy S26 Extremely did a greater job of maintaining the video trying clear, even once I spun the cellphone round. There is a restrict to this, as decrease lighting situations or quicker (or extra uneven) spinning will produce lower-quality video, however the fringing on the left and proper sides of the Motorola video is sort of nonexistent within the video from the Galaxy S26 Extremely.
It is spectacular to see Motorola supply such a complicated characteristic even on its cheaper telephones, whereas Samsung solely affords it on a few of its most costly telephones. That is particularly distinguished given the latest worth hikes from Samsung. I additionally like that Motorola scales options primarily based on the cellphone’s capabilities, so you may get extra choices on a extra highly effective cellphone just like the Razr Extremely 2025 than on the Edge 2025, which is half the worth.
For those who’re trying to attempt Horizon Lock on a Motorola cellphone this yr, the bottom line is to make sure it has an ultrawide-angle digital camera onboard. The Galaxy S26 Extremely may get you the highest quality video on this scenario, however there’s one thing to be stated about democratizing such a cool characteristic that Motorola deserves to get actual credit score for.
Samsung may be late to the Horizon Lock celebration, however the firm is delivering greater high quality, ultra-stabilized video on the Galaxy S26 Extremely, and it is merely superior to expertise.
