So there I was, walking down the streets in what is one of the poshest parts of my city, when I noticed a procession of hot cars (with some insane exhaust notes) making their way through traffic. Those cars were a bit far away, so I start jogging towards them so I could record a video on my Galaxy S10+. I opened the camera app as I got closer, quickly switched to the video recording mode, and aimed it at the cars.
Once I was done, I looked at the phone to hit the stop button, and that's when I almost cried out in frustration. You see, in my excitement, I had forgotten to hit the start button, meaning I failed to capture those mechanical beauties on my phone. Of course, this can happen to anyone, but my frustration was a result of having run into the same issue a few other times, and I have really come to despise the dedicated video recording mode since then.
Inspired by the iPhone? Dictated by Google? No one can be sure
The iPhone has long had separate video and photo modes, but Samsung's decision to add a dedicated video mode to its phones may also have been driven by Google. Samsung's Multi Window functionality has been stripped down on Pie thanks to Google's policies, and since Pixel phones also come with a separate video recording mode, it may have been the reason for Samsung making the move as well.
Of course, it's not something we can confirm, and it may just have been the iPhone that served as inspiration here. Whatever the reason may be, the dedicated video mode on One UI didn't go down well with everyone, and users lost the ability to record videos in Pro mode as a result. I had personally thought it would be easy to get used to the change, but that's not what has happened.
Android Pie does give you an option to make the camera app start on the mode you used the last time, but having separate video and photo modes means you need extra time to pick the correct mode every time you launch the camera, making that option a non-solution. And that extra step can make all the difference when you want to quickly capture a moment before it passes you by.
Samsung probably isn't going to change anything
Naturally, fumbling with camera modes is more of a problem for still pictures than videos, since moments that you capture on video aren't usually as short as those you take photos of, but it is still an unnecessary complication that Samsung could easily fix. But it probably won't, considering it has already had ample time to revert to the traditional video recording button from before Android Pie but hasn't done anything yet.
And in my eyes, the separate video recording camera mode will always be one of the most problematic changes that Samsung's beautiful One UI brought to its phones. It may come off as nitpicking to some, but I'm pretty sure there are plenty of people out there who agree with me. Sadly, regular consumers are unlikely to complain about this so it's just something we'll have to live with, as frustrating and–when it comes to the inability to record videos in Pro mode is concerned–as limiting as it may be.
What do you think? Have you managed to adjust to the dedicated video mode on your Galaxy phone camera after the Pie update, or is it something that continues to irk you?
