Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best camera phone you can buy right now, thanks to a great combination of hardware and software. One of these features was the ability to shoot 8K video at 30 fps, but it has been revealed that this particular feature has been quietly downgraded.

Reddit users noticed that the Galaxy S23 Ultra suddenly lost the option to enable high bitrate video. The toggle was there to boost the video bitrate to 100Mbit/s and allow for even better quality in the process; following a security update in July, a camera-centric update was made that left users stuck with recording 8K video at 80Mbit/s. It seems they are now stuck.

Samsung has not officially announced this change, but Android Police speculates that the high bitrate option may have been disabled for technical reasons. Apparently, turning this toggle on could cause stuttering and jerkiness in the final video.

Furthermore, given how rare affordable 8K TVs are, not many people record video in 8K to begin with. High bitrate 4K video recording is still possible, with boosted frame rates of 60 fps.

Also, even if it is not particularly popular, it is not a good idea for Samsung to discontinue the feature without any explanation. It is also not a good idea for Samsung to remove a feature without any explanation, even if it is not particularly popular.

In fact, it hasn't, and Reddit users are not happy about it. One user noted that 8K video mode is the only way to avoid Samsung's "terrible" oversharpening in 4K mode. The pain stings even harder when one considers that this change was made without any explanation.

That is especially true given how strongly Samsung pushed the S23 Ultra's 8K video capabilities in its marketing. Sure, it can record in 8K, but there's no improvement in picture quality due to higher bitrates.

If technical issues are the cause, Samsung needs to state that and provide a timeline for when the stuttering issue will be resolved. On the other hand, as long as the feature does not cause critical problems, it is a good practice to leave it as is. It is also a good idea to add a warning about potential downsides so that users can make an informed decision.

If you haven't already upgraded to Samsung's July security patch, make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. If you have already upgraded and are mourning the loss of high bitrate 8K, there is not much you can do. What you can really do is hope that Samsung sees some sense and restores that option in the next patch, or as part of a future One UI 6 upgrade.