Android 5.1 update brings RAW and lower ISO to Galaxy S6

The upcoming Android 5.1.1 update for Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge is eagerly awaited for numerous reasons but one of these will arguably transform the camera; RAW support.

It’s long been expected that the Android 5.1 update would bring RAW support – and at the same time, bring the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge on par with the LG G4 – but when the update was released a few days ago, there was no sign of the RAW support or the lower ISO value. However, it turns out that the update does bring the feature but it’s not available via the camera app as Samsung haven’t flipped the switch yet.

A new post on XDA Developers suggests that the features have been enabled in the Android 5.1.1 update but can only be accessed by a camera app that has full support for Lollipop’s Camera2 API. It’s already possible to customise the ISO value in the Pro mode on the Galaxy S6 but the update brings even an even lower value of ISO 50, which is equal to the standard found on many digital cameras. The update also adds manual control of the shutter speed and together, the new features enhance the Pro mode to offer manual controls that can rival the ones found on the LG G4 (which are a key selling feature of LG’s latest flagship).

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It’s unclear when Samsung will actually enable these features in the default camera application but hopefully it won’t take too long; if you’d rather not wait, head over to the Play Store to download a camera app and take advantage of the advanced camera features. Do you need manual camera controls on your smartphone or do you prefer auto mode? Let us know your views in the comments below.