Android Central Labs
Android Central Labs is a weekly column dedicated to in-depth analysis, experimentation, and a focused look at the technology you use. This includes phones, tablets, and everything in between.
When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S26 series in late February, one of the biggest surprise moments of the show was Horizontal Lock, a new video recording feature that keeps your videos steady and straight no matter how much you toss or rotate the phone.
In other words, Samsung users who buy the expensive Galaxy S26 phone may get an amazing new video recording feature, but people can save a lot of money by choosing Motorola and won’t miss out. This means phones like $500 The Motorola Edge 2025 and the more expensive Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 all support the same feature, but can the quality match Samsung’s best? Let’s find out.
Article continues below
finding the horizon line
Horizon Lock on Motorola phones and Horizon Lock on the Samsung Galaxy S26 series seem to work identically from a descriptive standpoint. Both features use the main and ultrawide sensors on the back of your phone to create a fused video. Thus, these features reduce video quality slightly, usually limiting the resolution to 1080p at 30 FPS, however The Galaxy S26 Ultra upgrades this to QHD resolution.
As these cameras record video, a sophisticated AI-based algorithm uses visual understanding to determine the horizon line. Despite how it feels, you No Your video must be outdoors or have a clear horizon line or landscape. I also recorded it in a room with a blank wall, and the Motorola Edge 2025 kept the video straight even when I moved it around.
In addition to using both the main and ultrawide cameras on the back, Motorola and Samsung phones use the phone’s gyroscope and accelerometer to determine how the phone is being moved. This data is translated in real time, helping to keep the video in portrait or landscape orientation no matter how the phone is rotated.
Most displays, like my 2023 display above, focus on rotating the phone 360 ​​degrees. In most real-world situations, there’s no chance you’ll be doing this with the phone while recording a video. That’s okay, because Horizon Lock is designed to adapt to any movement and keep your video locked in place.
Maybe you’re traveling as a passenger in a car, recording video out the window, or maybe you’re on a summer vacation on a boat, filming the lake while a family member is driving the boat. These features smooth out normal fluctuations in vehicle speed, and they work even better than electronic stability features on older phones.
samsung vs motorola
In the video below, you can see the difference between Samsung’s horizontal lock and Super Steady mode on the Galaxy S26 Ultra compared to a normal (non-steady) recording using the same movements. The Motorola Edge 2025’s display in the second half uses the two available modes, Horizon Lock and standard video, as Motorola does not offer a middle option on this phone.
My colleague, Derek Lee, also used his Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 to test the feature and found that Motorola has an orientation button on that phone to change the orientation to portrait or landscape mode that is not found on Motorola’s cheaper phones (or the Galaxy S26 series). This lets you record in any orientation without having to physically rotate the phone (although you’ll probably want to do that), which can come in handy, especially when recording one-handed.
image 1 Of 2
As you might expect when comparing a $549 phone to a $1,299 phone, the video recording quality of the cheaper model is significantly lower. The quality of the Motorola Edge 2025 drops significantly when Horizon Lock is enabled, so if you’re looking for top quality this isn’t a feature you’ll want to use on that model.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S26 Ultra does a surprisingly good job of maintaining consistent video quality when using horizontal lock mode, despite the drop in resolution from my usual 4k60 setting. More capable Motorola phones like the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 will get higher quality video with the Horizon Lock feature.
You’ll also notice that videos recorded using Horizon Lock or Horizontal Lock are significantly wider than videos recorded with the main camera lens. This is because these stabilization features rely heavily on the ultrawide camera and, as such, use it as the main video feed.
image 1 Of 4
I also noticed that the Galaxy S26 Ultra did a better job of keeping videos clear even when moving the phone around. There are limits to this, as low-light conditions or faster (or more uneven) rotation will result in a lower quality video, but the fringing on the left and right of the Motorola video is almost non-existent in the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s video.
It’s impressive to see that Motorola offers such an advanced feature even on its cheaper phones, whereas Samsung only offers it on some of its most expensive phones. This is especially prominent considering Samsung’s recent price hikes. I also like that Motorola scales features based on the capabilities of the phone, so you’ll get more options on a more powerful phone like the Razer Ultra 2025 than on the Edge 2025, which is half the price.
If you’re looking to try out Horizon Lock on a Motorola phone this year, it’s important to make sure it has an ultrawide-angle camera onboard. The best quality video you’ll get from the Galaxy S26 Ultra at this stage is great, but there’s something to be said about democratizing such a great feature for which Motorola deserves real credit.
Samsung may be late to the Horizon Lock party, but the company is delivering high quality, ultra-stabilized video on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and it’s simply amazing to experience.
