Your Samsung Galaxy phone could have a hidden pro camera feature — here’s how to find it

galaxy s23 plus camera module
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Knowing how to enable subject tracking autofocus on Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets is a must for any keen smartphone photographer. Subject tracking is where the camera, once focused on a subject, tracks that subject as it moves through the frame. 

This is an incredibly useful feature for things that are moving relatively quickly, like pets or running children. However, it's also useful for slower moving subjects — if you're taking a succession of portraits, for example, subject tracking allows the person in the frame to move about a bit into different poses, ensuring your camera refocuses as they move and that you'll still be locked onto their face.

Subject tracking autofocus is an increasingly common feature among the best mirrorless cameras today. That said, it isn't yet totally ubiquitous, and there are still cameras around now without it. Needless to say then, this is a really cool feature to have on a smartphone, and helps make Samsung Galaxy devices some of the best camera phones around.

Enabling subject tracking autofocus on your device is easy, but you could certainly miss it if you didn't know where to look. Thankfully, this guide has you covered, so here's how to use subject tracking autofocus on Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets. We've checked for this feature on our Samsung S23 and Galaxy S20

How to enable subject tracking autofocus on Samsung Galaxy devices

To make sure we're all on the same page before we begin, ensure your device is up to date. We can show you how to update a Samsung Galaxy device if you need some help.

1. Open Camera > Camera Settings

(Image: © Future)

Open the Camera app and tap the settings cog.

2. Toggle Tracking auto-focus on

(Image: © Future)

Scroll down and toggle on Tracking auto-focus.

3. Tap a subject to focus on it

(Image: © Future)

Now go back to your camera and tap on a subject to focus on them. A yellow box will appear around the subject to show it's in focus.

4. Move the subject or camera

(Image: © Future)

To test tracking out, either move your camera or move the subject so that they move somewhere else in the frame. You'll see the yellow box follows the subject and they remain in focus!


If you'd like to learn more Samsung tricks and tips, we can show you how to use Second Screen on Samsung Galaxy phones and tabletshow to restart the Samsung Galaxy S23, or how to use dual SIMs on Samsung Galaxy S23 if you want to run dual numbers on your phone. Find splitting the check tricky? Learn how to calculate tips on Samsung Galaxy phones.

TOPICS
Peter Wolinski
Reviews Editor

Peter is Reviews Editor at Tom's Guide. As a writer, he covers topics including tech, photography, gaming, hardware, motoring and food & drink. Outside of work, he's an avid photographer, specialising in architectural and portrait photography. When he's not snapping away on his beloved Fujifilm camera, he can usually be found telling everyone about his greyhounds, riding his motorcycle, squeezing as many FPS as possible out of PC games, and perfecting his espresso shots. 

Read more
Samsung galaxy s24 and galaxy s24 plus
Just got a Samsung Galaxy S24? Try these 11 features first
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs S25 Plus vs S25
Got a new Galaxy S25? Try out these tips and tricks to get the most out if it
Galaxy S25 Ultra next to macro shot of flower
I test camera phones for a living — here's 3 tips for taking great macro shots
Galaxy S25 Ultra cameras
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could feature a camera upgrade we haven't seen since the Galaxy S10
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Write better messages with Writing Assist on your Samsung Galaxy S25 — here's how
Samsung Galaxy S25 hands-on review.
Samsung Galaxy S25 just copied this useful feature from the iPhone 16 Pro — what you need to know
Latest in Samsung Phones
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge next to Galaxy S25 Plus
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy S25 Plus: Everything we know so far
Showing the front of a Galaxy S25 Ultra held in hand
One UI 7 will arrive late for US Samsung users — here’s when it’ll launch for you
samsung galaxy s25 edge mockup at galaxy unpacked
Galaxy S25 Edge is overhyped — I want Samsung to make this phone thinner instead
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Older Samsung phones are finally getting One UI 7 — here's all the devices
The iPhone 16 Pro Max (L) and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra rear cameras
I took 200 macro photos with Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. iPhone 16 Pro — here's the winner
Try Galaxy home screen on iPhone 16 Pro Max
You can now try Samsung's latest One UI 7 software on your iPhone — here's how
Latest in How To
An image of an iPhone screen showing the Safari app icon in the center
I got tired of Safari revealing my web searches in iOS 18.4 — this setting fixes that
AirPods Pro 2 in hand
Your earbuds are disgusting — here's the right way to clean them
ChatGPT logo on a smartphone screen being held outside
7 biggest ChatGPT mistakes — and how to fix them
a photo of a woman looking at her fitness tracker
Forget the treadmill — I boosted my metabolism and walked 2,000 steps with this 15-minute workout
a photo of a woman out for a walk
Forget running — I did this one thing to boost the calorie burn on my daily walks
Gemini logo on smartphone
Google's Gemini Deep Research is now free — I've got 7 quick tips to start using it now