'This is a gimbal inside a smartphone' — Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Super Steady Horizontal Lock really can handle a 360-degree turn
Go ahead, spin it
· TechRadarNews By Lance Ulanoff published 26 February 2026
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While everyone is buzzing about Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra's impressive Privacy Display, I'm currently losing my mind over the upgraded Super Steady with Horizontal Lock video mode. It's essentially a digital gimbal inside your smartphone.
As advertised by Samsung and announced during Galaxy Unpacked in February 2026, this new mode, an upgrade from the previous motion-control Super Steady mode, can lock your video to a smooth, horizontal plane, even if you turn the camera a full 360 degrees.
Better yet, the feature doesn't require post-processing; you simply choose the setting, start shooting your subject, and move the camera as needed. The S26 Ultra's gyroscope and accelerometer track all movement, and then some clever, real-time image processing applies corrective adjustments to the video.
That all sounded pretty good, but I was anxious to try it out and, to be honest, it would be part of my final Galaxy S26 Ultra review, anyway.
I also wanted to be able to show the world proof that this works. You see, if I just shoot the video on the S26 Ultra while moving the camera all around and then upload it, all you'll see, I think, is smooth, horizontally correct video.
To prove this works, I set up my iPhone 17 Pro Max (which has its own "Action" video setting for motion control) on a tripod and made sure the Galaxy S26 Ultra was in full view. I filmed the S26 Ultra as I captured the Super Steady Horizontal Lock video.
As I filmed, I turned the S26 Ultra from side to side. Then I rotated it 180 degrees and finally spun it 360 degrees, all while shooting video.
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