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When Samsung introduced Galaxy S26 series One of the highlights of the show at the end of February was the new video recording feature Horizontal Lock, which keeps your videos steady and level no matter how much you bounce or turn the phone.
In other words, Samsung users who buy the expensive Galaxy S26 might get an amazing new video recording feature, but people won’t be missing out on a lot of money by choosing Motorola. That means phones like $500 Motorola Edge 2025 and more expensive Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 all support the same functionality, but can the quality match Samsung’s best? Let’s find out.
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Finding the horizon line
Horizon Lock on Motorola phones and Horizontal Lock on the Samsung Galaxy S26 series work in a descriptive way. Both features use the main and ultra-wide sensors on the back of your phone to create a composite video. As such, these features reduce video quality slightly, usually limited to 1080p resolution at 30 FPS, although Galaxy S26 Ultra upgrades it to QHD resolution.
When these cameras record video, a complex algorithm based on artificial intelligence uses the understanding of the scene to determine the horizon line. Whatever it sounds like, you don’t do it must be outside or your video must have a clear horizon line or landscape. I even recorded it in a room with a blank wall, and the Motorola Edge 2025 kept the video oriented flat even while scrolling.
In addition to using both the main and ultra-wide cameras on the back, Motorola and Samsung phones use the phone’s gyroscope and accelerometers to determine how the phone is moving. This data is then translated in real-time and helps keep the video in portrait or landscape orientation, regardless of how much the phone is rotated.
Most demos, like my demo above from 2023, focus on rotating the phone 360 degrees. In most real-world situations, you don’t have a chance to do this with a phone when shooting video. This is good because Horizon or Horizontal Lock is designed to adjust to any movement and keep your video locked in place.
You’re riding as a passenger in a car, shooting a video out the window, or maybe you’re on a summer vacation on a boat, filming on the lake while a family member is out on the boat. Normal bumps and turns in the car’s movement are corrected with these features, and they work better than the electronic stabilization features in older phones.
Samsung and 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 normal (unstabilized) recording using the same actions. In the second half, the Motorola Edge 2025 demo uses the two available modes, Horizon Lock and standard video, as Motorola does not offer a medium option on this phone.
My colleague Derrek Lee also used a Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 to test this feature and found that Motorola has an orientation button on that phone to change the orientation to portrait or landscape, which is not found on Motorola’s cheaper phones (or the Galaxy S26 series). This allows you to type in any direction without physically turning the phone (although you’ll probably want to), which can be very useful, especially when typing with one hand.
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As you’d expect when comparing a $549 phone to a $1,299 phone, the cheaper model’s video quality is significantly lower. The quality drops significantly on the Motorola Edge 2025 when Horizon Lock is enabled, so if you’re looking for high quality, it’s not 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 resolution drop from my usual 4k60 setting. More capable Motorola phones like the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 will get higher quality video from Horizon Lock.
You’ll also notice that videos recorded using Horizon Lock or Horizontal Lock are slightly wider than videos shot through the main camera lens. This is because these stabilization features rely heavily on the ultra-wide camera and use it as the primary video feed.
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I also found that the Galaxy S26 Ultra did a better job of keeping video sharp even when rotating the phone. This has a limitation, as low-light conditions or faster (or more uneven) rotation will produce lower-quality video, but fringing on the left and right sides of the Motorola video is almost non-existent in the video from the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
It’s impressive to see Motorola offering such an advanced feature even on its cheaper phones, while Samsung only offers it on some of its most expensive phones. This is especially noticeable Latest price hikes from Samsung. I also like that Motorola scales features based on the phone’s capabilities, so you’ll get more options on a more powerful phone like the Razr Ultra 2025 than the Edge 2025, which is half the price.
If you want to try Horizon Lock on a Motorola phone this year, the key is that it has an ultra-wide-angle camera on board. The Galaxy S26 Ultra may get you the best quality video in this case, but there’s something to be said for democratizing such a cool feature, which Motorola deserves real credit for.
Samsung may be late to the Horizon Lock party, but the company is delivering higher-quality, ultra-stabilized video on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and it’s simply beautiful to experience.
