Samsung redefines the future of mobile photography with Galaxy S20 Series

Mobile photography has seen a drastic change in the past couple of years. You have smartphones flaunting higher megapixel sensors, multiple lenses, hybrid zoom, cinematic video recording, the capability to shoot in pitch dark as well as deliver DSLR-style portrait shots. Amidst all of this, both tech reviewers and consumers continue to have a constant curiosity about what would be the next game-changer in mobile photography. We have witnessed Apple, Google and Samsung deliver some of the best smartphone cameras in the past but it was brands like Xiaomi, OPPO and Huawei that delivered innovative camera tech in 2019. For 2020, it seems Samsung wants to dominate the smartphone camera segment and their latest flagship devices in the Galaxy S20 series is the first move from the company to show off its technology prowess in mobile photography.

At its Galaxy Unpacked 2020 event in San Francisco last night, Samsung announced its Galaxy S20 series. The series includes three smartphones – Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 Plus and Galaxy S20 Ultra with top-of-the-line hardware specifications and features. However, it’s the camera setup on the three that have been in the news for a while – there were rumors of Samsung launching a phone with a 108MP camera and this was confirmed last night with the flagship, Galaxy S20 Ultra. The S20 Ultra is Samsung’s first device with a 108MP primary camera. Xiaomi has the Mi Note 10 with a 108MP camera, but it’s available only in China at the moment and is expected to launch in India next month. Considering, the S20 Ultra is expected to launch in India on March 8 as per rumors, it would be the first commercially available smartphone in the world with a 108MP camera that would give Samsung a big first-mover advantage. It is not just the large MP number on the sensor that is impressive, Samsung has also employed 9-in-1 pixel binning on the sensor. Along with this are optical image stabilisation and an f1.8 aperture. This means that the photos from the 108MP sensor will be shot at 12MP resolution ensuring fantastic details as well as superior clarity in low light.

Coupled with the 108MP primary camera, the S20 Ultra also has the first-of-its-kind 48MP periscope camera. We have seen a periscope camera from other brands and they have been impressive – OPPO has a 13MP periscope lens on the Reno 10X zoom while Huawei offers an 8MP one on the P30 Pro. However, with a 48MP periscope camera, Samsung has changed the game altogether, not only have they managed to offer an absurd 100X zoom along with 10X hybrid optical zoom, but they will also be able to offer better details thanks to the larger sensor with 4-in-1 pixel binning and optical image stabilisation. Of course, you would need to use it with a tripod or gimble to be able to use the 100X zoom but from a consumer marketing angle, it is something no one else offers to date.

Samsung is also changing the game in smartphone cameras for video recording. All the phones in the S20 series support 8K video recording capability from the rear camera and 4k video recording from the front camera – this opens up a whole new world for content creators. Plus, you get features like HDR10+ support, stereo sound, super-stabilised video recording, video bokeh, and super slow-motion videos. There is no other phone that offers this suite of video capabilities and it seems unlikely that they would be matched on a single device anytime soon.

Along with this capable hardware, Samsung has also done work on the software front for the cameras. The cameras software has been optimised to get the best results and has integrated AI features. One of the new features is called Single Take which captures photos and videos for 10 seconds using all the cameras and then uses the AI to suggest the best shot for you to keep. Similarly, the AI is integrated to optimise features like a night shot, 100X Super Resolution Zoom and stabilised action camera like video recording.

A few features are missing as well compared to its predecessor, the S10+. There is no dual-pixel phase-detect autofocus and Samsung has also done away with the dual aperture feature which allowed for an f1.5 aperture value in low light. We are hoping that the new hardware is capable enough to take care of the advantage that these features gave to the S10+.

From an industry perspective, one can argue that not all of these features are new when you look at the existing smartphone landscape. However, Samsung has managed to offer all of these features on a single device and that is what matters. With the Galaxy S20 series, Samsung has gone all out to redefine what your smartphone cameras are capable of and at the same time setting up new standards for flagship smartphones to try and match for the remaining year.