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After confirming the Galaxy S24 launch for January 17, Samsung has gotten down to the business of hyping up the new flagships. It is teasing new AI capabilities of the phones, including AI-powered cameras. The company touts unprecedented clarity in zoom shots thanks to artificial intelligence, particularly on the Ultra model. A fresh leak has shed more light on what Samsung has up its sleeves. The new zoom camera can record 8K videos.
Galaxy S24 Ultra can capture 8K videos at 5x zoom
Samsung has made a major change to the camera hardware of its Ultra flagship this year. In place of a 10MP 10x zoom camera, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has a 50MP 5x lens. Thanks to the new high-resolution sensor, the zoom camera can now record 8K videos at 5x magnification, X tipster Ahmed Qwaider revealed. The Galaxy S23 Ultra can only record 4K videos with its zoom camera.
While the 200MP main camera of the 2023 model can capture 8K videos, you lose quality when zooming in unless you settle for 4K resolution. So, this change seems to have brought improvements to the overall camera experience of Samsung’s top-of-the-line flagship. If you are worried about shorter optical zoom capabilities (5x instead of 10), Samsung is using AI to match 10x optical zoom quality with in-sensor crop from the 5x lens.
This is something we have heard from another reputed leakster, Ice Universe. In fact, they say the Galaxy S24 Ultra captures better 10x zoom shots than the Galaxy S23 Ultra. “Many people are pessimistic about the quality of 10x photos taken by S24 Ultra… I was pessimistic [too]… until I saw the comparison of samples,” the tipster said. The new flagship “definitely” takes better pictures at 10x zoom, they added.
The same X post from Ahmed Qwaider adds that Samsung’s Single Take function will work even at 10x zoom. Single Take captures multiple photos and short videos of a scene at once. You can check the results and keep the best shots. Additionally, the Galaxy S24 Ultra‘s 5x zoom camera will be available in Portrait Mode. So, if you want to capture a close-up portrait, the new Samsung flagship can do it for you.
Older Samsung flagships might get some new AI features
Camera enhancements aren’t the only applications of Samsung’s Galaxy AI built into the Galaxy S24 lineup. The company has also readied AI-powered photo and video editing tools, AI call translation in real-time, AI wallpapers, AI lockscreen effects, and more. Some of these features will be available offline, while others work online and require an internet connection. You may also have to sign in with a Samsung or Google account.
Samsung has baked these AI features into One UI 6.1, the new version of its custom software that will debut with the Galaxy S24 series. It will push the latest version to older flagships via a software update. It remains to be seen if the new AI features make it into those phones. The company may start rolling out the updates once the new flagships arrive on the market. Rumors suggest Samsung will open general sales of the Galaxy S24 lineup on January 30.