Serious question – what’s their future like? The Galaxy A series this year – especially the Galaxy A73 5G – had a 108MP sensor. OIS is present on the main camera’s lens of the Galaxy A33, A53, and A73 too.
The question then becomes – how does Samsung further improve its cameras in the future? Remember that the Galaxy A series is aimed toward the mid-range market and targets a younger demographic compared to the Galaxy S or Galaxy Z series of devices. The Galaxy A series is also more constrained by budget, too. This is an important point to remember as we’ll revisit this multiple times.
That means the Galaxy A series will need to play the perfect balancing act to ensure the user experience is the best that it possibly can be.
We had a roundtable discussion regarding the Galaxy A series cameras with Joshua Sungdae Cho, Vice President and Head of Visual Software R&D Group at MX Business, Samsung Electronics, and we learned a few new things regarding the Galaxy A series cameras.
From what I understood, the Galaxy A series is heavily reliant on AI capabilities to enhance the images and videos taken. Be it pre-processing or post-processing or even real-time processing, some form of AI enhancement is involved. I honestly didn’t expect anything else because every single smartphone out there right now is relying on some form of AI to enhance the image or video when we press the button.
The Q&A session is what I’m personally looking forward to, as I do have a few concerns regarding the Galaxy A series cameras. I’ll be paraphrasing the answers because I only got them in point form.
Q1: Are all the Galaxy A series smartphones going to get OIS? (based on the Galaxy A33, A53, and A73 getting OIS this year for their main camera)
A: We’re trying include OIS into as many phones as possible.
I mean, OIS is an irreplaceable feature. Even AI or trickeries like gyro-EIS cannot imitate or replace the performance of a true OIS system.
Then, I have one big question to ask:
Q2: How does the Galaxy A series and Galaxy S series camera differentiate from each other?
A: Both of them are different in terms of user demographic – the Galaxy A series is for the younger generation and that means the features developed for the Galaxy A series is also different. Some features will be introduced to the Galaxy A series first (like the AI-powered Fun Mode), while some features will be introduced to the Galaxy S series first.
Some features are brought over from the Galaxy S series to the Galaxy A series as well, but these features might be hardware-dependent, so the features might be limited.
The end result of the images taken by – let’s say the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s 108MP camera and the Galaxy A73’s 108MP camera will be different since the AI capability of the chip differs.
Hmm… if that’s the case, then will the depth sensor and 2MP macro camera be removed in the future?
Q3: When can we expect the depth sensor will be phased out entirely?
A: Ties back to the earlier question, the depth sensor might be required for certain features.
What about the 2MP macro camera then?
Q4: For the macro camera, can we expect it to be upgraded to at least an autofocusing lens? Or upgrade to a telephoto camera?
A: Answer is similar to Q3
One particular decision that perplexed me was the removal of the telephoto camera on the Galaxy A73. I mean, the Galaxy A72 had it, so why did it get removed?
Q5: Why is there no longer a telephoto camera in the Samsung Galaxy A73?
A: The decision to remove it is based on surveys conducted.
Honestly, I have never heard of these surveys before- but good to know that Samsung is taking feedback before making such a decision. Still, it hurts to know that it resulted in the removal of the telephoto camera.
Then, I have one last question:
Q6: Aside from photography, how is the videography capability? Will it be 1080p 60fps for all cameras? Or depending on the hardware available at that price point?
A: We will find the best sensor available for the A series when in the prototyping phase, but the video capability might be limited by the hardware that is available in the market during that point in time.
Wrapping up
I think overall, we have a clear idea of how the cameras of the Galaxy A series will be developed. I personally think that the Galaxy A72 had the perfect combination of cameras – but of course, a smartphone is more than just the cameras. We’ll have to consider the performance, design, battery capacity, screen, longevity of software support, and even the software quality. Hardware only makes half of a smartphone.
It’s really complicated to design a smartphone as it needs to be a balanced holistic experience – and this is coming from someone who reviewed smartphones for many years who also happens to have a background in electronics engineering.
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