The brightest camera ever...Sharper shots
Enhanced nighttime video quality...Supports professional APV codec
AI image editing tools that turn imagination into reality
"I was a bit nervous about this Galaxy Unpacked event. We broadcast the event live to the world using the Galaxy S26 Ultra. I was tense, worrying about what might go wrong, but thankfully, it was a success."
On the 25th (local time), at the 'Galaxy Unpacked 2026' event held in San Francisco, U.S., Samsung Electronics unveiled the S26 series for the first time through a real-time global broadcast that lasted about one hour. The true capabilities of the Galaxy S26 Ultra camera were on full display. The new product showcase, which was broadcast not with professional equipment but with the S26 Ultra camera, vividly and clearly captured Samsung’s cutting-edge technology.
Cho Seongdae, Vice President at Samsung Electronics and Head of the Visual Solutions Team in the Mobile eXperience (MX) Division, is explaining at the Galaxy Camera Innovation Briefing held in San Francisco, U.S., on the 25th (local time). Photo by Samsung Electronics
Cho Seongdae, Vice President at Samsung Electronics and Head of the Visual Solutions Team in the Mobile eXperience (MX) Division, introduced the S26 Ultra's camera at a technical briefing held after the Unpacked event. The S26 Ultra is equipped with a 200-megapixel wide-angle lens, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide lens, a 50-megapixel telephoto lens (with 5x optical zoom), and a 10-megapixel telephoto lens (with 3x optical zoom). It would not be an exaggeration to say the device boasts the industry’s top-tier camera system.
The aperture values for the wide-angle and telephoto lenses are F1.4 and F2.9, respectively, making them 47% and 38% brighter than their predecessors. This results in the brightest camera ever offered in the series. Vice President Cho explained, "The lower the aperture value (F), the larger the physical area of the aperture, allowing more light to enter the lens, resulting in brighter photos and sharper subjects."
To ensure the camera delivers outstanding results even in the two biggest challenges of photography-low-light environments and camera shake-Samsung integrated artificial intelligence (AI) technology. First, the AI-powered image processing engine, the 'ProVisual Engine,' has been enhanced. For example, when shooting the night sky, the engine effectively removes noise from flat areas while making critical details, such as building outlines and textures, even clearer.
The 'Nightography Video' feature is designed to further highlight differences in brightness and clarity in darker settings. Essentially, the hardware allows for greater light intake, while the AI finely controls noise and details to deliver higher-quality nighttime videos. Conversely, when there is too much light, it softens the brightness to produce a more pleasing result. The 'Super Steady' function was also included, which ensures stable, level footage when recording moving subjects-such as a dog running in a park or an athlete skiing-without camera shake.
The integration of the AI image signal processor (ISP) into the front camera is also noteworthy. Now, when taking selfies, the camera captures people more precisely, expressing finer details such as hair texture and skin tone. For the first time in a Galaxy device, it also supports the 'APV' codec for professional video creation. Vice President Cho explained, "The APV codec, also known as a lossless codec, is used by professionals to maintain high-definition quality even after multiple edits and revisions during video production."
Smarter ‘Photo Assist’...AI lets you edit photos as you wish
Editing photos using AI tools is now more enjoyable than ever. The upgraded 'Photo Assist' feature allows users to modify images according to their imagination and preferences using AI. This process can be easily accomplished through voice or text commands, without the need for professional tools like Photoshop.
For example, if you are wondering whether a leather jacket suits you, you can use your full-body photo, activate the Photo Assist feature, add a saved photo of the jacket from your gallery, and type "Put this jacket on me." AI will seamlessly edit the image to show you wearing the leather jacket. If half of a person’s face is obscured in the original photo, Photo Assist can reconstruct the entire face. The AI understands the complete image and naturally generates the missing half based on the visible portion. Users can view the editing process step by step through the history, and even restore the photo to any previous stage without saving the edited version.
AI technology has also been further refined to accurately understand user intentions. For instance, if a user wants to add a dog to a family photo and create a Christmas Eve atmosphere, they can upload a photo of the dog and type, "Add the dog and make it a snowy Christmas Eve." The AI analyzes the posture and composition of both the people and the dog, then synthesizes an image with the dog snuggled in someone’s arms. It also distinguishes between subjects and backgrounds, allowing for changes to the background and outfits as requested.
Vice President Cho stated, "It has been 40 years since Samsung began developing cameras," adding, "Based on our spirit of 'documenting every moment of life in the language of technology,' we will continue to evolve the camera experience, from image quality tuning to new editing experiences and easier sharing methods." He went on to say, "Now, even simple and short commands can generate and edit images that match the user’s intent, making it possible for users to visually realize the scenes they imagine."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
