Rivals to deliver outstanding camera functionality in next-gen smartphone
Ever since smartphones first appeared on the market, one of the most important innovations included within them has been the camera. It was at one time considered revolutionary that people could carry around a device in their pockets which was capable of taking photographs, and at the same time making telephone calls and sending and receiving text messages.
Camera craze intensifies
Of course, this novelty has long since worn off, but the craze for taking photographs certainly has not. Indeed, given the overwhelming popularity of the ‘selfie’, and the growing significance of photo-focused social media sites such as Instagram and Snapchat, the importance of a smartphone incorporating an excellent camera has been if anything elevated.
Although there are other mobile phones on the market which offer excellent camera functionality, both Samsung and Apple have been praised for including superb camera technology in their recent smartphones. Samsung has perhaps prioritized this a little more than Apple, and even though its Galaxy Devices were to some extent criticized last year for performing poorly in low-light conditions, generally speaking Samsung has produced handsets which take excellent pictures.
The iPhone is not lagging too far behind, though, and the iPhone 6 received a good reviews regarding the qualities of its camera. Given that the Galaxy S series and the iPhone are the two most successful smartphone ranges in the world, they are always natural competitors in every department, and Samsung and Apple are due to resume hostilities once again this year with the release of the Galaxy S6 and iPhone 7.
Of the two devices, the Galaxy S6 will hit the market much earlier, with the device to be on show at next month’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Apple seems highly likely to follow the release schedule for the iPhone 6 when it unveils the iPhone 7, which would mean that we won’t be able to view the next generation iPhone until the latter part of the third quarter of 2015.
20-megapixel S6 camera likely
This gives Samsung the opportunity to get to market much earlier, and it is already being reported that they will take advantage of this opportunity by releasing an outstanding camera. It has been reported by some sources in recent days that the Galaxy S6 camera will feature a 20-megapixel sensor. This is a pretty big deal, considering that the iPhone 6 only had an 8-megapixel lens. But more on the iPhone camera in due course.
Of course, it is important to note that the megapixel rating is only one way of judging the quality of a camera. If photograph-taking capabilities were entirely dictated by megapixel rating alone then it would be extremely simple to deduce which was the most powerful and best camera for taking photographs. But other factors come into consideration, and the iPhone has always punched above the weight of it specifications thanks to Apple’s combination of proprietary software and hardware.
Aside from the 20-megapixel rating that the Galaxy S6 will allegedly feature, it is also expected to utilize improved optical image stabilization which will benefit the camera in low-light conditions. This was a particularly praised element of the iPhone 6 camera, and it is often thought that the Apple handset outperforms the flagship Samsung device in low-light shooting. This could be a thing of the past with the Galaxy S6, though, with Samsung clearly intending to address this weakness of the device.
Samsung has recently been advocating the quality of the camera in the Galaxy S6 series – albeit by implication rather than explicitly – in a blog which is certainly suggests that the camera could be capable of producing some pretty impressive photographs. Additionally, as ValueWalk has reported previously, the Galaxy S6 camera also purports to incorporate ‘intelligence’ into its portfolio of features.
iPhone 7 dual-lens camera
So what will Apple offer in response? By far the most enticing rumour related to the iPhone 7 camera is that it will be fitted with a dual-lens device which will be capable of producing almost professional quality results. If this murmuring is true then Apple fans will be awaiting the iPhone 7 with baited breath, able to boast that their smartphone of choice is not only the slickest on the market, but also delivers the best photographic experience.
However, this is far from confirmed, and some analysts have raised question marks about the likelihood of this. It would certainly represent something unique in a mainstream smartphone, and Apple might have cost concerns about such a project.
Elsewhere, it is also rumored that the iPhone 7 will feature replaceable lenses in the camera, meaning that iPhone users can remove one lens and temporarily slot another in place for different types of shooting. This would make the iPhone 7 camera and extremely flexible performer, and it certainly seems to be a feasible prospect.
It seems quite likely that the Galaxy S6 will continue to outrank the iPhone 7 in terms of megapixel rating, but some early reports on the Apple handset did suggest that it could feature a 21-megapixel snapper. How true this is remains to be seen, and it certainly generated a good deal of scepticism, but one thing is clear… the gloves are off for the next generation smartphones.
