The latest reports on the forthcoming Samsung product range suggest that there will be a Galaxy S9 3D camera. It seems that this is new feature of the flagship handset from the Korean corporation will quite strongly borrow from the recent Apple iPhone X. The 3D snapper included in the yet to be released Apple mobile is undoubtedly a standout feature of the device
And the latest whispers from Korea indicate that Samsung will essentially copy this major facet of the iPhone X when the Galaxy S9 is released. The Galaxy S9 camera will attempt to imitate the TrueDepth feature from the iPhone X, which enables 3D facial recognition to be carried out in the shape of Face ID. Although Apple seemingly remains committed to Touch ID for the time being, it has also explicitly stated that Face ID is the future of biometrics for the iPhone range.
Clearly Samsung feels a need to directly respond to this with the Galaxy series, and thus the Galaxy S9 3D camera will launch the concept in 2018. It seems inevitable that a similar unit will follow in the flagship phablet, the Galaxy Note 9, later in the year.
Samsung has successfully set some of the trends in the mobile industry over the last few years, but the Korean corporation is also renowned for quickly responding to the technology of other manufacturers as well. With Samsung Display having been a key partner for the iPhone range and its new OLED display, it is likely that Samsung was privy to certain information about this handset.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that the Galaxy S9 will copy the functionality from the iPhone X, after all this would be likely to incite copyright issues. But it does seem likely that there will be a Galaxy S9 3D camera unveiled in 2018.
In the iPhone X, Apple includes what it describes as a tiny space at the top of the smartphone, which is able to scan faces in 3D. This is effectively a Kinect device, which provides entirely secure logins that can never be hacked with an image or picture. Samsung is currently unable to say this about both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8.
Thus, Ice Universe asserts that the Galaxy S9 will have a “3D sensor front camera,” which would essentially be rather similar to Apple’s TrueDepth camera and sensor array. With Samsung having had a year to prepare this feature as well, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if the Korean corporation throws in some extra functionality as well.
It is likely that the Galaxy S9 will be unveiled in February or March next year, with the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona having been the setting for this over the last few years. This means that Samsung will probably keep the lid on its Face ID equivalent until this date.
There is no doubt that this will be a manufacturing challenge for the Korean company, even though Samsung obviously has massive experience and a phenomenal infrastructure in place. Manufacturing TrueDepth cameras has caused major supply chain issues for Apple, so it will be interesting to see whether Samsung is able to circumnavigate this issue.
What is certain about the report on the Galaxy S9 3D camera is that it is indicative of the increasing prominence of high quality cameras in mobile devices. Not only will this device deliver security functionality, but it will also improve the photographic capabilities of the Galaxy S series, while probably delivering virtual reality-related features as well.
Meanwhile, in order to drive the new Galaxy S9 3D camera, it is reported that Samsung will be considering some extremely advanced technology. Russian tipster Elder Murtazin has suggested that the Korean firm will have first refusal on Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 845 CPU; ensuring that the Galaxy S9 should outperform all competitors when it is released.
Commenting on Twitter, Murtazin suggested that the entire first production run of the new chipset will be made available to Samsung, with other manufacturers gaining access to the Snapdragon 845 at a later date. Of course, the processor is highly unlikely to interest Apple, considering that it produces its own proprietary chips and hardware. But it does perhaps explain why Samsung has veered away from embracing the Snapdragon 836 at any stage thus far.
Another interesting rumor related to the Galaxy S9 is that Samsung will develop a dedicated artificial intelligence chip for the mobile. Indeed, this new AI internal component will make its debut in the Samsung flagship, with the Korea Herald having already recorded on the subject. “[Samsung] is in the middle of developing several types of chips that will be capable of processing massive data from AI applications on devices, eliminating the need to communicate with cloud servers,” the Korean publication suggested.
When one looks at the possibility of a Galaxy S9 3D camera armed with these other new features and outstanding specifications, a rather exciting smartphone release begins to loom into view. The camera sensor in the Galaxy S9 is also expected to be capable of shooting super slow motion footage at one-thousand frames per second, according to the latest reports. In order to deliver this feature, the Galaxy S9 will take advantage of stacked images sensor technology, which already appeared in the Sony Xperia XZ1.
As new information appears on the Galaxy S9 in the coming months, the sketchy impression that we have of this device will be increasingly filled in. But what can be said with some confidence is that the Galaxy S9 will benefit from a 3D camera, which will help to close the gap on its great rival Apple and the iPhone X.
