Technology
Samsung Space Zoom Camera Technology (Moon Shot)
Story created in Dec. 2022 | Samsung ships the best camera phones in the industry, and the latest beast is Galaxy S23 Ultra. Thanks to the innovative Telephoto camera sensor and software optimization, it’s now possible to capture images of the Moon, with just a Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
Follow our socials → Google News, Telegram, Twitter, Facebook
Today, we discuss how your Samsung phone’s Space Zoom photography feature works. Regardless, hardware is the key factor to introduce a huge zooming/magnification range, but, well-optimized software significantly improves the overall experience. That’s what Samsung does, others not.
Way back in 2019, Samsung introduced AI technology to the mobile camera when it launched the Galaxy S10 series. The company developed a Scene Optimizer feature that helps AI to recognize the subject and provide you with the best photography experiences regardless of time and place.
Specifically for Moon photography, Samsung Galaxy S21 series debuted even better optimization with artificial intelligence. Galaxy flagships starting the Galaxy S21 series recognize Moon as the target using learned data, multi-frame synthesis, and deep learning-based AI technology at the time of the shooting.
In addition, a detail improvement engine feature has also been applied, which makes the picture clearer. If you don’t want to capture photos using AI technology, you can do it by just disabling the Scene Optimizer from the camera viewfinder.
Data learning process for Moon recognition engine
Samsung developers created the Moon recognition engine by learning various shapes of the Moon from full to crescent, based on images that people actually see with their eyes on Earth. It uses an AI deep learning model to show the presence and absence of the moon in the image and the area (square box) as a result.
Moreover, the pre-trained AI models can detect lunar areas even if other lunar images that have not been used for training are inserted. However, the Moon can’t be normally recognized if it is covered by a cloud or something else (non-lunar planets).
Brightness control process
Well, AI enhances photography of the Moon, but better results require powerful hardware part as well. As it’s difficult to detect a small Moon in regular AI photography, the Moon’s photography is possible from 25x zoom or higher.
As soon as your Galaxy phone’s camera recognizes the Moon in the high-magnification zoom, the brightness of the screen is controlled to be dark so that the Moon can be seen clearly on the camera viewfinder, alongside maintaining optimal brightness.
If you shoot the Moon in the early evening, the sky around that is not the color of the sky you see with your eyes, but it is shot as a black sky. The tech behind this function is that when the Moon is recognized, it changes the focus to infinity to keep the moon in focus.
Shake control
Starting the Galaxy S20 series, Samsung shipped the Ultra variants (S20 Ultra/S21 Ultra/S22 Ultra) with the capability of magnification up to 100x. When the user shoots the Moon with 100x zoom/magnification, it looks greatly magnified, but it is not easy to shoot because the screen shakes due to shake of hands.
For this, Samsung created a functionality called Zoom Lock that reduces shaking when the Moon is identified so it can be stably captured on your Galaxy phone’s screen without a tripod. Zoom Lock unites OIS and VDIS technology in order to maximize image stabilization to radically surpass shaking.
If you touch the screen at high magnification or shine the Moon without moving for more than 1.5 seconds to lock, the zoom map border (in the upper right of the screen) changes from white to yellow, and the Moon no longer shakes, making it easy to shoot.
Tips to take Moon shots in 100x zoom:
- After rotating the Galaxy in landscape mode, hold the phone with both hands.
- Check the position of the Moon through the zoom map and adjust it to the center of the screen.
- When the zoom map border changes to yellow, press the capture button to picture the Moon.
Learning process of lunar detail improvement engine
Once the Moon is visible at the proper brightness, your Galaxy Camera completes a bright and clear moon picture through several steps when you press the capture button. At first, the application double-checks whether the Moon detail improvement engine is required or not.
Second, the camera captures multiple photos and synthesizes them into a single shot that is bright and noise-reduced via Multi-frame Processing. Due to the long distance and lack of light in the environment, it was not enough to give the best image even after compositing multiple shots.
To overcome this, the Galaxy Camera uses a deep learning-based AI detail enhancement engine (Detail Enhancement technology) at the final stage to effectively remove noise and maximize the details of the Moon to complete a bright and clear picture.
Moon filming process
Samsung’s stock Camera application utilizes various AI technologies, which are detailed above, to provide clear Moon photos through various processes. Once focussed, AI automatically realizes the scene being shot and uses scene optimization technology to adjust settings for Moon quality.
To make Moon photography stable and easier, the Zoom Lock function, an image stabilization function, is used to provide clear moon photos on the preview screen. Once the Moon is positioned within the screen in the desired composition, press the shooting button to start shooting.
At this time, the Galaxy Camera combines multiple photos into a single photo to remove noise. As result, a bright and clear moon picture is completed by applying detail improvement technology that brings out the details of the moon pattern.
Update – March 12.
Samsung itself revealed that multiple processing techniques work before the Galaxy phone produces a crispy image of the Moon. Meanwhile, there’s a thread posted on Reddit that makes the shooting technology controversial, which shouldn’t be there.
Technology
Is Samsung’s Galaxy Watch skipping out on Apple’s LTPO OLED advantage?
After the Watch 10 series launch last month, the smartwatch market is buzzing with excitement for the upcoming Apple Watch 11. Reports indicate that Samsung plans to work with Apple on developing LTPO OLED technology for the new watch, while the Galaxy Watch seems to be falling behind in adopting this technology.
Apple first introduced LTPO OLED technology in its Apple Watch series with the Watch 4 and has made improvements since then. Released in 2023, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 uses LTPO2. Now, the latest LTPO3 is available in the Apple Watch 10 series.
In addition to the Apple Watch, both the Pixel Watch 2 and OPPO Watch 2 also feature LTPO displays. However, it remains uncertain whether Samsung will adopt LTPO technology for its Galaxy Watch models.
Samsung Display has been a leader in the OLED market and has previously supplied displays for Apple products, including the Apple Watch. However, Samsung is currently focusing on its Galaxy Watch line, which uses Super AMOLED displays. These displays are colorful and perform well, they don’t offer the same power savings as LTPO technology.
The Korean tech giant has been successful with this approach in the smartwatch market but it hasn’t yet adopted the new LTPO technology for its watches. Still, Samsung is expected to participate in future developments for Apple’s upcoming watch model, the Apple Watch 11 series.
Notably, LTPO stands for low-temperature polycrystalline oxide, a technology that combines oxides with low-temperature polycrystalline silicon. LTPS provides fast responses to make displays quick to react, while oxide TFTs are more energy-efficient. By blending these two technologies, LTPO helps reduce power use, which can extend battery life.
Despite plans to provide LTPO OLED to Apple, Samsung currently has no plans to apply this technology to the Galaxy Watch. This means that the Galaxy Watch will miss out on the benefits of advancements in LTPO OLED technology. Stay tuned for more updates.
Apple iPhone 17’s LTPO upgrade is double-edged sword for Samsung
Technology
Samsung’s faster, more efficient 990 EVO Plus SSD now available in the US
Samsung released 990 EVO Plus SSD in the US. The company’s latest memory products come with improved performance speeds supported by advanced PCIe 4.0 technology.
The new Samsung 990 EVO Plus SSD comes with faster transfer speeds and better power efficiency with capacities of up to 4TB. It offers boosted performance with random read and write speeds of 1,050K IOPS and 1,400K IOPS, respectively.
Thanks to PCIe 4.0 support, the 990 EVO Plus is an ideal solution for buyers seeking enhanced performance and power efficiency across gaming, business, and creative tasks.
Samsung claims the 990 EVO Plus offers sequential read speeds up to 7,250 MB/s and write speeds up to 6,300 MB/s, up to 50% faster than the previous 990 EVO.
The company brought this performance boost by 8th-gen V-NAND and a 5nm controller. Besides, a nickel-coated heat shield minimizes overheating, delivering 73% greater power efficiency.
Samsung 990 EVO Plus SSDs will have a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $109.99 for the 1TB model, $184.99 for the 2TB model, and $344.99 for the 4TB model.
Category | Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus | ||
---|---|---|---|
Interface | PCIe Gen 4.0 x4 / 5.0 x2 NVMe 2.01 | ||
Form Factor | M.2 (2280) | ||
Storage Memory | Samsung V-NAND 3-bit TLC | ||
Controller | Samsung In-house Controller | ||
Capacity | 1TB | 2TB | 4TB |
Sequential Read/Write Speed | Up to 7,150 MB/s, 6,300 MB/s | Up to 7,250 MB/s, 6,300 MB/s | Up to 7,250 MB/s, 6,300 MB/s |
Random Read/Write Speed (QD32) | Up to 850K IOPS, 1,350K IOPS | Up to 1,000K IOPS, 1,350K IOPS | Up to 1,050K IOPS, 1,400K IOPS |
Management Software | Samsung Magician Software | ||
Data Encryption | AES 256-bit Full Disk Encryption, TCG/Opal V2.0, Encrypted Drive (IEEE1667) | ||
Total Bytes Written | 600TB | 1200TB | 2400TB |
Warranty | Five-year Limited Warranty |
Technology
Rumor: Samsung Exynos 2500 chip’s future is insecure
Samsung Exynos 2500 might not see the light of the day. Amid Exynos cancellation in the Galaxy S25, a new rumor suggests that Samsung might not use the Exynos 2500 in the Galaxy Z Flip 7 or the Galaxy S25 FE.
According to Korean media (via @chunvn8888/X), Samsung canceled Exynos 2500 plans for the Galaxy Z Flip 7. Following the reports of low yield, it was assumed that the company would utilize the chipset in the next Flip smartphone.
The current situation is that the Exynos 2500 will end up staying in Samsung’s test lab. The chipset could not be commercialized due to significant performance differences from its Snapdragon counterpart and low yield rates.
At the launch Tech Forum, Samsung announced the next Exynos i.e. Exynos 2500 will be manufactured on its cutting-edge 3nm process node. TSMC is manufacturing 3nm Snapdragon 8 Elite, but Samsung Foundry failed.
It is reported that Samsung Foundry’s 3nm yield rate is about 20 to 30%. The company is trying to improve the yield rate to commence mass production of Exynos 2500. Meanwhile, things are not in favor, leading to a complete failure.
Samsung didn’t launch the Exynos 2300 for Galaxy devices. This followed the criticism it faced over throttling and overheating concerns with Exynos 2200 in the Galaxy S23 series. However, the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus ship with Exynos 2400.
At the recent earnings call, the company’s top leadership apologized for the growth crisis. The mobile division is doing a great job despite the immense competition, but, the biggest growth engine; the semiconductor business, continues to decline.