Samsung Galaxy S11 could have a key iPhone 11 camera feature
Post-processing power
The Samsung Galaxy S11 camera specs are still a mystery, unsurprisingly given that the phone isn't set to release until 2020, but we may now know about the handset's photography 'brain', which will be inspired by key iPhone 11 software, according to a leak.
The information comes from leaker @UniverseIce, a fairly reliable source for news on upcoming smartphones, who suggests Samsung is developing a post-processing function similar to Deep Fusion.
Deep Fusion is tech in the new Apple smartphones that analyzes a photograph for color, texture, and more, to optimize the image and make it look as great as possible.
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Samsung is also developing the “Deep Fusion”function similar to the iPhone 11 Pro, and really plays the role of the NPU in taking pictures and videos. We can look forward to the Galaxy S11.12 September 2019
It does so with machine learning, but also by taking multiple pictures with different exposures to fully capture a scene.
It's worth pointing out that many smartphones have similar features already, with the various HDR, scene optimization and auto-processing modes fulfilling very similar roles, so many Android phones already have post-processing software to some degree.
On top of that, a camera taking multiple pictures and combining them into one isn't a new feature – it was a key selling point of the Google Pixel 3, and even the okay Nokia 9 PureView could do it.
What's impressive about the iPhone 11's Deep Fusion is that the smartphone's processing power will make it quick and easy to carry out a thorough analysis of a picture to enhance it, unlike most Android smartphones that sometimes have mediocre showings in this regard.
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One example is the Samsung Galaxy S10, as while it has an impressive camera, the suite of scene optimization features is perhaps a little lacking. That's understandable, as Samsung focused on other areas (like the Live Focus or Shot Suggestion functions), but it could do with an advanced machine learning function too.
If Samsung does bring an advanced machine learning function to the Samsung Galaxy S11 (and names it something less vague and terrifying than Deep Fusion), it could blow the iPhone 11 camera out of the water. We'll have to wait until early 2020 to find out if this happens, though.
Tom Bedford was deputy phones editor on TechRadar until late 2022, having worked his way up from staff writer. Though he specialized in phones and tablets, he also took on other tech like electric scooters, smartwatches, fitness, mobile gaming and more. He is based in London, UK and now works for the entertainment site What To Watch.
He graduated in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Prior to working on TechRadar, he freelanced in tech, gaming and entertainment, and also spent many years working as a mixologist.