At Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024, the camera upgrades didn't focus so much on raw megapixel numbers. This year, it was all about AI.
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S24 line of smartphones and, along with it, something called "Galaxy AI." This is an all-encompassing term for Samsung's new suite of generative AI features included with each S24 phone. And yes, of course it includes camera features. Why wouldn't it?
With that in mind, here are some of the new camera tricks you can do with Galaxy AI.
Automatic edits
The simplest-to-understand new AI feature that Samsung brought to its photography suite is called "Edit Suggestion." It's easy to grasp: The phone will look at a photo or video you've taken and automatically suggest small edits you could make to make it look better.
Specifically, you can erase unwanted shadows, reflections or glare from photos using AI. Hopefully the AI actually works.
Helping out before you even take the photo
One thing Samsung showed off in its Unpacked event is that the phone will automatically scan for details, make skin look correct, and do other small enhancements to a photo before it's even snapped. In other words, it'll show you the ideal photo in the viewfinder before it's snapped. That's not exactly new for smartphones, but hey, it's nice.
Generative Edit
Similar to the Google Pixel 8 last year, Samsung added something called "Generative Edit" so the Galaxy S24 that is like a simple version of Photoshop that requires no Photoshop skills. You can expand photos by generating backgrounds that weren't actually there, move around people or objects, or even resize those same people or objects.
Want a kid to be on the left side of the frame instead of the right side? Move them over and the phone will automatically generate accurate-looking pixels in the space where the kid used to be. Ideally, it'll be like nobody ever edited the photo at all. We'll see how it works in practice.
Instant slow-mo
Speaking of generating things that aren't there, Samsung showed off another feature that can turn regular videos into professional-looking slow-mo videos, whether they were shot in slow-mo or not. The phone does this by using AI to create frames that don't actually exist.
Trippy, right? It's definitely an out-there idea, but it's not too far off from how digital zoom has worked on phone cameras for years now. Those extra pixels have to come from somewhere.
Tying into your apps
Last and perhaps least, Samsung talked about how it's partnered with apps like Snapchat and Instagram to directly integrate some of this AI goodness into those apps. Don't get too excited, though.
That's because it just seems like they're making the in-app viewfinder on Instagram and Snapchat play nice with the pre-snap AI enhancements that we talked about earlier. But hey, your photos will look better, and that's what really matters.
Topics Samsung Samsung Unpacked
