According to a recent patent application, Samsung is attempting to relocate camera stabilisation from the lens to the sensor. It may be possible to enhance image quality and lessen blur by switching from the existing optical image stabilisation to sensor stabilisation. Both the Apple iPhone 14 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra use image stabilisation on its cameras, however the iPhone does so with the sensor while the Galaxy phone does so with the lens.
When the Samsung Galaxy S22 was receiving its first clues and leaks in 2021, this was first reported as a rumour. We stated back then that Samsung was exploring this function and that it might also be connected to a collaboration with camera manufacturer Olympus. Although that relationship was never realised, we may now be witnessing its potential results.
A greater bump results from the sensor’s stabiliser.
Apple was the first smartphone manufacturer to use sensor stabilisation, a method more akin to how some professional, extremely high-end DSLR cameras, including the Canon EOS R6, steady an image in the camera’s body rather than merely in the lens. Of fact, a smartphone’s sensor and lens are considerably closer together, but Apple maintains that stabilising the sensor results in superior pictures.
Along with that, a bigger camera bump results. Small motors that move the lens or sensor in reaction to an accelerometer, sometimes known as a gyroscope, are used for image stabilisation. Although it might be quite responsive, it also takes up more room.
You can clearly notice the massive camera bump difference between the iPhone 11 Pro, which did not use sensor stabilisation, and the iPhone 12 Pro, on which Apple launched the function, by moving the hardware closer to the sensor.
Although the official patent makes no reference to the telephoto lens, rumours claim that this patent may be specifically applicable to it. With digital techniques, Samsung already enhances its telephoto lens, producing stunning results even at a mind-blowing 100x zoom. Even greater increases would undoubtedly result from improved stabilisation.
Analysis: The Galaxy S23 Ultra probably isn’t the right choice.
This kind of stabilisation causes a larger camera bump, as we previously stated. The suspected Galaxy S23 Ultra phone appears to have the same camera array arrangement as the Galaxy S22 Ultra, according to leaked pictures. Five lenses protrude through the rear of that phone, but there is no bulge.
Samsung might be concealing all of the stabilisation inside the phone. The Galaxy S22 Ultra from Samsung already has a full stylus hidden inside, yet the device is still completely waterproof. It has already demonstrated contortionist powers when it comes to organising phone internals with its Galaxy Z Flip 4 and folding family.
Patents are a wonderful tool to monitor industry trends, but they are a poor means to forecast a specific product feature. If it’s even conceivable, we hope that the images taken by the previous Samsung Galaxy S phone will be continuously improved upon by the device’s successor. Eventually, Samsung might do that with the help of a stabilised image sensor.
