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Samsung's Upcoming Galaxy S Phone Will Sport Six Cameras and Support 5G, Report Says (wsj.com)
Samsung is planning a major upgrade for its 10th anniversary flagship phones next year, including next-generation 5G network speeds, bigger screens and more cameras, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. From the report: Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker by volume, is preparing three versions of its next flagship Galaxy S10 smartphone, with displays that range in size from 5.8 inches to 6.4 inches, the people said, versus two variants in previous years. Those three phones are set to debut in February next year, they added. In addition, the South Korean technology giant is developing a fourth variant of the Galaxy S10 that will be 5G-enabled and is internally code-named "Beyond X," [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source] some of these people said.
The 5G phone, slated for a spring release in the U.S. and South Korea, would sport an even larger screen, measuring 6.7 inches diagonally, and pack in a whopping six cameras -- two in the front and four in the back, these people said, which promise richer photos and better spatial perception.
The 5G phone, slated for a spring release in the U.S. and South Korea, would sport an even larger screen, measuring 6.7 inches diagonally, and pack in a whopping six cameras -- two in the front and four in the back, these people said, which promise richer photos and better spatial perception.
How many cameras do you actually want or need? for me, 2 seems to be more than enough.
If you want better pictures without having the sort of gigantic optics you see on an SLR, the answer is "more than 2". Having a lot of cameras allows you to do some pretty nifty computational photography. Many phones are already doing this since they have two cameras on the rear which work together to get better images than either could alone.
The use of three cameras is already strange for many reasons, but let say you need 3D images, then two cameras might be helpful.
The main purpose of multiple sensors isn't 3D but to do computational photography. It allows you to get better quality images as well as have multiple focal lengths and have them work together. If you have an iPhone it already does this with two cameras working in tandem on the back. But more camera sensors let's you take it even further. There are camera available which are designed around this idea explicitly with as many as 16 individual camera sensors. This appears to be the best way to get better image quality without having to attach bulky optics like those on an SLR camera.