Whether it's low light or the person being photographed is too far away, sometimes it's not possible to get a perfect photo without the right equipment. To solve this, the Galaxy S20 camera seamlessly combines a cutting-edge camera hardware system with AI-powered software technology, so the user will never have to settle for less quality or simplicity. This changes the way shooting is done and goes beyond point-and-shoot, changing every aspect of the consumer's camera experience. Below, Samsung takes a closer look at the new technology behind the Galaxy S20 camera.

More resolution means more details. The Galaxy S20 camera offers super high resolution, so details can always be captured. The Galaxy S20 Ultra features a 108 MP sensor, while the S20 and S20+ feature a 64 MP sensor. In the past, cropping a shot used to mean losing details, but the high-resolution sensors in the Galaxy S20 allow you to crop the image, maintaining the sharpness and clarity of the images.

It all starts with a fundamental change in the sensor architecture, both in terms of the size of the image sensor and the technology incorporated. Larger sensors capture more light, so you get great quality even in low-light situations.

The S20 Ultra goes a step further with the 108 MP sensor that alternates between nona-binning and re-mosaic technologies to provide images with greater clarity even in very low light or brightness environments.

Nona-binning for superior image quality: Nona-binning technology combines nine pixels into one, so the 108 MP sensor provides a 12 MP photo. The larger pixels produced by nona-binning technology can capture more light for improved clarity, even in low-light conditions.

Re-mosaic in bright light conditions: Re-mosaic rearranges color pixels to highlight more details. The re-mosaic algorithm remaps pixels into a conventional RGB pattern, producing more detailed images in bright light conditions. User can easily switch to 108 MP mode in quick settings menu: Camera > Photo > Ratio > 108 MP.

The Galaxy S20's Space Zoom technology uses a combination of hybrid optical zoom and super-resolution zoom technology that includes AI multi-frame processing (AI-powered digital zoom) to ensure that even when the user is far away, they can get closer.

The Galaxy S20's new hybrid optical zoom combines an advanced high-resolution image sensor with an all-new lens, which is designed to provide more value than traditional optical zoom. Thanks to this new technology, the Galaxy S20 and S20+ can achieve 3x hybrid optical zoom, while the Galaxy S20 Ultra can achieve 10x hybrid optical zoom. With AI-powered digital zoom, you can see even further, up to 30x on the S20 and S20+ and up to 100x on the S20 Ultra.

To achieve 100x zoom, the Galaxy S20 Ultra uses a folded lens and a high-resolution sensor. The folded lens provides up to 10x hybrid optical zoom, and super zoom resolution technology provides an additional 10x zoom with multi-frame AI processing to reduce hand shake and quality loss at high zoom levels. The images produced are clear thanks to the combination of lens optics and a high-resolution sensor cutout.

48 MP Sensor: The S20 Ultra's sensor is 48 MP and switches between tetra-binning and re-mosaic depending on the conditions in which the photo is being taken, such as the brightness level or zoom ratio. Tetra-binning combines 4 pixels into 1, resulting in a 12 MP photo with larger pixels. When RGB pixels are rearranged with re-mosaic technology, each pixel works independently to use a sensor crop and provide up to 10x high-ratio zoom.
Folded Lens: The Galaxy S20 Ultra takes advantage of a folded zoom lens to achieve more zoom capability in a small space. The lens lies flat and is positioned at the bottom of the phone's camera. Light entering from the back of the phone is redirected by a prism towards the lens, refracting to the right at a 90-degree angle through a series of stacked optical elements that increase the focal length, much like the way a periscope works. By reducing both the height and width of the camera, it can offer innovative zoom capabilities.