Samsung finally launched the Galaxy S9 but unlike previous events, this one at the Mobile World Congress was a little bit weird. Although from Samsung’s perspective it was business as usual, the buzz and excitement that often surround the launch of a new flagship device were clearly missing.
A number of reasons could explain this. First of all, there were so many leaks about the S9 before the launch event. In addition to this, many people felt that the S9 was basically a small upgrade from the S8 and as such, there’s not much to be excited about with the new model.
However, despite this criticism, Samsung had a card up its sleeve. For hardware geeks and avid Samsung fans, the new dual-aperture camera on the Galaxy S9 is worth looking forward to. However, S9 is not the first smartphone with variable aperture.
But since Nokia first offered this feature in its flagship N86 device back in 2009, no other company has done it again. Samsung’s decision to revive this feature could be a huge game changer in generating the needed buzz for its all-new Galaxy S9.
But what’s the fuss all about? What is an dual-aperture camera and why is it better compared to other traditional smartphone cameras? The aperture is basically the opening through which the camera sensor sees the image. In order to soak up as much light as possible for the sensor, logically you’d want the aperture to be as wide as possible. Samsung is giving you that. The S9 will have the widest camera aperture in the smartphone market at f/1.5.
However, the company is also giving users the option to use a narrower aperture if they want. Having this option is very important in improving the user experience when taking photos. The wide aperture might be good for letting in light but it has its limitations too. For instance, it’s very hard to capture crisp and sharp images if there’s too much light. Using a narrower aperture solves this issue.
But why would Samsung even put a wide aperture in the S9? Well, it’s nothing but a marketing move. Samsung can now easily come out and claim that it offers the widest aperture camera in the smartphone market. It’s a bold achievement that would serve to increase interest towards its products.
But even with this technological edge, Samsung cares about the experience of S9 users by giving them the option to use a narrower aperture. Nonetheless, Samsung has said that its decision to add the narrower aperture on the Galaxy S9 is designed to provide an option for users who want to take extremely bright pictures.
There could be other advantages of the dual-aperture camera system but at this moment they are still unknown. However, it’s a great feature for the Korean smartphone maker and the company is confident that the new camera system will be appealing to customers when the S9 hits the market.
