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New leak shows how impressive Samsung’s Galaxy S9 camera will be

Published Feb 14th, 2018 2:12PM EST

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When word got out that the redesigned Galaxy S9 Samsung was rumored to be prepping was cancelled in favor of a boring update that looks almost exactly like the Galaxy S8, many Samsung fans were understandably disappointed. According to a source with a good track record, Samsung was working on a Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ duo that featured a stunning new design with even narrower bezels above and below the display, potentially giving the phone the best screen-to-body ratio in the business. In their place, we’re about to see Samsung unveil new Galaxy S9 phones that look just like their predecessors from the front. Of course as we pointed out recently, that’s not necessarily a bad thing because the Galaxy S8 is still one of the best-looking phones on the planet.

Do the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ have what it takes to pull off an iPhone-like “S” update? We won’t know for certain until Samsung makes the new phones official later this month. But the phones’ cameras are rumored to be among the top selling points for the new models, and now a leak suggests we may indeed be in store for the most impressive mobile cameras the world has ever seen.

Check just about any study conducted in the past five years and you’ll find that camera quality is always among the most important considerations when someone buys a smartphone. Samsung always has momentum and a massive marketing budget on its side, but it looks like it may also have incredible new cameras to help sell the new Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+.

A pair of photos were posted on Twitter by a Chinese user who pulled them from Weibo. If they are genuine, they suggest Samsung’s new cameras will be impressive indeed.

So, what exactly are we looking at here? The image on the left is a photo of the view from a window that was taken by the Galaxy S8. The image on the right shows the same view, but it’s supposedly captured by a Galaxy S9. Neither image looks particularly impressive at first glance, so what’s the big deal?

Take a closer look at the photo from the Galaxy S8:

And now the photo from the Galaxy S9:

These buildings appear to be quite far from the apartment from which they were captured, and yet look at the detail on the windows that was captured by the Galaxy S9’s camera. The S8 already has one of the best cameras among all available smartphones, and yet the dynamic range and detail in this Galaxy S9 photo sample are in an entirely different league. Color us impressed.

Samsung will unveil the new Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ during a press conference on February 25th. The phones are then expected to go on sale on March 16th after being made available for preorder beginning March 1st.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.