Samsung’s Galaxy S20 is the subject of numerous rumors flying around at the moment, including this one that a staple piece of Samsung camera tech will not be making the transition from the Galaxy S10 to the S20.
Max Weinbach, who is currently on a bit of a roll when it comes to S20 leaks, posted a new tweet that claims in no uncertain terms that the next Galaxy S series phone will be abandoning this unique piece of camera tech:
S20 kills dual aperture.January 19, 2020
The dual aperture allowed Samsung to get more mileage out of its 12MP camera sensor that it’s been using on phones since the Galaxy S9. When activated, two halves of a tiny plastic aperture snap into place over the sensor, offering a choice of two f-stop settings. This was meant to improve camera performance in diverse lighting conditions, and to help with photo effects such as bokeh, although no other smartphone manufacturers followed suit, and while the S9 and S10’s photos were very good, they were by no means class leading just because of the variable aperture.
A second missing piece of technology was leaked in the replies to Weinbach’s original tweet. Ice Universe, another notable leaker, added that “and S20U kills Dual-PD”. S20U presumably refers to the rumored range-topping S20 Ultra model, and Dual-PD is an abbreviation of Dual phase-detection, another feature that helps with focusing photos.
Samsung is rumored to be arming the S20 Ultra with a massive 108MP camera, so perhaps it can make up for the dual aperture and phase detection with an overload of megapixels. The S20 and S20 Plus are meant to be sticking with the 12MP main sensor however, so whether this news applies to them also is uncertain.
While the cameras are probably going to be the headlining feature, there’s more reasons to be interested in Samsung’s new phone. You can read what we know so far on our Galaxy S20 rumors page, which we keep regularly updated with the latest news, rumors and leaks.
