Flagship smartphones to compete over high-end cameras

Global tech giants are set to release flagship smartphones equipped with high-end cameras later this year with the technological focus shifting to dual lenses instead of megapixels, industry watchers said on Monday.

"While smartphones initially focused on improving megapixels, the focus is moving towards editing software such as the Optical Image Stabilisation and the dual-lens features," Yonhap quoted an industry insider as saying.

"The companies are expected to compete over lens materials in the future," the industry insider added. Samsung Electronics showcased the Galaxy Note 8 last month, which marked its first flagship to introduce a dual-lens camera on the back. The Galaxy Note 8 has a wide-angle and telephoto lens, both with a resolution of 12MP.

The South Korean tech giant, a latecomer to adopt dual-lens cameras on flagships, distinguished itself with the new Live Focus feature, which allows users to control the depth of field when taking photos.

This feature can make it easy to blur out the background before and after a shot is taken which is useful in isolating the main subject of the photo.
US tech giant Apple, which first showcased the dual-lens camera with the iPhone 7 Plus, also plans to apply the feature on its new iPhone.

The new iPhone, slated to be introduced later this month, is also widely expected to adopt 3D facial-recognition, which allows users to easily unlock smartphones. The resolution for the new iPhone is estimated at 12MP.

LG Electronics introduced the LG V30 with a dual-lens camera and with an aperture of F1.6. This represents the fastest lens set up among the flagship smartphones currently being sold in the market.