Where do smartphone camera features come from? It turns out that the answer to that question is more complicated than you might think. We sat down recently with Qualcomm SVP Raj Talluri about the history of smartphone cameras and what Qualcomm is doing to enable the next generation of features in popular smartphones.
One of the interesting things about Android is that the UI across manufacturers is fairly unique. Samsung, HTC, LG, and Motorola all have their own unique interfaces for the same operating system. They use this to set themselves apart, and to offer features that are unique to their hardware. One area in particular is often more different between these devices than any other part of the OS: the camera.
Each of the manufacturers works hard to offer their own camera software with what they think is the best experience. The features contained in these camera apps aren’t entirely crafted by the OEM. In fact recently Qualcomm has had a heavy hand in the features offered in camera apps, something that was solidified with the recent announcement for the Samsung Galaxy S5.
Smartphone cameras create an entirely unique technical experience, complete with its own set of challenges that are separate from the rest of the photography world. We’ve gone from an analog world of photography that relied chemicals to capture an to a digital experience that relies almost entirely on data processing, according to Mr. Talluri. The lens will always be important, but the work done by the sensor — converting light into high quality pixels — is crucial. Raj explained that the CMOS sensors we use in smartphones today have a much higher probability for noisy pixels because the sensors have to be made in high volume and can’t be individually calibrated to perfection.
The hard parts behind taking photos on phones are moved to the processor as we move into larger megapixel counts and users who demand more from their smartphone as a camera. This pushed Qualcomm to focus on how they can make their mobile processors the best for smartphone photography, which meant offering better experiences and creating the features that we’re now seeing in so many smartphones.
The basic challenges are meeting the expectations of users, which means capturing the photo as quickly as possible and not allowing higher resolutions to affect the performance they already have. It’s also important to have the highest possible quality in all environments, including low light areas. These all sound more like OEM problems from the perspective of the user, but those manufacturers will gladly choose the chipset manufacturer who is invested in helping them address these problems. As a result, we see Qualcomm’s features wrapped up by OEMs in those unique user interfaces.
Samsung’s Galaxy S5 announcement was full of these features, like the ability to experience HDR and artificial bokeh in real time before taking the photo. This live mode is something Qualcomm developed and Samsung helped implement on their phones, perfectly demonstrating how well the two need to work together to deliver these features.
This collaboration is clearly beneficial to Qualcomm and their partners, and the users get to enjoy these new features on the new hardware as it launches. Qualcomm isn’t quite satisfied with just working with the manufacturers. As the Snapdragon 805 reaches partners, Raj and I discussed a developer program that will allow regular app developers access to some of these same hardware accelerated features to make their own apps better.
Qualcomm has demonstrated a steady pace in improving their camera tech and encouraging the same with everyone they work with, which makes it clear that this year is going to be even focused on the camera we keep with us all day long.