The HTC One M8 and its Snapdragon 801 do the whole duo camera for depth of field effect just fine, but the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 sounds like it will be able to deliver a better two camera system to future smartphones than what HTC and the 801 have done currently. Part of the reason behind this is because the Snapdragon 805 focuses more on image processing, while the Snapdragon 801 inside the HTC M8 receives both image and depth data. Qualcomm seems committed to making this process easier for the manufacturers that would like to include two camera systems into future handsets, and they plan to do this by starting with a reference design that will support both a depth camera and a stereo camera, taking the particular task of creating depth of field effects for cameras and other possibilities for camera features off the shoulders of the OEMs.
A better depth of field effect for images would just be the beginning though. The Snapdragon 805, according to Qualcomm’s Senior Director for Cameras Tim Yates, will be able to take high quality 16MP images and record excellent HD video simultaneously. It would also make the capability of digital image stabilization possible and allow for three dimensional noise reduction with videos, all made possible by the two ISPs built into the chip. It’s clear that Qualcomm is taking a more focused approach to computational photography with the Snapdragon 805 processor and why shouldn’t they? We carry our smartphones everywhere with us and are using them more and more for just about all our image and video needs, so why not focus on making some more advanced photography features available in our mobile devices?
If Qualcomm can pull off delivering this set of possibilities with their new Snapdragon 805 CPU, then they essentially reach their goal of doing the leg work for the manufacturers, which means the manufacturers can focus on other things and hopefully provide an all around better experience not just with the camera and the camera features of the smartphone, but with the smartphone experience altogether. There are no devices utilizing the Snapdragon 805 as of yet so this is just something to look forward to with future devices, but it’s awesome to know what Qualcomm is aiming to make possible.