Digital cameras, or to be specific the underlying lens, imaging and related technology, are big business these days. Although smartphones are still not as good as a dedicated compact camera, we have seen significant evolution in the ability of a modern smartphone to take reasonable quality images under all sorts of conditions. Many customers judge a smartphone by the quality of the images it takes, and manufacturers such as LG have deliberately used a good quality camera assembly on purpose. Manufacturers often boast of a particular type of camera assembly in their devices, typically a Sony sensor, although Samsung also build camera units.
The Consumer Electronics Show 2016 is only a few weeks away now and we are seeing an increasing number of rumors around the event. The latest rumor concerns Samsung, but in particular their camera division. We’ve seen other rumors surrounding the Samsung camera division, which has simply not been performing in line with what we are sure are high expectations from the wider business – Samsung have stopped selling digital cameras in some corners of the world and other reports claim that the business is considering selling the unit on to another company. Samsung have released two Galaxy Camera devices, which combine Android with compact camera technology, but these have not been a runaway success. However, today’s rumor is that Samsung are planning a major camera announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show next month. It is not clear what the story will be, but it may be that Samsung are releasing a new family of cameras rather than a groundbreaking technology for smartphones and tablets. Perhaps Samsung are working on a similar device to the HTC RE Camera, a portable, “life proof” device. If this is the case, let’s hope that Samsung don’t insist on their camera only being compatible with their own smartphones but instead is able to operate with a large number of Android and other OS devices, including tablets.
Of course, the above paragraph is speculation based on Samsung unveiling a new product line, but there may be more to the story. Samsung may also be announcing an acquisition of another camera business and showing off the first product to benefit from any new joint venture. Whatever the announcement, the rumormill is likely to churn away at this story and we may see additional leaked information between now and January’s show. This is a developing story and we will keep you updated with any new developments.