A new setting recently added to Samsung’s Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9 Plus, and the Galaxy Note 9 via the company’s Android 9 Pie beta program could provide clues about the as-yet-unannounced Galaxy S10’s camera setup. Spotted by SamMobile, the setting appears as a toggle switch under the “Save Options” submenu within the more general settings menu for each handset’s camera application. Titled ‘Ultra wide lens correction,’ the toggle allows images shot with an ultra-wide field of view to be saved without the fisheye distortions typically found at the edges of those photos. None of the devices that the feature is showing up for actually have the ability to shoot in that format. So the implication seems to be that at least one of Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S10 devices will ship with an ultra wide angle lens.
Background: In addition to the most recent specs predicted to complement Samsung’s next-generation flagship smartphones, each rumor or leak up to this point has unanimously asserted that each will come with at least two primary camera sensors on the back. That means that all four of the expected Galaxy S10-series handsets could feasibly include an ultra wide angle lens in addition to their main sensor. Each of those versions will be nearly identical with differences chiefly in terms of cameras, memory, size, and in one case the shape of the screen. Each will likely be powered by either a Snapdragon 855 SoC or the Samsung-built Exynos 9820 SoC. At the entry-level, the Korean tech giant is rumored to be preparing a flat-panel bearing 5.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite that will pack in two rear camera sensors, a single front-facing snapper, along with 4GB RAM. Middle models include the Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ at 6.1 or 6.4-inches and with more standard curved glass display panels. Those will each feature three rear cameras and a single forward facing camera, based on the most recent rumors and will be padded out with either 6 or 8GB RAM. Finally, the largest and most expensive model is also expected to arrive a bit later than the rest and feature 5G networking compatibility. That will also reportedly feature no fewer than four rear-facing shooters and a single selfie camera as well as a whopping 12GB of RAM.
Impact: Some of Samsung’s 2018 edition phones, such as the Galaxy A9, do already include the feature to accompany their wide angle lens. That could be seen as an implication that this particular portion of the Android 9 Pie update is only meant to test the feature in the newest Android version for that handset or future iterations of the Galaxy A family. However, even if the toggle is currently only meant for those mid-range handsets, that may only serve to strengthen speculation that the toggle and a wide angle lens will appear on the Samsung Galaxy S10. The Galaxy A series is intended to be a testbed for future flagship features, so there’s a good chance that any prominent software or hardware inclusions on that smartphone will appear in later flagships, such as the Galaxy S10 family of devices.