Samsung is gearing as much as tackle Apple by introducing its personal pro-grade video recording codec with the Galaxy S26 subsequent 12 months. The corporate first talked about its Superior Skilled Video codec (APV) at its annual developer convention in 2023. However the codec by no means made its technique to its flagship telephones. This may seemingly change with the Galaxy S26 lineup subsequent 12 months.
Regardless of providing loads of high-end video recording options like HDR10 help, Samsung telephones have lengthy trailed behind iPhones as a result of they lack help for a real professional-grade codec. Leaked One UI 8.5 firmware recordsdata level to the corporate making amends with the Galaxy S26 subsequent 12 months by including APV help (through @UniverseIce).
APV is Samsung’s reply to Apple’s ProRes codec, providing as much as 20% higher area effectivity. It helps lossless video recording with full LOG and HDR capabilities. Plus, it helps 4:4:4 chroma subsampling, 12-bit shade depth, and extra.
The codec supposedly additionally helps two recording profiles: HQ and LQ. The previous takes 1GB of area for each minute of video recorded at Full HD decision, whereas LQ drops the area required to 0.75GB. Even higher, like on the iPhone, Samsung will enable saving APV movies on to exterior storage.
Presently, the greatest Galaxy telephones max out at recording 4K HDR10 movies. Whereas this may work for many shoppers, professionals who want extra flexibility would nonetheless gravitate in direction of the iPhone with its ProRes recording help.
Google built-in APV codec help into Android 16, doubtless paving the best way for Samsung to convey this characteristic to its future telephones.
That is not the one video-related enchancment Samsung plans to make to the Galaxy S26 sequence. The telephones will seemingly characteristic a GoPro-like Horizon Lock characteristic, enabling you to file super-stable movies regardless of loads of motion. You will additionally be capable of customise Movement Photographs. Whereas minor, the Samsung Digicam app will purportedly acquire the flexibility to scan a number of pages back-to-back with One UI 8.5 and Galaxy S26 sequence.
One other rumored change: the flexibility to immediately apply LUTs to LOG movies from the Gallery app. Whereas that is already doable on iPhones and high-end Android telephones, it requires utilizing a complicated third-party digital camera app.
The Galaxy S26 Extremely’s upgraded video recording chops ought to pair properly with its improved digital camera {hardware}, which supposedly features a wider-aperture 200MP major sensor for extra mild consumption.