Samsung Shares Its Journey from 5MP to 200MP Smartphone Cameras

In recent years, Samsung has made significant advancements in its smartphone camera technology, allowing users to capture professional-grade photos. Today, the company shared its 15-year journey of evolving mobile photography, from the first Galaxy S to the latest Galaxy S25 Ultra. Let’s take a look at the history of galaxy camera innovation.

Samsung highlights its 15-year camera innovation journey through the infographic

In 2010, Samsung launched its first Galaxy S with a 5MP rear camera and autofocus. While modest by today’s standards, it opened the door for the Korean firm to bring revolution in mobile photography. Just a year later, the Galaxy S II introduced a higher-resolution camera, LED flash, and full HD video recording. Likewise, Galaxy S III brought new features such as Zero shutter lag, Burst Shot, and HDR.

In 2013, Samsung made a big leap with the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy S4 Zoom. These models came with Dual Shot mode for simultaneous front and rear camera shooting. Furthermore, we got the world’s first smartphone with 10x optical zoom. The Galaxy S5 and S6 continued to improve camera performance with Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF) and Smart Optical Image Stabilization (OIS).

Samsung introduced dual-pixel image sensors in 2016 and dual-camera setups in 2017. The Galaxy S7 and S8 featured accurate autofocus, while the Galaxy Note 8 introduced wide-angle and telephoto lenses. With Galaxy S9, we got dual aperture for automatic brightness adjustment and super slow-mo at 960 fps.

The Galaxy S10 and S20 Ultra began a multi-camera ecosystem with Super Steady mode and HDR10+ support. The company equipped the S20 Ultra with a 108MP ultra-high-resolution camera and 8K video recording capability at 24 fps. Moreover, Space Zoom allowed users to capture distant subjects up to 100x closer. We also saw the 108MP camera in the next generation, with the Galaxy S21 Ultra and S22 Ultra.

In 2023, the Galaxy S23 Ultra took mobile photography to the next level with a 200MP sensor. The Galaxy S24 Ultra and S25 Ultra also adopted the same main camera for pro-grade shots. The former was the company’s first smartphone to offer pro-level 4K video at 120 fps, while the latter debuted a 50MP ultrawide shooter. Hopefully, Samsung will bring major camera upgrades with its upcoming Galaxy S26 series.