Samsung Explains Galaxy S9 Super Slow-Mo Camera Feature

When Samsung unveiled its Galaxy S9 and S9+ flagship smartphones last February, it emphasized how the phones’ camera technology is more advanced than those of its rivals. As a minor upgrade and a follow-up to the redesigned S8, the S9 series banks on camera features to attract consumers.

One of the standout features of the new flagships is Super Slow-mo, and Samsung just took the time to share the story on how it came up with such a sophisticated camera effect for the mobile phone. The tech giant took to its online newsroom Wednesday to explain Super Slow-mo and how the feature transforms a 2-second real life moment into a 6-second GIF.

According to Samsung, the idea of creating Super Slow-mo came to be while it was still designing the Galaxy S9/S9+ camera. Its goal back then was to create an entirely new experience that consumers would enjoy. However, it had a problem with the image sensors it was using at the time: they were hampering the company’s desire to deliver a truly unique user experience because of their limitations.

The initial solution Samsung came up with was to recreate the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors, so they could be fast enough to reduce distortion, counter camera shake and support new camera features including one that would give users the ability to slow down time. “If we could make a fast enough sensor, we’d be able to record footage at incredibly fast frame rates that could be slowed down to give users the ability to capture incredible action or extend a funny moment,” Samsung quipped.

To create Super Slow-mo, Samsung increased the frame rate of its sensor technology by creating image sensors that are four times faster than previous models and improving the circuits and pixel technology. It also increased the bandwidth to handle the high frame rates that involved speedy image sensor outputs and quick video processing of the Application Processor. To do all these, Samsung came up with a three-layer stack image sensor that‘s composed of the CMOS image sensor, a fast readout circuit and a dedicated DRAM memory chip.

As a result of its hard work, the Galaxy S9 is now capable of recording at 960fps, which is 32x slower than the frame rate of normal videos. This explains why Super Slow-mo captures 0.2 seconds of action and stretches that into a 6-second GIF file. What’s more is that the feature also comes with several customizations, like adding background music and applying certain effects.

“Our best moments happen in an instant. Whether it’s an incredible feat of athleticism, a tender moment with friends and family, or a hilarious split-second with an energetic puppy, life often moves too fast to capture. Samsung is helping extend these precious moments with the Galaxy S9/S9+’s new Super Slow-mo feature, which gives those perfect but fleeting moments staying power,” Samsung said.