Samsung has been accused of misleading users about the Space Zoom feature of newer Galaxy S-series smartphones, which support capturing high-resolution images of the moon. The feature was first added to the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and has been included in all of the company’s subsequent ‘Ultra’ models. However, one user has claimed that the South Korean company misrepresented the feature and how it works while marketing the smartphone’s capabilities.
In a post shared on Reddit on Saturday, the user Doctor Bülder (Reddit, Instagram: ibreakphotos) refers to an MSPoweruser Article from 2021, which claims Samsung artificially enhanced images clicked with the 100x Space Zoom feature on the Galaxy S21 Ultra. The Reddit user claims to have tested the feature on a digital image of the moon, indicating that Samsung’s Space Zoom feature adds detail to blurry images that were extremely blurry or not visible. The post currently has over 10,000 upvotes and over 1,100 comments on the platform.
To back up their claims, the Reddit user downloaded an image of the moon, applied a blur effect, and then used his Samsung Galaxy smartphone to click on a photo while it was displayed on his computer monitor. Screen captures of the process shared by the user show details such as craters and other dark areas that will be added to the lunar surface in the final image. The user even edited part of the image and increased the highlights to show a white spot, but the phone still applied the AI-based effects.
Unlike the controversy surrounding a similar feature on the Huawei P30 Pro accused of overlaying images of the moon with other photos from Earth’s only natural satellite, allegations that Samsung’s Space Zoom feature captures images of the moon and uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies to enhance details in the images . However, the Reddit user claims that Samsung also adds textures to images of the moon, even if those details didn’t exist on the subject.
It’s worth noting that Samsung had answered to the 2021 MSPoweruser article stating that the company’s Space Zoom feature uses AI to recognize the image when previewed by the user and matches it with the company’s AI model tested, which was based on hundreds of thousands of images. When the camera successfully detects the object as a moon, it enhances the image to reduce noise and blur. Samsung had also stated that the final image would be of higher quality compared to what was visible in the viewfinder, due to additional AI-based image processing techniques applied during the shooting process.
From the company’s previous response, Samsung has already claimed that the company is using ML and AI to add detail to images, resulting in images of the moon with more detail. While these claims do not appear to be misleading as claimed by the user, the company has yet to issue a statement in response to the user’s claims that the Space Zoom feature adds detail to images that lack detail in the first location.
