Samsung is looking to refine the Infinity-O design it used for the flagship Galaxy S10 series earlier this year. With its successor, rumoured to be imaginatively called Galaxy S11, the South Korean company is purportedly looking to move the in-display camera to a more central position along the top of the screen.
If that sounds at all familiar, it’s likely because Samsung has already trialled this design with its Galaxy Note 10 smartphone earlier this year. But where the Galaxy S11 will differ from this design is the size. Samsung is believed to be planning the smallest camera cut-out seen on any of its devices.
This information comes courtesy of @UniverseIce on Twitter. The leakster-general of all things Samsung, who has a solid track record when it comes to as-yet unannounced Samsung hardware, claims that “it is certain that the hole of S11 is at the centre, but it is smaller than Note10.”
For those who didn’t like the way the camera cut-out in the Galaxy S10 display – located in the top right-hand corner of the display – pushed certain system icons and notifications further into the centre of the touchscreen, the new placement should stop any infringement on any system icons.
Not only that, but the smaller hole punch in the screen will be less obtrusive overall, too. That will be better for watching videos, playing games, and everything else you happen to do on your phone.
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The camera cut-out is a (slightly) inelegant way for Samsung to shave the borders around the display to near non-existence. This enables the manufacturer to include a bigger display without increasing the overall footprint of the smartphone – keeping it pocketable.
Elsewhere, word on the tech grapevine is that the Galaxy S11 will ship in three different sizes, like the Galaxy S10.
It’s unclear if one of these will be a budget-conscious “e” model with less cameras than its costlier counterparts. All of these models will boast more battery life than the Galaxy S10.
And finally, the codename for the new rear-firing camera on the Galaxy S11 is widely-tipped to be “Hubble”, named after the largest space telescope ever launched, which orbits around the planet and photographs the cosmos to help with NASA and ESA research projects.
Why has Samsung picked this $4.7 billion NASA telescope as the moniker for its next rear-facing camera system? Well, it’s likely all down to the zoom.
With an increasing number of its competitors building in impressive optical zoom, like the Huawei P30 Pro – which offers 5x optical zoom, and 10x hybrid zoom that uses AI to smooth-out any wrinkles. Chinese start-up OnePlus offers 3x optical zoom on its smartphone, and Oppo has matched Huawei’s zooming chops with the aptly-named Oppo Reno 10x Zoom.
During the launch of its new Pixel 4 handset, Google explained that it decided a secondary telephoto camera would be more useful for smartphone owners than an ultra-wide angle lens. Although it only packs a 2x optical zoom, the new Pixel 4 uses AI to analyse the shakes and trembles of your hand to smooth-out any graininess in the image.
Samsung is rumoured to be looking to incorporate a 5x optical zoom to the next entry in its flagship Galaxy S series.
Thankfully, we won’t have long to wait to find out for sure. Samsung Galaxy S11 is expected to land in February, just before MWC 2020. The handset is typically the first flagship smartphone to arrive each year – and the first with the latest silicon from Qualcomm under the bonnet.
Keep checking back over the next few weeks as we delve into the latest whispers and rumours about the Galaxy S11.