The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra offers 100x Space Zoom that combines optical zoom and computer processing. The feature should allow device owners to take beautiful pictures of the moon. But an interesting test done by a Reddit subscriber “ibreakphotos” says the images of the moon provided by the Galaxy S23 Ultra are fake.
He wrote: “Many of us have witnessed the breathtaking lunar photos taken with the latest zooms, starting with the S20 Ultra. Nevertheless, I’ve always had doubts about their authenticity as they seem almost too perfect. While these images are are not necessarily outright fabrications, nor are they entirely real.” So after downloading a hi-res image of the moon, he lowered the resolution of the image and added a Gaussian blur (using a math function to blur the image) so that the details of the moon were gone.
Samsung uses AI and ML to capture amazing images of the moon captured by the Galaxy S23 Ultra
At one end of his room, he placed that image on his computer screen, then went to the other end of the room, turned off the lights, and zoomed in on the monitor with his Galaxy S23 Ultra. The result? The image became a detailed picture of the moon that looked nothing like the white blob on the computer screen. While Samsung truthfully says that “no image overlay or texture effects are applied, it does use artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance photos of the moon.
Tests show that Samsung uses AI and ML to take beautiful pictures of the moon with the Galaxy S23 Ultra
The Reddit subscriber who performed the test above added, “I hope you understand that Samsung uses an AI model to put craters and other details in places that were just a blurry mess.” And while some excuse Samsung by saying this isn’t an example of deceptive marketing, others say the manufacturer doesn’t clearly explain how these images are produced.
Now, this isn’t the first time Samsung is accused of faking a moon shot. Three years ago, photos of the moon taken with the 100x Space Zoom on the Galaxy S20 Ultra were also criticized as being faked. At the time, Sammy said that the “Super Resolution AI” helped process the shots and no overlays were used. In a statement, Samsung said: “With one press of the shutter, up to 20 frames are captured and processed at instantaneous speeds. Advanced AI then evaluates and corrects thousands of fine details to produce detailed images, even at high magnification levels.”
One manufacturer allegedly used pre-existing images of the moon to mislead consumers
What’s the difference between using AI and Machine Learning tools to create amazing images of the moon as long as no overlays are used? After all, Google uses computational photography on its Pixel handsets, and those cameras are critically acclaimed. The most important part of the sentence is “as long as no overlays are used.” After all, it’s not like another photo of the moon replaces the one you shot with your Galaxy S23 Ultra. That’s where the line has to be drawn.
Image of the moon used by Huawei to promote the P30 Pro’s moon mode
And yes, allegations have been made about a phone maker using moon overlays to mislead consumers. In 2019, the moon mode of the Huawei P30 Pro was promoted by the manufacturer as an opportunity to take beautiful close-up photos of the moon without a tripod. But a researcher named Wang Yue said so Huawei used more than just AI and tried to show that previously photographed images of the moon were inserted into photos taken by the P30 Pro.
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Wang’s theory has never been proven, and while some of our readers have claimed to have debunked it, Moon Mode continues to be embroiled in controversy. Huawei later said: “Moon Mode works on the same principle as other master AI modes, in that it recognizes and optimizes details in an image to help individuals take better photos. It in no way replaces the image – that would an unrealistic amount of storage space since the AI mode recognizes more than 1,300 scenarios.”
The company continues: “Based on machine learning principles, the camera recognizes a scenario and helps optimize focus and exposure to enhance details such as shapes, colors and highlights/lowlights. This feature can be easily turned on or off during taking a picture. picture. Although there is a moon mode, the shot can still be taken without AI mode because of the periscope lens.”
So guess what? Is Samsung trying to trick consumers or is it just doing something that most phone makers are doing, which is using AI to improve users’ photos.
