Samsung Electronics, Will It Collaborate with Japan's Olympus on Smartphone Cameras?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] Samsung Electronics is rumored to be partnering with the Japanese camera company Olympus in the smartphone camera sector.

IT media SamMobile reported on the 8th (local time), citing famous IT tipster Ice Universe, that Samsung Electronics may collaborate with Olympus. SamMobile stated that if negotiations between the two companies proceed and the partnership materializes, the results of the collaboration are likely to be applied to next year's 'Galaxy S22' series or the special edition of the 'Galaxy Z Fold3' within this year.

Samsung Electronics currently holds an advantage over Chinese manufacturers in terms of smartphone camera quality. However, recently Chinese companies have been improving quality through partnerships with renowned camera specialists. Notable examples include Vivo's recent partnership with Carl Zeiss for the X60 smartphone series and Huawei's long-term partnership with Leica.

According to SamMobile, if Samsung Electronics collaborates with Olympus, it is expected that they will work together on color tuning and image processing, similar to how Hasselblad partnered with OnePlus for the OnePlus 9 series. However, SamMobile pointed out that partnerships with camera specialists do not guarantee improvements in camera performance and that such collaborations should be viewed more from a marketing perspective rather than as substantial innovations in camera quality.

In the past, Samsung Electronics produced professional-level mirrorless cameras and interchangeable lenses under the NX brand. However, as the dedicated camera market, including interchangeable lens cameras, shrank, Samsung withdrew from the market in 2015. It is known that camera and imaging experts from the camera division at that time were integrated into the smartphone division.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.