Samsung's new periscope camera fits telephoto lenses into an even slimmer design

Key Takeaways

• Samsung introduces ISOCELL ALoP camera, offering improved image quality and reduced camera module height.
• ALoP camera features a larger aperture for better low-light performance, achieved through a tilted prism reflection surface.
• Despite this advancement, Samsung needs to improve real-world camera performance in the upcoming Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Getting extra zoom out of a smartphone camera requires some clever methods, which is where periscope zoom lens technology comes into play. While it can provide that extra reach in a relatively compact package, there are trade-offs with this technology, with mixed quality when it comes to images and most phones having a relatively large camera bump. With that said, it looks like Samsung has made some advancements, introducing its new ISOCELL ALoP camera technology that could someday appear on one of its future phones.

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In addition to reducing its size when compared to current telescope zoom cameras, the new ISOCELL ALoP camera will also bring other improvements as well, by being able to produce better quality images both during the day and at night (via Android Authority). Samsung is able to do this by changing the shape of its module, with the lenses facing horizontally in relation to the prism. Samsung is then able to increase the size of its lens without it having a negative effect on the thickness of the phone.

It's not a matter of how, but when

Source: Samsung

As far as the hard numbers, Samsung touts that its new ALoP camera "accommodates an f/2.58 lens aperture at a focal length of 80mm." This allows the brand to utilize a sensor with a large aperture, which can improve image quality all around, especially in low light scenarios. When it comes to size reduction, Samsung states that this new camera is "shortened 22% with respect to conventional folded camera optics." As stated before, this drastically reduces the height of the module.

The brand is able to accomplish this with "a 40˚-tilted prism reflection surface and 10˚-tilted sensor assembly" which contributes to the lower-profile structure of the new ALoP camera. Samsung has done a pretty good job of getting its camera sensors to be more flush with the body of the phone. We saw this with the Galaxy S23 Ultra, along with this year's Galaxy S24 Ultra as well, and it will no doubt be the same with next year's flagship model.

And while we can appreciate the latest camera technologies from Samsung, what we really want is a better camera. So, while all of this sounds great on paper, Samsung hasn't exactly been the leader when it comes to real world use of cameras on its smartphones. Let's just hope that Samsung gets things right with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Luckily, we won't have to wait long, since the debut is just a few months away.