How Smartphone Cameras Will Evolve in the Next 5 Years

You know how insane the progress has been in the past ten years, when a smartphone camera was used, not just a single time, but many times you had to capture an image, which was either grainy or a picture that was literally comparable to a dedicated camera. But what’s coming next? Personally, I believe that it will be a matter of changes, not bigger numbers in the next 5 years.

This is my belief of how smartphone cameras will develop in the future and why.

AI Overhaul, Smarter Photography, Less Guesswork

Megapixels will not be the sole and largest difference. It’ll be AI.

Currently, AI is already applied to assist with:

Night photos
Portrait blurs
Color tuning

However, in the following years, AI will improve cameras to perceive the image better the way a human being perceives it, not merely taking a technically good picture.

Imagine:

AI changing exposure between individuals and sceneries.
Auto-scene layout to make all the photos appear deliberate.
Live recommendations such as move a little left so that you can frame better.

This to me is larger than another megapixel bump as this type of intelligence will guarantee more people have better photographed images, not just professionals.

Low-Light Mastery, Night Mode Gets Real

The current state of Smartphone cameras is already an enhancement of low-light photographs, though, the next level will be the ability to do photography at night.

In my view, future phones will:

Take cleaner night photos with no noise.
Take photos that you can never achieve without the flash.
No tripod required to minimize blurriness.

Guessing whether a photo will be good or not will no longer be necessary, night shots will simply work.

Computational Photography Gets More Creative

Computational photography refers to the creation of images by way of software that cannot be produced by hardware.

This may in the coming 5 years imply:

Livelihood depth effects like more than just background blur.
Photos with 3 dimensions; you can view them in a variety of angles.
AR image overlays which augment reality ( consider real time background effects that are not cheesy)
Artificial intelligences create improvements that make the details natural.

It will not be the cameras on smart phones capturing moments, but reinventing them in a personal and expressive manner.

Video Recording That Feels Cinematic

Mobile video is already fantastic - yet the next generation will be cinematic quality even without peripherals.

In my opinion:

Stabilization will be enhanced to feel like pro gimbals.
The process of resolving power and dynamic range will be more akin to video cameras of a high end.
Some AIs will be used to automatically color-grade and propose shots.

Essentially, when you desire quality video of storytelling without the use of complicated equipment, then that will be the new norm.

Optics Still Matter not Software only

Regardless of the cleverness of the software, the real optics will still count.

I think we’ll see:

Improved zoom lenses without massive bump of cameras.
Periscope Lenses that become clear (not distorted) at distances.
Smaller sensors which act like bigger ones by means of calculations.

Devices with excellent hardware and intelligent software will remain unique.

More Personalization in Camera Features

Camera personalization, getting your phone to learn your style, is one of the trends that I am looking forward to.

Newer phones could:

Regulate tones depending on your history.
It has suggestions depending on the mood.
Auto-crop or autoframe photos as a professional photographer.

That is a change of everybody gets the same presets to your camera gets you.

Evolution Will Not Be bigger Specs

To me, the future of smartphones cameras does not involve adding more megapixels or marketing more megacells. The actual evolution will be regarding:

Smart smarter software that thinks.
Enhanced video and low-light output.
Individual, intuitive photo equipment.
Hardware that is compatible with software does not oppose it.