Samsung Fakes Moon Shots With Galaxy S20 Ultra

Samsung wants to enable spectacular shots of the moon with its Space Zoom function. Since the Galaxy S20 Ultra, the camera feature has been built into many top models. But there are allegations that the images are actually only generated by an AI.

A controversy between false marketing and false promises

Photographing the moon is not an easy task, Samsung has been promising a simple solution with its smartphone cameras for several generations: the 100x space zoom function. Even at the presentation, the company emphasized that artificial intelligence was used to improve details and reduce image artifacts. After SamMobile had already made the first allegations in 2021 that they were secretly tricking here, the controversy about the function is now boiling up again. Tests should show that Samsung generously supplements image content in the extreme zoom photos with its AI ​​that was never captured by the sensor.

The discussion about the authenticity of the images is currently being fueled by a simple test that was recently published on Reddit. A user first downloaded a high-resolution image of the moon and then significantly reduced it. To further reduce the details, a soft focus was applied. “I switched the image on my monitor to full screen (170×170 pixels, blurred), went to the other end of the room, and turned off all the lights. I zoomed in on the monitor and voilà,” says the user. The result: a shot that shows textures and details that the smartphone’s camera never showed (compare the image above).

The liberal application of artificial intelligence has led to a dramatic increase in the quality of smartphone images in recent years. The current controversy surrounding Samsung probably raises two main questions: How far can such systems go, and to what extent do companies have to clearly point out AI-generated content in advance? Samsung has not yet commented on the allegations.