Samsung’s latest flagship, the Galaxy S24 series, made waves with its innovative features, including the much-lauded Instant Slow-Mo functionality. This unique feature allows users to effortlessly view recorded videos in slow motion simply by long-pressing on them, eliminating the need for manual editing or recording in slow motion. Initially exclusive to the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung has now announced plans to roll out this feature to older Galaxy devices.
In a recent announcement on Samsung’s official South Korean community forum on February 13, a moderator unveiled the expansion of the Instant Slow-Mo feature. The update will extend compatibility to eight older smartphones, namely the Samsung Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9+, Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, Galaxy Z Flip 5, and the Galaxy Z Fold 5.
The selection of these specific devices stems from the requirement of a robust Neural Processing Unit (NPU) and Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) with a processing speed of at least 16.6 milliseconds for 60fps videos, as elucidated in the forum post. Notably, all eight smartphones are equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, meeting the necessary threshold for the Instant Slow-Mo feature.
Referred to intriguingly as “time zoom” by Samsung, the Instant Slow-Mo feature operates akin to spatial zoom in still images. By stretching the time interval between each frame of the video, users can discern finer details in motion, creating the illusion of slowed-down footage. Although the exact timeline for the feature’s rollout to older handsets remains undisclosed, speculations suggest it may accompany the anticipated One UI 6.1 update slated for release next month.
Presently, the Instant Slow-Mo feature supports 8-bit videos ranging from 720p to 8K resolution, exclusively in the MP4 file format. However, Samsung aims to enhance the feature further by potentially introducing support for 10-bit videos in 480p resolution, as well as extending compatibility to the MOV file format, as highlighted in the forum post.
As Samsung continues to innovate and expand accessibility to its cutting-edge features, the imminent arrival of Instant Slow-Mo to older Galaxy devices heralds an exciting development for users seeking enhanced video viewing experiences on their smartphones.