Make every snap picture perfect with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888

Great mobile cameras are made of solid imaging hardware, traditional imaging algorithms, and increasingly important AI engines to turn those digital ones and zeros into great-looking snapshots. The latter is evolving by leaps and bounds thanks to the growing power of machine learning and computer-aided photography. AI technologies help smartphones create professional-quality photos with beautiful bokeh, images and films with a high dynamic range, and even video recordings in near darkness. But constantly improving software technologies also require more powerful machine learning and image processing hardware, such as those found in Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 5G mobile platform.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 works as a heterogeneous computing platform and distributes machine learning workloads to the most suitable component. When it comes to photography and video, the platform’s Spectra 580 Image Signal Processor (ISP) and Hexagon 780 processor play the core roles.

Smart image processing that understands your images

The Spectra 580 ISP of the Snapdragon 888 masters all essential steps of photo and video processing. It is the core component that takes the image from the camera sensor and converts it into the digital ones and zeros that are stored in your smartphone’s gallery. However, since Qualcomm is not satisfied with the basics of image processing, Qualcomm is adding additional features to its ISP to help users capture the perfect picture. Let’s dive into some examples.

The Spectra 580 is actually a “triple ISP” that can process a whopping 2.7 gigapixels per second. That’s enough data throughput to capture 8K videos or capture huge 200-megapixel images, which is more detail than ever. The triple ISP also enables the processor to record images and videos from up to three cameras at the same time, which enables picture-in-picture recording such as Director’s View in the Samsung Galaxy S21 series. The ISP also offers a full 10-bit image pipeline that enables full capture and storage of over a billion shades of color with the HEIC image format, as seen in the Oppo Find X3 Pro. That is much more image data than with conventional 8-bit JPEG.

Qualcomm’s Zero Shutter Lag feature enables “pre-capture” of images so they’re ready to use as soon as you press the shutter button so you don’t miss the perfect, quick shot. The ISP also processes multiple image frames for noise reduction and high dynamic range to ensure details look crisp and smooth even in difficult lighting environments. Nobody wants to rotate again if their images don’t look right, and Qualcomm’s use of intelligent image processing techniques ensures it isn’t necessary.

But that’s not all. The Spectra 580 in the Snapdragon 888 also has the “computer vision” functions integrated directly into the silicon, which it enriches with AI imaging smarts.

Auto focus, auto exposure, and auto white balance are the cornerstones of imaging that ensure your images will look professional-quality regardless of the scene you capture. For example, you might want different exposures for landscapes and portraits. Leveraging AI smarts right in the ISP chain, Qualcomm’s camera setup makes these important adjustments in real time without consuming valuable processing resources and battery life. But most importantly, your images are always in focus, properly exposed, and in the right colors every time you press the shutter button, whether you’re taking a macro shot, a portrait photo, or a beautiful landscape.

If you’re looking for some examples of just how powerful these technologies are, check out these images captured on Snapdragon devices.

AI smarts for a professional touch

While the ISP of the Snapdragon 888 handles the core tasks of image and video processing, the Hexagon 780 processor is the 6th in the Qualcomm AI Engine. The use cases with the Hexagon 780 processor can be extensive, from improving the appearance of your images to completely revise the imaging functions of a smartphone.

Software bokeh blur is an extremely popular feature in photography and videography, and Qualcomm leverages its AI engine to produce high-end results. Hardware accelerated machine learning calculates foreground and background depth and edges while a graphics pass applies the software blur to the image. The result is images that take on a naturally smooth look that is often associated with high quality DSLR cameras. In fact, Qualcomm’s AI engine is fast enough to do all of this math in real time to apply bokeh blur to 4K video at 30 frames per second.

As another example, ArcSoft has developed an AI autozoom feature, accelerated on Qualcomm’s AI engine, to automatically follow and zoom in on objects and people in your scene. This feature, included in the smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders, is applied in real time so you can switch subjects, automatically zoom in and out, and even switch to the most appropriate camera lens in a smartphone setup with multiple cameras. Never again lose track of fast-moving objects and subjects while you are recording videos.

Qualcomm is also partnering with BlinkAI, which uses the Snapdragon 888’s AI engine for vastly improved nighttime video recordings with the Xiaomi Mi 11 smartphone. BlinkAI’s computing solution improves the effective lighting by up to 5 times to significantly improve the image quality in difficult recording environments. Such long dark, gritty and grainy video footage when shooting in low light.

Powerful hardware enables computational video capture to go even further and enables multi-frame imaging techniques that we normally associate with photography to be applied to video. The use of digital overlap (DOL) and staggered HDR image sensors in combination with intelligent processing functions, for example, merges multiple frames into high-performance HDR videos, even at high resolutions. This technology is found in the OnePlus 9 Pro, Oppo Find X3 Pro and Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra.

Computer photography is the future

Along with improved camera lenses and sensor hardware, state-of-the-art AI engine capabilities are essential to drive innovation in smartphone photography and videography. However, your handset needs the necessary hardware to make this a reality.

The combination of the Spectra 580 Triple ISP and Hexagon 780 AI-focused processor in the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 provides the capabilities required for next-generation mobile photography. The ISP offers the necessary data throughput for 4K video and multi-camera technologies that are now permeating the smartphone industry. While the Hexagon 780 offers additional processing power for the most advanced computational photography techniques, including object segmentation and real-time bokeh blur. Qualcomm’s AI engine not only improves the consistency and quality of your photos, it also breaks new ground to capture the perfect snapshot and video.

Importantly, the AI ​​camera capabilities create key differentiators between products and give users more powerful tools to not only get the perfect shot every time, but also to be more creative with their photography and videography. Whether it’s emulating the soft depth of field of a DSLR camera, tracking your subject closely, or replacing entire backgrounds in real time, powerful AI engines are taking mobile photography to new heights.