How Portrait Video Recreates the Look of Professional Camera Lenses
Unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked July 2026, Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Z series introduces My FanCam — a new feature that lets users focus their edits on a person of their choice — as well as an enhanced Portrait Video that recreates the look of professional camera lenses.
While the two features offer different camera experiences, both draw on expertise spanning foundational technology research, feature development, and user experience design.
As part of “The People Behind the Galaxy Z Series’ Camera Innovations,” Samsung Newsroom sat down with experts from Samsung Research and the Mobile eXperience (MX) Business to discuss the technical challenges and collaboration behind the two features.
A sharply defined subject against a softly blurred background creates a sense of depth long associated with professional camera lenses. Researchers have continued to explore ways to achieve this effect in smartphone video.
With the Galaxy Z series, Portrait Video recreates the distinctive depth and Bokeh of a large-aperture lens. To make this possible, Samsung Research analyzed the optical characteristics of actual camera lenses and developed AI-powered video processing technology, while the MX Business optimized it for the device.
Samsung Newsroom spoke with YoungGeol Kim of the Visual Technology Team at Samsung Research and Sang-uk Park, responsible for camera development at the Mobile eXperience (MX) Business, about how Portrait Video evolved from a research concept into a Galaxy camera feature.
A New Level of Depth in Portrait Video
Q. What is Portrait Video? What has changed with the latest Galaxy Z series?
Park: Portrait Video keeps the main subject in focus while softly blurring the background, creating a cinematic look that makes the subject stand out.
On the Galaxy Z series, the degree of blur changes naturally based on the distance between the subject and background. Small background lights appear as soft, rounded Bokeh, much as they would through a large-aperture lens.
This allows users to draw attention to the subject and capture videos with greater depth and atmosphere using just a smartphone, without the need for separate professional equipment.
Q. What inspired the technology behind Portrait Video?
Kim: Photography has been my hobby for 25 years. That passion led me to camera technology research and development and sparked a lasting interest in the unique visual character of lenses.
As smartphone cameras advanced rapidly, photography benefited from a range of new features and improvements in image quality. Video evolved quickly as well, but I saw further potential in recreating the depth and background rendering of professional camera lenses. We proposed the idea during the research stage, just as the MX Business was exploring ways to help users create professional-looking videos more easily — paving the way for joint development.
Q. How did the teams collaborate to turn Portrait Video into a camera feature?
Kim: Existing solutions alone weren’t enough to achieve the natural lens rendering we wanted. At the time, Samsung Research’s technology was still in the research stage, so applying it to a product was not an easy decision.
Even so, the MX Business recognized its potential and decided to commercialize it. From there, full-scale testing and refinement began. We evaluated the technology on actual devices and exchanged feedback, turning it into a camera feature for users.
Park: To prepare the feature for real-world use, we had to shoot countless videos under a wide range of conditions and validate the results. Since the feature is centered on people, experts from both teams even served as models and filmed one another.
We focused particularly on how naturally subjects were separated from their backgrounds and whether the blur and Bokeh looked right at different distances. As we filmed each other, reviewed the results together and continued our discussions, what I remember most is how noticeably the results improved.
