The upcoming Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will be unveiled on February 25—less than a month away. Much of the attention is on their cameras, with the smaller Galaxy S9 model having a “Super Speed Dual Pixel” 12MP sensor with a f1.5/2.4 variable aperture, and the larger Galaxy S9+ model having some sort of dual camera setup. While we don’t have as many details about the camera on the Samsung Galaxy S9+, we have just learned about one of the potential features in the camera app that will take advantage of dual cameras.
XDA Senior Member mweinbach, who previously brought us information regarding an “Intelligent Scan” feature, has tipped us about the possibility of the Samsung Galaxy S9+ having a depth-sensing sticker feature. This is according to an APK teardown of some of the apps found in the latest unreleased beta build of Android Oreo for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. According to the teardown, you will be able to add stickers or images to a photograph and then adjust the depth.
<string name="stickers_with_depth_control">Stickers with depth control</string>
<string name="add_stickers_or_images_to_pictures_taken_using_dual_camera_then_adjust_the_depth_of_the_stickers_or_images">Add stickers or images to pictures taken using Dual camera, then adjust the depth of the stickers or images.</string>
In my opinion, this isn’t as cool as Google’s AR Stickers, but this is something that Samsung will definitely be bragging about on stage come February 25th. Provided that this information is true, of course. We’re fairly confident that it is, since the evidence is based on existing firmware and the feature lines up with what is expected from the upcoming Galaxy S9+.
As for whether or not it is possible for this feature to work on the Samsung Galaxy S9, we’re not really sure. The string states that the stickers and images can be added using the dual camera, so it makes sense for it to work on the GalaxyS9+ given that it will have a second camera that can be used for depth-sensing. It’s possible that the feature will be available on the regular Galaxy S9 as well.