[Courtesy of Samsung]
SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics ambitiously showcased Galaxy A9 this week in Malaysia as the world's first smartphone with four rear cameras. The initial reaction from South Korean tech fans is not so favorable. Tech-savvy users voice doubt about whether the quad-lens camera will perform better than conventional cameras.
Galaxy A9 is a 6.3-inch mid-range device with a hint of Samsung's flagship series melded into its design. The phone has a front single-lens camera and four rear cameras including a 24-megapixel main camera, an eight-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 10-megapixel zoom camera and a five-megapixel camera which works as a depth sensor, to provide a wide range of choices for users in taking pictures.
Many tech-savvy consumers compared A9's camera feature to that of Apple's latest iPhones including iPhone XS Max. The American tech company released its new flagship models with a dual-lens camera in September. iPhone XS Max took the No. 2 spot in DXOMARK's chart with the best camera performance. DXOMARK is a prominent photoimaging technology company which benchmarks imaging devices.
"Why can't they just use two good cameras?" wrote Mr. Choomo, a user from South Korea's online IT community Clien. Lightwave, another user, expressed doubt about A9's competitiveness in the global market: "There is a cutthroat competition between phone makers. Do Samsung really think A9 has the guts for it?"
Ordinary consumers showed a different but similar reaction. "Maybe, a few years from now, there could be a phone with 12 cameras on its back," wrote dirt, a user from South Korea's largest web portal Naver.
There were voices of expectations. Some consumers favored A9 because of its good camera features and large-sized battery. Sori, a Naver user, said: "Instead of a $2,000 digital camera, I would rather buy this phone. Its camera looks great!" Galaxy A9 will be released globally in November. Samsung's mobile division head Koh Dong-jin said A9 targets a new generation of consumers who tend to communicate through images they shoot.
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