Forget the iPhone 17 Pro Max – Snapdragon 8 Elite could bring my most requested camera feature to Android phones

I shoot a lot of videos. I’m not just referring to the short clips that I shared on social media, but to those that I film professionally. Usually I rely on my trusty Panasonic Lumix S5 for all the heavy lifting, but I often use some of the better camera phones as backup or b-roll cameras to supplement my footage.

With the announcement of the Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile platform, it might finally bring the video camera functionality I’ve been asking for – and the iPhone 17 Pro Max better worry.

Qualcomm’s latest flagship chipset is now official, but luckily it won’t be long before we see Android phones featuring it. In fact, the Asus ROG Phone 9 series is one of the first phones to feature the new silicon based on the company’s 3nm manufacturing process. And the Galaxy S25 Ultra and OnePlus 13 are also on the way.

While the Snapdragon 8 Elite should be a beast when it comes to everything we do on our phones, I’m most interested in how the chip improves the camera recording capabilities of future phones.

Namely, I asked for the ability to record video not from one camera, but from all of them simultaneously. As a videographer, I can’t tell you how useful a feature like this can be in the editing room, so I’m really looking forward to seeing this come to fruition.

A turning point for video

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile chipset

(Image credit: Qualcomm)

The iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max certainly brought new features that I love, like Audio Mix to improve the audio of video recording and the ability to now shoot in 4K 120fps. Interestingly enough, you can record videos simultaneously on an iPhone using a third-party app like DoubleTake. However, I found it buggy and recording is limited to only two cameras.

With the Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile platform, Android phones could have a leg up on iPhones by offering this ability to record from three 48MP sensors simultaneously at 30fps. This is a big deal because there’s a lot of data in a single 4K video source, let alone having to deal with three. By offering such a feature, it would give me additional utility in the editing room to play with the footage.

For interview-style clips, I can see how having three separate video files from a phone’s main, ultra-wide, and telephoto cameras could be beneficial later. In a sequence, I can use the main camera footage, then switch to telephoto if they have something interesting to say.

The average person may not be inclined to record video on three cameras simultaneously, but given how Apple likes to describe the iPhone 16 Pro as a filmmaker’s camera, this is the kind of advanced feature that I like to see it come to more phones.

More practical applications for this

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL taking a photo.

(Image credit: Future)

I know how I could effectively use this Snapdragon 8 Elite feature with my workflow, but I bet you are wondering about other practical applications for this feature. Short video is king. TikTok and Instagram have proven this time and time again, but I think this ability to record video from three cameras could be useful.

For starters, this could be the kind of thing that would allow people to not worry about which camera to select before recording. I know this has happened to me a few times, like relying on the main camera instead of the ultra-wide to capture a photo – only to realize in the middle of it that I’m cutting out some things from the ‘registration.

With phones powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, recording from three cameras could be the default option. Once recording is complete, they can go back to preview the footage and select only the video they want. So if there is a moment where the ultra wide shot makes more sense to use, they can swap it out to bring up the video. more fluid.

It all makes for a shoot now, worry later experience that I can see more people adopting. Either way, it’s this kind of convenience that will allow camera operators to get the most out of their camera without having to think too much about the logistics of filming. Meanwhile, Apple will need to keep a close eye on what happens over the next year, as the iPhone 17 Pro Max will definitely need its own tricks to maintain Apple’s momentum of having the best market camera phone.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3’s Ben Schwartz is counting down to the movie, and his post is making me jealous for a reason

Moselle. Educational mushroom picking in the Zetting forest: be careful of poisoning

Related Posts

ADGP files complaint against Kumaraswamy over false allegations against SIT

ISB study reveals critical gaps in hypertension management by private healthcare providers-Telangana Today

Mensch ertrinkt in der Rummelsburger Bucht – New details