Skip to main content

Galaxy S10 update brings ultra-wide camera support to some 3rd-party apps

After years of LG being the only company doing it, Samsung adopted an ultra-wide camera on the Galaxy S10 this year. Now, the May security update for the Galaxy S10 is opening up support for the ultra-wide camera to 3rd-party apps.

Noted by SamMobile, the latest Galaxy S10 update brings along the “ultra-wide SDK” for app developers. This allows 3rd-party apps to add a switch to use the ultra-wide camera on the S10 directly from the app. This means that users won’t have to use the official camera app first to take an ultra-wide shot to share it in a 3rd-party app.

This also opens up the full wide-angle view of the selfie camera. The default field-of-view for the selfie shooter is 68-degrees, but a switch can be used to unlock the full 80-degrees. This switch is used in the stock camera app, but other apps default to the slightly zoomed in 68-degrees.

Unfortunately, this is a change apps are required to make. If they use their own camera viewfinders, an update must be pushed to take advantage of the ultra-wide camera on the back of the Galaxy S10 and the extra FOV on the selfie shooter. WhatsApp has already been updated to take advantage of this functionality.

More on Galaxy S10:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Google — experts who break news about Google and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Google on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel