Revolutionary APV codec: Samsung attacks where Apple has dominated for years. Why should you care?

Apple has ProRes, a professional video codec loved by filmmakers worldwide. Samsung long had no answer. Until now. The new APV (Advanced Professional Video) codec is hardware-supported for the first time in the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset and promises professional video in the pocket of every owner of a future top Android device.

What is APV and why should you care

APV is not just another codec for the collection. It’s a direct attack on Apple ProRes, which has long dominated professional video. Samsung developed it in 2023, and now it’s finally getting hardware support in the latest Snapdragon.

The main advantage? APV is free – manufacturers don’t pay licensing fees for it, unlike many other codecs. This means cheaper implementation and wider adoption. And the results are impressive: 10% smaller files than ProRes and 20% smaller than HEVC, yet with near-lossless quality.

Technical parameters that will excite pros

APV is no stripped-down codec for amateurs. It supports resolutions up to 8K, HDR10+ for perfect colors and contrast, and even multi-view videos for spatial recordings. This is something Apple is starting to push with Vision Pro.

For tech enthusiasts: APV handles chroma sub-sampling from 4:0:0 through 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 up to 4:4:4:4, with a bit depth of 10 to 16 bits. These are parameters you’ll appreciate during color grading and post-production. Intra-frame-only encoding means that each frame is encoded independently – ideal for editing.

Ecosystem is key – and Samsung understands that

Having a great codec isn’t enough; you need support. And here Samsung scored. Google has already added APV to Android 16, which means native system support. But that’s not all.

Behind APV are names that mean something: Adobe (Premiere Pro, After Effects), Blackmagic Design (DaVinci Resolve), Dolby, and even YouTube. When YouTube supports your codec, you’ve won – it’s the largest video platform in the world.

Standardization through the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) then ensures that APV is not a proprietary solution from one company, but an open standard.

Galaxy S26 as the first flagship with APV

The Galaxy S26 should be the first Samsung with full APV support. This makes sense – Samsung wants to show what its codec can do on its best technology. With hardware support in the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, encoding and decoding will be fast and energy-efficient.

Imagine shooting 8K video in professional quality that takes up the same amount of space as current 4K in HEVC. Or the ability to edit video directly on your phone without losing quality. These are things that, until now, only worked on iPhones with ProRes.

Why this is a big deal for Android

Android phones have long suffered among creators. Not because of hardware – which was often better than iPhones – but because of software and codecs. APV can change that.

Professional creators who previously preferred iPhone due to ProRes suddenly have an alternative. And perhaps a better one – APV is more efficient and has broader industry support. Moreover, without licensing fees, it can be implemented even in cheaper phones.

Is there a catch?

Of course. The codec is only part of the equation. You also need quality sensors, good optics, and most importantly, a powerful ISP (image signal processor).

Another question is adoption. How many manufacturers besides Samsung will implement APV? Will Qualcomm support APV in cheaper chipsets too? And most importantly – will app developers be willing to add support?

The future looks promising

APV in Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is a significant milestone. For the first time, the Android ecosystem has a professional video codec that can compete with Apple ProRes. With support from major players like Adobe and YouTube, it has a real chance to succeed.

For regular users, this means higher quality videos that take up less space. For professionals, it means the ability to use Android phones for serious video production. And for Samsung? Finally something with which it can put Apple in its pocket. If it can market and implement it correctly, it could be a game changer for the entire Android ecosystem.

Are you looking forward to the APV codec in the Galaxy S26 series?

Source: SamMobile