Galaxy S24 black-and-white photograph colorization: Is it any good?

An city legend tells the story of Google promising a cool characteristic for its Photographs software: the magic skill to show your previous black-and-white images into colourful pics. Google’s magnificent dataset of images would assist its AI engine work out what a sure shade of gray ought to have been, initially. So your grandpa’s blue shirt would turn into blue once more, and the tree behind him would return to its inexperienced shade.

Sadly, Google has but to launch this characteristic for its Photographs software (it briefly examined it then took it again). Within the meantime, Samsung has already taken the leap and added a Colorize possibility as a part of its Galaxy AI options on the Galaxy S24 collection. And it’s extremely simple to make use of, however is it any good, for actual? Are you able to depend on Samsung to show your black-and-white images into a colourful snap? I did some intensive testing.

You may solely colorize what Samsung permits you to colorize

Colorizing images is an possibility Samsung reserves to itself, in a method. It’s not a part of the generative edit magic button, and might solely entry it in Samsung’s Gallery app. It’s one of many sensible strategies that present up as a chip (on the underside left of the photograph) whenever you swipe up on a pic to see its particulars.

When you hit the Colorize button, it solely takes just a few seconds for the Galaxy S24 to pop up the end result. Samsung exhibits a earlier than/after slider, so you’ll be able to test the end result earlier than saving it (or saving it as a replica). One of the best half is that typically it understands that there are focal factors in your photograph, like on this collage of two of my images. It gave me the choice to zoom in on each faces to see the earlier than/after transformation. Cool.

Nevertheless, since it is a sensible suggestion, I can’t power it on images that Samsung doesn’t deem worthy of colorizing. I examined the characteristic with about 30 black-and-white images and the Colorize suggestion popped up on all of them besides the 2 beneath. Each sushi images, for the enjoyable coincidence. Since I didn’t get the choice right here, I can’t power colorize these pics in some other method. So my sushi platters will stay colorless for now.

Colorizing individuals and pets

I began my assessments with images of these we love essentially the most — individuals and pets. Talking from a private perspective, the images I’d need to colorize can be of my grandmas and grandpas, and the early childhood pics of my mother and father. We have now dozens of albums’ value of black-and-white snaps that would use an additional sparkle like this.

However since I don’t know the actual colours of these images and since I needed to check Samsung’s skill to recreate these, I made a decision to run my take a look at on images the place I’ve the originals. So I took some images from my library, dropped the saturation all the way down to zero, made them black-and-white, saved that as a brand new photograph, and transferred them to the Galaxy S24.

Within the first samples beneath, you’ll see how Samsung offers with individuals and pets. Generally, it nailed what must be a pores and skin tone (although the facet of my face in that collage remained blue), the pink hue of lips, and the colour of grass within the background of the canine’s photograph.

I’d say my husband’s photograph above is essentially the most practical colorization of the bunch. Sure, it failed at getting the colourful ceiling panels above him, however the face and shirt look good if just a little chilly. I might add a bit of heat to that photograph and also you wouldn’t be capable of inform it began as a black and white photograph.

The opposite two images above exhibit a filter-like impact. The saturation is just too weak, my indigo sweater appears to be like nearly black, and the grass past the canine is just too pale. Given Samsung’s propensity to over-saturate its personal digicam images, it’s bizarre to see it go the opposite method on this colorization train.

My greatest disappointment is within the Samoyed’s colorization. A correct AI ought to acknowledge the canine’s breed and know they’re white, not pink-purple. This shouldn’t be a query.

Bringing landscapes again to life

Shifting on to landscapes, I had excessive hopes. That is the precise reverse of individuals: Given an intensive dataset of images and areas, colorizing a greyscale panorama must be children’ play for an AI engine.

The Galaxy S24 dissatisfied me a bit right here. The primary two landscapes of the Swiss mountains and Lake Bled, respectively, turned up too heat and classic.

The third photograph is one of the best colorization end result I’ve seen amongst all 30+ photographs I examined. It appears to be like almost excellent, and each the blue and inexperienced hues are fairly near the unique pic’s colours.

Including some colours to flowers

My disappointment continued with images of flowers. As soon as once more, given a correct dataset, the AI ought to know the flower’s precise species and work out precisely what colour it must be. In my assessments, that wasn’t the case.

The primary colorization is okay, till you discover the pink middle of the hibiscus is nowhere to be discovered. However the different two are extra of against the law towards botany all over the place. Gone is the blue-purple of the globe thistle, changed by a heat yellow-green shade. The orange and yellow of the Peruvian lily are barely colorized right into a blue-green tint. There aren’t many colours of those flowers, so Samsung shouldn’t get them unsuitable.

Colorizing meals is hit-and-miss

If you happen to have been already considering that there isn’t quite a lot of further “intelligence” occurring behind this characteristic, this could seal the deal. Whereas the burger and fries photograph is okay (and doubtless the second finest after the inexperienced and blue panorama above), the fruit bowl is an absolute shame should you ask me.

Even within the black and white photograph, you’ll be able to inform these are bananas, blueberries, and strawberries. You may’t flip them into three shades of brown!

The identical is true of the pizza photograph, the place the pink of the ham is introduced again as a boring gentle brown mush. I’d forgive lacking the pink of the platter as a result of there’s nothing to trace at it within the unique photograph, however the pink ham must be a simple one.

From easy scenes to difficult colourful scenes

I knew I used to be hitting a wall with this characteristic, however I made a decision to push it a bit extra. First with just a few easy scenes that it dealt with quite advantageous. It didn’t select the correct colour tone within the first two underground and cellar images, however the result’s practical. I’ll additionally give it some further factors for recognizing the white and pink of the lighthouse.

Issues turned harder as I went on. Photographs with a number of colours lead to a boring single-hue colorization. I don’t blame Samsung for not figuring out the precise colours right here, however it’s proof that the AI has limits. It sees shades of gray and figures out a center hue worth that is sensible. It isn’t utilizing geolocation or an enormous public dataset to colorize images.

Working example: Bilbao’s constructing (first photograph) and Le Havre’s Catène de Containers (third pic) turn into orange mush and no matter that blue-green’ish shade is for the delivery containers.

Pushing additional, I examined the Colorize possibility on extraordinarily busy images and the outcomes have been a bit dangerous within the first two samples (too vintage-feeling and desaturated), whereas the third one nailed the bushes and lights colours fairly nicely.

Crimson is the hardest colour

You may need seen that in most of the examples above, the Galaxy S24’s colorization engine is commonly selecting to veer away from reds. The one instances it actually added some reddish hues have been for pink lips and the lighthouse. For the flowers, strawberries, pizza ham, and lots of different pink components, it simply ignored the pink colour. That is one other instance. The pink lighthouse is become a blueish gray.

For images of individuals, I’m satisfied that Samsung will do an excellent job of bringing these previous black-and-white snaps into life. The entire examples I examined (together with those I didn’t share right here for privateness functions) bought an excellent pores and skin tone, correct pink for the lips, and first rate sufficient hair coloring. Now in case you have pink hair or blue eyes, decrease your expectations. The Galaxy S24 won’t guess that.

For all different images, the outcomes are mitigated. I anticipated Samsung to make use of various factors (topic of the photograph, location, and its personal picture dataset) to get some colour again into images. However as proven by the examples of the canine, flowers, totally different landscapes, and people brown strawberries and blueberries — sorry, I simply can’t neglect these! — that isn’t the case.

Plus, I’ve a suspicion that Samsung’s AI engine, looking for pace, is making an attempt to divide any photograph into particular areas earlier than it colorizes it. Most instances the entire photograph finally ends up lumped collectively and will get the identical remedy.

You’ll see this in colorized images which might be mainly only a single tone (sea port lighthouse above, Bilbao buildings, fruit bowl, pizza, flowers images, a lot of the landscapes, and the canine photograph). And that tone is commonly too heat or too chilly, not saturated sufficient, and undoubtedly too classic filter-like.

In some images, although, you get two or three totally different zones and a distinct tone between every. These are those which might be the closest to actuality and the unique photograph. That is true for the primary lighthouse photograph, the inexperienced and blue river panorama, and the burger. These are my favorites of the bunch.

In conclusion, I’d personally do this characteristic on images of individuals, and I’d count on it to do issues principally proper. If I’m colorizing tremendous previous images, I received’t know what colours I’m lacking on, however I’ll know what I’m gaining. So it’s a win. For the rest, it’s a coin toss. I wouldn’t waste my time. Preserve the classic black-and-white as an alternative of a foul yellow or blue filter.