Why APV

Codecs may be unfamiliar to many consumers, but they act as invisible engines shaping the user experience. Think of a suitcase — how you pack it determines how much it holds and how easily you can find what you need. Likewise, an efficient codec enables a user to store more high-quality video while improving playback and editing.

Video falls into two categories — casual video, everyday clips we capture and share, and professional video for cinema-grade editing. While casual codecs prioritize compression efficiency, professional codecs must preserve image quality and reproduce colors with precision. Just as overpacking a suitcase can damage or distort its contents, professional video requires a robust codec that preserves every detail.

Conventional compression makes it difficult to fully enable mobile post-production — including color grading, where creators apply precise tones to match their artistic vision, and visual effects (VFX). APV was designed to support the entire workflow from capture to final edit while preserving detail even after multiple rounds of recompression.

Reducing Complexity Without Compromise

The biggest technical challenge was reducing complexity. Conventional professional codecs focus on image quality, making them computationally demanding and limiting use to high-end hardware. The goal was to achieve a low-complexity design that mobile processors could handle in real time without compromising quality.

To address this, Samsung introduced lightweight entropy coding¹ to reduce computational load and frame tiling² that enables parallel encoding and decoding across multiple cores. As a result, APV supports real-time processing of up to 8K video on mobile phones while maintaining image quality with minimal loss, even after multiple edits.

Building an Open Ecosystem for All

The value of technology lies in how widely it is used. Samsung chose to build an open ecosystem where anyone can adopt and advance the technology. It’s like sharing a great recipe — leading to even better results.

In February 2026, Samsung published APV through the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as RFC 9924, establishing it as a de facto global standard. The company also released the full source code on GitHub under the name “OpenAPV,” enabling developers worldwide to participate and contribute.

This openness is driving ecosystem growth and accelerating adoption. The APV codec is supported in Android 16, while the open-source tool FFmpeg and post-production software DaVinci Resolve have also added support.

Collaborating Across Global Teams

This progress was driven by Samsung’s global research collaboration. After Samsung Research (SR) led early development, teams across Samsung Research America (SRA), Samsung R&D Institute India-Bangalore (SRI-B), Samsung R&D Institute Poland (SRPOL) and Samsung R&D Institute Japan (SRJ) worked closely together. Their efforts led to a key milestone in October 2023, when APV was unveiled at the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC). In August 2024, Samsung joined the Academy Software Foundation (ASWF) to support the open-source video ecosystem.

To bring the technology to mobile phones, the Mobile eXperience (MX) Business spearheaded product integration. Close collaboration between MX and SR optimized performance for mobile. In February 2026, Samsung equipped Galaxy S26 Ultra with APV — the first Android phone to support the codec.

Expanding Creative Possibilities for All

Our goal is clear. We aim to make professional-grade video production accessible to everyone through APV. Technology delivers its greatest value when it is open, and APV will shape a more creative future for video content.

1. A technique that reduces computational complexity, enabling the mobile phone’s application processor to operate more efficiently. ︎
2. A method that divides a large video frame into smaller segments, allowing them to be processed simultaneously. ︎

Samsung Electronics has independently developed the APV (Advanced Professional Video) codec, a technology designed to enable high-quality video editing and has released it as open source. The codec made its debut on Galaxy S26 Ultra launched in March, setting a new benchmark for mobile video creation. By preserving image quality while minimizing loss throughout the editing process, APV enables more precise, professional-grade video production.

Samsung Newsroom sat down with developers from the Visual Solution Team of Mobile eXperience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics to hear the story behind APV, from technical challenges faced in development to the thinking that shaped it.

Q. What led to the development of the APV codec?

Yoo: Conventional video codecs experience some data loss during the compression process required to reduce file size. In particular, as the repeated editing process tends to result in noticeable degradation in image quality, a new codec has been developed to fundamentally address these limitations.

To this end, we proposed a collaboration with Samsung Research. Samsung Research took the lead in standardizing APV, and then MX business worked closely over the past three years to ensure its support as part of the Android standard.

Q. What is the APV codec, and what are its key advantages?

Yoo: APV is a video codec that has been formally standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). It is optimized for editing, preserving as much data as possible while delivering excellent compression efficiency relative to image quality. At the same quality level, it can reduce file size by more than 10 percent compared to similar codecs.

Min: It also delivers refined color reproduction based on the YUV 4:2:2 and achieves visually lossless level of image quality, while maintaining minimal degradation even after multiple rounds of editing.

Q. Why did you choose to release APV as open source?

Yoo: We chose to develop APV as open source to encourage wider adoption and to build an ecosystem through standardization — ultimately bringing the technology and its benefits to more users. No matter how advanced a technology is, if it isn’t widely used, it becomes obsolete.

Q. What were the key priorities in implementing APV codec on a mobile device?

Min: Moving from standardization to commercialization was a challenge on a completely different level. To enable real-time processing of UHD and 8K video within the constraints of mobile devices, efforts were focused on thermal management and system-level optimization. With APV, UHD 30fps footage can reach up to 6GB per minute, so we partnered with Samsung Electronics’ Memory Business to ensure data storage stability. As a result of validating the latest Samsung portable SSD models across all recording resolutions on Galaxy S26 Ultra over more than nine test cycles, stable data transfer performance was secured even under high-load conditions.

Yoo: Building the APV ecosystem also required close collaboration with a wide range of partners. We worked closely not only with chipset manufacturers, but also with companies developing editing tools and video players.

Q. How does it feel to see the APV codec debut on Galaxy S26 Ultra?

Yoo: As more expert-level users such as YouTubers and influencers emerge, we wanted to lower the barriers to entry for video production, which has traditionally required access to professional equipment. Galaxy S26 Ultra comes with four built-in cinematic LUTs (Look-Up Tables), and we hope this allows more users to easily create film-like visuals right from their hands.

Min: What stands out most to me is developing a dedicated pro kit for Galaxy S26 Ultra in collaboration with a camera accessory specialist. Despite the tight timeline leading up to the Galaxy Unpacked where the product was unveiled, we were able to refine the overall quality, which makes it especially meaningful. It laid the foundation for Galaxy to be utilized in professional video production workflow.

Q. As a developer from the Visual Solution Team, what are your plans going forward?

Yoo: We plan to continue advancing the codec so that both users and creators can find even greater value in Galaxy-based video editing. Through APV, we look forward to the day when Galaxy S26 Ultra is even used in film production environments.

Min: Our goal is to make it easier for everyday users to create professional, cinematic content. We’ll also continue collaborating with partners to expand the APV ecosystem.

With the APV codec, Galaxy S26 Ultra moves beyond incremental innovation. It lowers barriers to entry while raising the bar for what mobile video production can be. An era has arrived where a single Galaxy device can take users from shooting to editing to sharing at a professional level. And at the intersection of Galaxy S26 Ultra’s technology and creators’ imagination, the possibilities are wide open.