Camera performance has become an increasingly important feature in the world of smartphones, as evidenced by the recent trend of "cameraphones" like the Lumia 1020, Xperia Z1 and Galaxy S4 zoom as well as the high-end shooters found in devices like the iPhone 5s, Galaxy Note 3 and G2. Samsung recognizes this, and as a result, it has decided to combine its digital imaging division with its wireless unit.

Samsung has announced that its digital imaging arm will be merged with its mobile division as part of some year-end rearranging. The company currently has three major units — Consumer Electronics, IT and Mobile — and Samsung says that merging its imaging division with its mobile branch will help it to integrate the "technical know-how" of both businesses and to create "differentiated" smartphones. Samsung also plans to apply its mobile knowledge to its digital imaging business in an effort to grow its share of the camera market.

As the slab-style, touchscreen design has become the dominant form factor in the smartphone world, manufacturers have been looking at other ways to make their products stand out. Using increasingly large displays is one way that they've done this, but now it seems as though devices are getting about as large as they can without turning into tablets, and so device makers need to find another way to differentiate their handsets. Samsung will be turning to its camera hardware in order to make its phones stand out, and considering that its high-end Galaxy hardware is already known for having some good shooters, it'll be interesting to see what Samsung's camera division can do to make the company's phones better.

How important to you is a phone's camera performance?

Via Engadget, ETNews, Yonhap News Agency