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Hands-On With Samsung’s Oddly Amazing Galaxy K Zoom

John Biggs
Is That A Zoom I See Before Me?
What do you get when you mash up a Samsung Galaxy S5 and a point-and-shoot ultra zoom camera? This amazing amalgam called the Galaxy K Zoom.”
Optics
The camera has a 10x optical zoom and 20.7 megapixel CMOS sensor. It has a bright Xenon flash and an optical image stabilizer for bouncy shots and low light. You have to see it to believe it.”
Zoom Zoom!
The phone is about as thin as a standard Galaxy S5, although there is definitely a bit of bulk to the device. Imagine a bulked-up smartphone and you get this. What’s amazing is that Samsung has been able to stuff so much into such a small case. “
Photo Quality
Photo quality was excellent and the various modes — including an odd “Selfie Alarm” system — ensure you’ll use this as a camera quite often. Pro Suggest mode assesses the environment and suggests ways to get amazing shots. This is a big help if you’re in the dark (literally) as to how to change the settings.”
Does This Look Like A Camera To You?
Definitely not. To activate the lens you have to press two buttons on the side of the phone or enable the camera app. The lens zooms out with surprising speed, and the autofocus, auto exposure and shot times are incredibly fast.”
Eye On You
Some specs: It runs KitKat, has a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display at 1280×720 pixels, and runs a 1.3GHz Quad-Core + 1.7GHz Dual-Core processor. It has 2GB RAM and 8GB on-board storage (expandable via Micro SD). “
It's An Odd Duck To Be Sure
Samsung knows this is a weird device. They also know it has a limited audience. I was definitely fascinated by the possibilities afforded by this device, and I especially loved the zoom lens – an optical trick that works almost like magic. “
Before...
“
After...
Check out that wild design. It’s enough to make you give up your point and shoot.”
Charcoal Looks Best
I really liked the charcoal model, although there are two more colors available…”
Crystal Blue Persuasion
Want it in blue? They have it in “Electric Blue.””
The White Stuff
The K Zoom also comes in Shimmery White, which is white.”
Bad News
Now for the bad news: Samsung is only selling the K Zoom in Asia for now. While Samsung wouldn’t comment on actual numbers sold, the perception is that the “Zoom” line does far better in Eastern Europe and Asia where it replaces the standard point and shoot. The phone is launching in Singapore first, and there is no talk of bringing it to the States any time soon. “

Topics

John Biggs
John Biggs is a writer, consultant, programmer, former East Coast Editor and current contributing writer for TechCrunch. He writes mainly about technology, cryptocurrency, security, gadgets, gear, wristwatches, and the internet. After spending his formative years as a programmer, he switched his profession and became a full-time entrepreneur andwriter. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Laptop, PC Upgrade, Surge, Gizmodo, Men’s Health, InSync, Linux Journal, Popular Science, Sync, and he has written a book called Black Hat: Misfits, Criminals, and Scammers in the Internet Age.
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October 27-29, 2025
San Francisco


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