On May 7, 2026, Samsung published a developer interview on its newsroom detailing the "Cinematic Look-Up Table (Cine LUT)" video feature built into the Samsung Galaxy S26 series[1]. Using Log footage as the source, Cine LUT lets users reproduce a cinematic color treatment with a single tap, in four styles: Blockbuster, Coming-of-age, Romance, and Thriller[1]. Combined with the "Advanced Professional Video (APV)" codec newly supported on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, the feature is positioned as the foundation for serious filmmaking on a single smartphone[2].
Cine LUT is a "color-conversion map" tuned for Log video
A LUT (Look-Up Table) is essentially a map that translates the colors of a captured video into a different tonal target[1]. Cine LUT in particular is optimized for the Log video that Galaxy devices can record. Rather than overlaying color the way an ordinary filter does, it reconstructs footage using the wide gradation information Log preserves, yielding the depth and look of cinema, Samsung explains[1].
Development was led by Sugon Baek of Samsung's MX (Mobile eXperience) Camera Image Quality R&D group, Bomi Kim of the Reality Media Lab at Samsung Research, and Taesik Eom, CEO of the Korean colorist studio U5K Imageworks[1]. The collaboration between Samsung and U5K Imageworks dates back two years to advisory work on a "Rec.709 LUT" for Log video, and that prior experience was carried into the Cine LUT design[1].
Four core styles, matched to the scene
Samsung's engineers analyzed the visual language shared across popular film genres and distilled it into four representative styles[1].
The high-contrast Blockbuster suits outdoor and urban scenes with strong tonal range, while the fresh Coming-of-age pairs well with softer, trend-led settings such as cafés or vlogs[1]. The warm Romance fits character-focused footage, and the moody Thriller works for scenes intended to feel striking and dramatic[1].
During development, the team prototyped multiple variants at three intensity levels — Neutral, Soft, and Strong — tested them across diverse environments, and narrowed the lineup down to the final four styles[1]. Using a large dataset that covered outdoor light, indoor lighting, and day/night differences, the team verified quantitatively that the colors remain coherent even when white balance and exposure change[1].
Paired with the APV codec, up to 8K on the Galaxy S26 Ultra
Underneath Cine LUT sits the "Advanced Professional Video (APV)" codec, supported for the first time anywhere on the Galaxy S26 Ultra[2]. Co-developed by Samsung and Qualcomm Technologies as a professional-grade codec, APV is built around the idea of staying "visually lossless" even through repeated rounds of editing[2][3].
The S26 Ultra supports recording up to 8K at 30fps and exposes two profiles, APV 422 HQ and APV 422 LQ[3]. HQ is aimed at professional work where gradation and color accuracy matter most, while LQ runs at roughly half the file size of HQ for a lighter daily workflow[3]. The Galaxy S26 series itself was announced at Galaxy Unpacked on February 25, 2026 and went on sale on March 11, 2026[4]. Previewing a cinematic look while shooting, recording it as APV, then applying Cine LUT in the Gallery with a single tap and sharing the result — that end-to-end flow forms the core of the S26 series' video story[1].
Summary
Cine LUT brings color grading — work that used to require specialist knowledge — onto the phone itself, letting anyone pick from four cinematic styles to set the tone of a clip. Combined with the APV codec, the Galaxy S26 Ultra positions itself as a single device that can handle capture, finishing, and sharing for serious mobile filmmaking.
Source [2]: https://news.samsung.com/us/for-creators-by-creators-samsungs-pro-grade-apv-codec-supported-galaxy-s26-ultra
Source [3]: https://developer.samsung.com/mobile/apv.html
Source [4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S26
