Samsung has detailed the Galaxy S26 Ultra's Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec, making it the first Galaxy device to support the professional-grade video format. Developed in partnership with Qualcomm, the codec targets content creators who need higher-quality mobile video workflows with up to 8K capture at 30 fps and direct recording to external USB storage.
Samsung says APV preserves more visual information during capture and editing compared to HEVC, maintaining fine details like textures, water droplets, and motion through repeated encoding passes. The Galaxy S26 Ultra supports two APV profiles: APV 422 HQ for maximum quality and APV 422 LQ for smaller file sizes at about half the storage footprint. Both formats use roughly 10 percent less storage than comparable codecs while maintaining the same objective visual quality, according to Samsung's developer documentation.
Users can enable APV through the camera settings menu and choose between APV HDR and APV Log recording modes. The codec supports resolutions from HD up to 8K depending on frame rate, with direct recording to external USB storage available when internal storage has at least 10 percent free space. Samsung positions the feature as a production-focused option for advanced creators who prioritize video workflows over AI features.
For Linux users working with APV footage, FFmpeg has merged decoder support for the format in version 8.0 and later, enabling playback and editing in open-source tools like MPV Player and FFmpeg-based workflows. The Academy Software Foundation also maintains the OpenAPV project for open-source encode and decode capabilities. While the S26 Ultra itself runs Android and uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor (which does not support Android's Linux terminal feature), video files captured with APV can be transferred via standard MTP and processed in Linux editing environments.
Samsung first introduced APV during the Galaxy S26 series launch in February 2026. The March 23 post provides clearer technical details and marketing positioning for the codec, though it adds no new hardware capabilities to the device. In a separate announcement the same day, Samsung also added AirDrop support to Quick Share on the Galaxy S26 lineup.
