Sony has come under fire after promoting its new AI Camera Assistant feature on Xperia smartphones, with critics calling the example images 'insanely bad' and questioning whether anyone actually approved the marketing materials.
The backlash zeroes in on the company's Xperia Intelligence system, which uses artificial intelligence to adjust colour, exposure, bokeh, and lens effects based on scene, subject, and weather recognition to 'bring stories to life.'
The reaction this week followed Sony's promotional materials showcasing what the company describes as an AI-driven photography experience designed to help users produce more expressive images. The feature automatically suggests creative settings, while still allowing manual adjustments such as white balance, saturation, and contrast.
But for those who commented, the results shown in the promotional comparisons did not inspire confidence.
Sony is pitching a system that tries to act like a smart photography guide. The AI analyses what you are shooting and then suggests edits to make the image look more 'cinematic' or visually striking. It is meant to simplify professional-style photography for everyday users, supported bySony's larger sensors, including 48 MP hardware and pixel-binning technologydesigned to improve low-light performance.
The new AI Camera Assistant* with Xperia Intelligence brings stories to life. Using subject, scene and weather, it suggests expressive options with adjustments of colour, exposure, bokeh, and lens for breathtaking photos*.https://t.co/zgSQ9MLWFP#SonyXperia#Xperia1VIIIpic.twitter.com/1dsBeCNvhE
However, the reaction to the sample outputs has been overwhelmingly negative in some corners of the internet.
One user described confusion over the company's decision-making, writing, 'What the heck is going on with Sony? Who even approved this post? The AI photos looks insanely bad.'
Another comment focused on image brightness and clarity, stating, 'The AI camera assistant pictures look quite dark. Your engineers need to up that brightness more.'
A more emotional response rejected the concept entirely, saying, 'This looks fucking awful stop promoting this shit... we don't need AI processing we need large camera sensors stop trying to go with the fucking trend of AI these images look fucking worse.'
Source: International Business Times UK
