A large part of the Galaxy S20's appeal may be its ability to capture 8K video, which is rumored to be available later this month. And now, thanks to the company that manufactures the processor expected to be in the Galaxy S20, we can see what 8K video will look like.

Qualcomm, which manufactures chipsets used in leading Android phones, has posted footage of 8K video taken with a device powered by the company's new Snapdragon 865 system-on-chip. According to Qualcomm, the device is not a Galaxy S20, but a prototype smartphone powered by the Snapdragon 865 and featuring Sony's IMX586 image sensor. However, the video does provide some clues as to what a phone capable of shooting 8K video might be able to produce.

While there is no lower-resolution footage of the same scene for reference, Qualcomm's 8K video looks quite sharp; shot in November 2019 around Arizona, this 2:12-minute video showcases various scenes in different lighting, with vivid detail and eye-catching colors The video is shot in and around Arizona in November. According to Qualcomm, the video footage was shot at 33 megapixels per frame.

A few times, the video seemed a bit choppy, but this is probably due to the vagaries of streaming on YouTube. (Update: Indeed, Qualcomm noticed the jitter and posted a new version of the video.) What impressed me was the ability to capture the different textures of the headdresses and the etchings on the cave walls with clarity and detail. The shots of the Arizona mesas and cave dwellings are also impressive.

Samsung has a lot riding on 8K video, and not just for its upcoming phones. The electronics giant also makes TVs, and by 2020, 8K TVs will be available in large numbers. There's just one problem - there's not a lot of 8K-compatible content to enjoy on the new Samsung TVs. So one of Samsung's solutions is to offer a device (in this case, the Galaxy S20) that can capture a lot of 8K video to enjoy on the big screen.

When Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 865 in December, it said the new chipset could support 8K video shot at 30 frames per second. The new mobile processing platform features a Spectra 480 image signal processor that boasts Dolby Vision video capture, the ability to shoot slow-motion video at 960 fps with no recording limit, and 200 megapixel photo capture. The Snapdragon 865-powered phone can also shoot 4K HR video and simultaneously capture 64MP still images.

Neither Qualcomm nor Samsung has confirmed that the Snapdragon 865 will be included in the Galaxy S20, but Samsung's flagship phones have always been powered by Qualcomm's top-of-the-line mobile processors, at least for devices released in the US. The company's flagship phones are powered by Qualcomm's top-of-the-line mobile processors. Whether the Snapdragon 865 will be on Samsung's next phone will be revealed when Samsung unveils the Galaxy S20 at its Unpacked event on February 11.