TL;DR
- Samsung participated in the ‘first-ever’ underwater expedition with a phone by Nat Geo Traveller India.
- Diver Malaika Vaz used the Galaxy S21 to capture footage of tiger sharks and other aquatic wildlife.
- It’s a promo, but it could also give sharks a better reputation.
There’s a chance you’ve taken your phone diving to capture photos of aquatic wildlife, but probably not like this. Samsung has participated in what it says is the “first-ever” underwater expedition captured on a smartphone with Nat Geo Traveller India.
National Geographic’s Malaika Vaz took a case-protected Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra underwater as her sole photographic device while exploring the Maldives’ Shark Island. She used the high-end phone to capture stills and video of everything from tiger sharks (the highlight of the expedition) through to navigation-savvy Hawksbill turtles.
Not surprisingly (this is a promo video, after all), Vaz found the Samsung phone an ideal underwater companion. She was used to hauling lots of equipment on a dive — the S21 Ultra let her carry a single, reasonably portable gadget that could record photos and videos well.
While this is clearly a Samsung marketing effort, the video also makes a point about protecting underwater ecosystems. Tiger sharks tend to be vilified, but Vaz pointed out that they’re both relatively harmless to humans (you can record them from a close distance) and important parts of a larger ecosystem. In that light, Samsung’s video will be a success if it leads to more respect for sharks, not to mention the sea as a whole.
