Galaxy Z Fold 8 borrows a K-pop fandom phenomenon for its coolest camera trick

Samsung has added a new feature to the cameras on its Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Galaxy Z Flip 8 called My FanCam.

At first glance, it’s a throwaway mode that only concert-goers will ever find a reason to use. However, there’s a rich history behind “fan cams” you may not know about, and it helps understand why this feature may be a far bigger deal than you think.

K-pop roots

Fan cams, or jik-kaem in Korean, are a key part of K-pop fandom. It's the name given to special videos which focus on a single member of a group, highlighting their performance during a live performance, such as at a concert or an appearance on a music show.

This interesting article on the ‘fan gaze’ and fan cams describes the difference between it and a normal stage performance video well:

[A] fan cam refers to a video produced by a moving camera that focuses on a specific performer during a performance of an idol group.

The fan cam is distinguished from the stage camera in that the latter zooms in and out and shifts between different members of the group, while a fan cam follows one member throughout the entire performance and allows the viewer to focus on a single performer even when they are not captured on screen by the stage camera.

While people aware of K-pop fan cams associate them with the YouTube era, it seems they’ve been around for a lot longer than that. In this enlightening Reddit post, references were made to fan cams from the late 90s, but it’s widely accepted that a fan cam made of EXID member Hani in 2014 (sitting at 39 million views on YouTube in 2026) propelled the video style to become a cultural phenomenon.

As the name suggests, these are usually fan-made videos, but the K-pop industry itself is well aware of the popularity and often makes its own versions. Fan cams are also not restricted to K-pop either, and close-up videos focusing on a single member of any group of characters, sports people, or movie stars are made.

What is Samsung’s My FanCam feature?

Make your own fan cam

Now you’ve got an idea of what a fan cam is, what about Samsung’s My FanCam feature?

Imagine you’re at a K-pop concert. Let's say you’re seeing NMIXX, and you’re shooting a video of the on-stage performance. Trying to focus on and follow a single member is very challenging, especially if you don’t know the choreography, so making your own fan cam would be very difficult.

My FanCam is a video editing feature. After the NMIXX concert, you want to make your own fan cam focusing on member Bae. Using My FanCam, you select Bae in the video you shot, select portrait (the fan cam standard) or landscape, then your preferred aspect ratio, and the software does the rest.

It automatically tracks the person you select, reframes to keep them center stage as the video plays, and the subject is always the star.

I tried it out using a Samsung demo video. It’s very easy to use, takes just a few minutes to render the video, and using Samsung’s already excellent Super Steady and Horizon Lock features, it looked excellent.

Results will vary depending on the environment you shoot the video in, especially if the phone doesn’t have a telephoto camera, and you're far away from the stage, but based on what I saw at the demo, it’ll satisfy budding fan cam makers.

Samsung loves K-pop?

Niche, but fun new feature

Samsung is a South Korean brand, and K-pop is a global industry which has millions of fans, and makes a lot of money for a lot of companies.

Samsung has a long history of signing K-pop performers as brand ambassadors. Groups including RIIZE and BTS are long-time partners, while Blackpink and members of Girls’ Generation have partnered with Samsung in the past.

In a less than ideal K-pop crossover ahead of Galaxy Unpacked 2026, BTS member J-Hope accidentally leaked the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 on his Instagram.

The My FanCam feature ties into all this, and it definitely takes the effort out of generating the popular video type. I love that Samsung has recognized it, and found a new and unusual use for its camera stabilization tech.

However, it’s the definition of niche, and likely only a small selection of Galaxy Z Fold 8 phone owners will ever have the opportunity to try it out in its natural K-pop environment.

My FanCam is a feature on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 series. Android Police has asked Samsung if it will come to other Galaxy phones, potentially in One UI 9, and will update here when we hear back.

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