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After the countless leaks of the last few days, there is probably no need for a detailed presentation of the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. But above all, we want to focus on a few important details that – on the one hand positive – on the other hand maybe negative – after all, Samsung is deviating more from its previous strategy this year: The Galaxy S class is more diversified than ever.
One needs to the comprehensive leaks in recent weeks about the technical details of the new Samsung phones 2021 series. Instead of enumerating all the technical data of the Galaxy S21 generation again, we want to focus on a few details in the following that may not have been the focus or particularly stand out – some of these are positive developments, some unfortunately also negative.
Negatives first
Much has recently been saying about the missing power supplies on Apple’s iPhone 12 and said Xiaomi’s Mi 11 discussed and even Samsung no longer supplies the power supply unit and earphones in the box, which can theoretically be an advantage for environmental reasons but could annoy many users. The decision to abolish the micro SD card slot seems more critical to us, namely in all three Galaxy S21 models. Buyers should ask themselves whether it is advisable to buy the 256 GB version, which is $50 more expensive, from the start is, after all, a comparatively moderate surcharge.
Speaking of surcharge: If you want a real flagship this year, you only have the choice between the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra with more memory – because neither the Galaxy S21 nor the Galaxy S21+ offers a real flagship in terms of display or camera specs, even if they can be discussed.
Differences between Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Plus
Speaking of the negative: The fact that the Galaxy S21 has a plastic back for the first time may have little effect in practice – on the contrary – in terms of break resistance, it could even be a positive development – in the high-end segment but does not want to fit emotionally. We’ll see how buyers react to this potential faux pas – on the Galaxy S20 FE apparently, this decision didn’t really hurt sales.
The 6.2-inch Galaxy S21 is of course much more compact than the 6.7-inch Galaxy S21+, but less prominent differences can also be found in the wireless technologies – only the Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 Ultra support Ultrawideband (UWB) for more precise localization, for example, the new SmartThings Find function and Wi-Fi 6E, i.e. the extension to the 6 GHz range, is only integrated into the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the only flagship
You can tell that Samsung recommends the Galaxy S21 Ultra because only here the full potential of the Galaxy S21 generation can be seen, for example concerning the display, which can adaptively and energy-savingly up and down between 11 and 120 Hz and the full QHD+ resolution served with the entire frequency bandwidth – at 1,500 nits, a new record for display brightness. Only here is the new option of using the S-Pen, which, however, does not fit into the chassis as with the Galaxy Note series and is instead transported in special protective covers. Incidentally, this S-Pen does not offer Bluetooth or a battery, but Samsung has already announced an S-Pen Pro for the future. How this will differ from the regular S-Pen is not yet clear.
Dual zoom lens up to 100x on the Galaxy S21 Ultra
The fact that Samsung is once again only offering ultra optical zoom in the Galaxy S21 is nothing new, but should not be forgotten: Both the Galaxy S21 and the Galaxy S21+ have a 64 megapixel “fake telephoto zoom” similar to the Galaxy S20 family Board, the optical qualities of which correspond to a wide angle and thus almost only have to offer to crop. The Galaxy S21 Ultra, on the other hand, can draw on the full, this is where Samsung’s ISOCELL HM3 is celebrating its premiere, a direct successor to the ISOCELL HM1 from 2020. This once again offers non-binning technology and is based on 0.8-micrometer pixels, but should offer better image quality than its predecessor, especially for low-light.
The video below goes into detail about the other cameras in the Galaxy S21 Ultra, such as the improvements to the 100x space zoom, which, unlike the Galaxy S20 Ultra in the previous year, also has a 10x optical zoom camera as a basis for 3x optical zoom and various AI improvement algorithms. On the subject of cameras in general: All three new galaxy phone 2021 models can now record 4K video with all camera sensors, 8K video only works with the 64 MP and 128 MP cameras. Simultaneous recording with front and rear cameras is also possible, here some of the promo videos leaked a few hours ago show where the journey is going. Special camera features such as video snap, director’s view, or single take are also worth mentioning.
The Good and the Best at the end
Let us now come to some positive developments. Samsung promises three years of Android updates with the Galaxy S21 generation, the new Qualcomm ultrasonic fingerprint sensor in the display is 1.7 times larger and should offer better recognition rates. Similar to Apple’s True Tone, Samsung’s Eye Shield should be able to automatically adjust the color temperature to the environment. The SmartThings Find function in connection with Bluetooth and/or UWB-enabled devices and the SmartTags (Bluetooth) or SmartTags + (UWB, coming soon), which can include analog everyday objects, sounds quite practical. In the future, the Galaxy S21 series will also function as a car key – but that will only come with an update.
Pre-order Price and Availability
The Samsung Galaxy S21 price starts from $799.99, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus price starts from $999.99, and the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra price starts from $1,199.99. All three new Samsung phones 2021 series can be pre-ordered through the Amazon.com and Bhphotovideo.com online stores.
