Samsung S lineup has evolved quite bit for the last few years, moving from two flagship models to 3 , but arguably the foremost significant change is that the ultimate Galaxy S flagship – the Ultra. and that we can say that this year’s Ultra makes no compromises, unlike its predecessor, which, although an excellent phone, was missing some key features and was playing catch-up with the competition. The Galaxy Ultra S21 5G, however, doesn’t have that issue. It checks absolutely all the boxes and features a few unique features which will persuade you to shop for one despite the relatively high price. Which, by the way, is €100 less than last year so there goes your first reason.Samsung Galaxy S21 & S21 Ultra hands-on review
A quick check out the specs sheet suggest a big upgrade within the camera department because the device features not one but two telephoto lenses. One offers a game-changing 10x optical zoom, while the opposite delivers a more flexible 3x optical zoom.The primary sensor isn’t overlooked either, which may be a second-generation 108MP sensor with 9-in-1 pixel nona-binning. Additionally, the Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel can now go up to 120Hz with a 1440p+ resolution. it is also brighter and supports an adaptive refresh rate starting from 10Hz to 120Hz, a bit like the Note20 Ultra.Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G specs at a glance:
Body: 165.1×75.6×8.9mm, 227g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), glass back (Gorilla Glass), aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins), Stylus support.
Display: 6.80″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1500 nits (peak), 1440x3200px resolution, 20:9 ratio , 515ppi; Always-on display.
Chipset: Exynos 2100 (5 nm) – International, Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 (5 nm) – USA/China: Octa-core (1×2.9 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3×2.80 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4×2.2 GHz Cortex-A55) – International, Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 680 – USA/China; Mali-G78 MP14 – International, Adreno 660 – USA/China.
Memory: 128GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM; UFS 3.1, .
OS/Software: Android 11, One UI 3.1.
Rear camera: Wide (main): 108 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/1.33″, 0.8µm, PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; Telephoto: 10 MP, f/4.9, 240mm, 1/3.24″, 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 10x optical zoom; Telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm, 1/3.24″, 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, Super Steady video.
Front camera: 40 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/2.8″, 0.7µm, PDAF.
Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps.
Battery: 5000mAh; Fast charging 25W, USB Power Delivery 3.0, Fast Qi/PMA wireless charging 15W, Reverse wireless charging 4.5W.
Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); NFC; FM radio (Snapdragon model only; market/operator dependent); Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support), Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified), Ultra Wideband (UWB) support.
Unfortunately, we will not say an equivalent for the vanilla Galaxy S21 5G. There are a few of noticeable downgrades in terms of build quality, display and therefore the exclusion of the microSD card. The display is not any longer 1440p+ and caps at 1080p while the rear of the device is plastic. We saw an identical move from Samsung when it released the vanilla Galaxy Note20. And while those downgrades were introduced, no upgrades were made, too, apart from the chipset, of course. We just hope the lower resolution screen would affect the battery life positively because it wasn’t stellar before.Samsung Galaxy S21 5G specs at a glance:
Body: 151.7×71.2×7.9mm, 169g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), plastic back, aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins).
Display: 6.20″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1300 nits (peak), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 ratio , 421ppi; Always-on display.
Chipset: Exynos 2100 (5 nm) – International, Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 (5 nm) – USA/China: Octa-core (1×2.9 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3×2.80 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4×2.2 GHz Cortex-A55) – International, Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 680 – USA/China; Mali-G78 MP14 – International, Adreno 660 – USA/China.
Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM; UFS 3.X.
OS/Software: Android 11, One UI 3.1.
Rear camera: Wide (main): 12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/1.76″, 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 64 MP, f/2.0, 29mm, 1/1.72″, 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS, 1.1x optical zoom, 3x hybrid zoom; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚, 1/2.55″ 1.4µm, Super Steady video.
Front camera: 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.24″, 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF.
Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps.
Battery: 4000mAh; Fast charging 25W, USB Power Delivery 3.0, Fast Qi/PMA wireless charging 15W, Reverse wireless charging 4.5W.
Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); NFC; FM radio (Snapdragon model only; market/operator dependent); Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support), Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified).
To make up for those changes, Samsung lowered the Galaxy S21 price. This one goes for €50 but its predecessor, and after a couple of months, it could easily slot in the “affordable flagship” category. But until then, let’s take a better check out what the 2 Galaxy S21s look and desire initially glance.