The Samsung Galaxy S21 series has finally been unveiled at the company’s Galaxy Unpacked 2021 event. Being the direct successor of the Galaxy S20 series announced last year, what’s new?
Samsung Galaxy S21 | S21 Plus
| Specs | Samsung Galaxy S21 | Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus |
| Display | 6.2-inch Flat FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Display (2400×1080), 421ppi, HDR10+ certified Adaptive 120Hz refresh rate (48~120Hz) Eye Comfort Shield | 6.7-inch Flat FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Display (2400×1080), 394ppi, HDR10+ certified Adaptive 120Hz refresh rate (48~120Hz) Eye Comfort Shield |
| Dimension and Weight | Dimension: 71.2×151.7×7.9mm Weight: 169g(sub6) | Dimension: 75.6×161.5×7.8mm Weight: 200g(sub6) |
| Camera | [Front camera] 10MP Dual Pixel AF, FOV 80°, F2.2, 1.22µm [Rear camera] Triple camera Ultra Wide: 12MP FF, FOV 120° F2.2, 1.4µm Wide-angle: 12MP Dual Pixel AF, FOV 79°, OIS, F1.8, 1.8µm Telephoto: 64MP Phase Detection AF, Hybrid Optic 3X, FOV 76°, OIS F2.0, 0.8µm 30X Space Zoom | [Front camera] 10MP Dual Pixel AF, FOV 80°, F2.2, 1.22µm [Rear camera] Triple camera Ultra Wide: 12MP FF, FOV 120° F2.2, 1.4µm Wide-angle: 12MP Dual Pixel AF, FOV 79°, OIS, F1.8, 1.8µm Telephoto: 64MP Phase Detection AF, Hybrid Optic 3X, FOV 76°, OIS F2.0, 0.8µm 30X Space Zoom |
| CPU | Samsung Exynos 2100 | Samsung Exynos 2100 |
| Memory | 8GB RAM + 256GB Storage | 8GB RAM + 256GB Storage |
| Battery | 4,000mAh | 4,800mAh |
| Charging | Improved wireless charging speeds with Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 USB PD 3.0 (PPS) certified Fast Charging for wired charging (AFC and QC2.0 compatible) | Improved wireless charging speeds with Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 USB PD 3.0 (PPS) certified Fast Charging for wired charging (AFC and QC2.0 compatible) |
| OS | Android 11 | Android 11 |
| Network and Connectivity | 5G NSA/SA, Sub6 Ultra Wideband | 5G NSA/SA, Sub6 Ultra Wideband |
| Payment | NFC, MST | NFC, MST |
| Authentication | Ultrasonic Fingerprint sensor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro sensor, Geomagnetic sensor, Hall sensor Proximity sensor, Ambient Light Sensor | Ultrasonic Fingerprint sensor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro sensor, Geomagnetic sensor, Hall sensor Proximity sensor, Ambient Light Sensor |
| Audio | Dual Audio Scalable Codec | Dual Audio Scalable Codec |
| Water Resistance | IP68 | IP68 |
In terms of display, All S21 variants come with the Dynamic OLED 2X panel with a 120Hz variable refresh rate, and an improved eye comfort shield that reduces blue light emmission.
The smallest of the family, the S21 has a 6.2-inch screen, while the S21 Plus has a screen of 6.7, and they both output a FHD+ resolution. The S21 and S21 Plus’s refresh rate ranges from 48Hz to 120Hz.
Processor wise, the Samsung Galaxy S21 series is running on the latest Samsung Exynos 2100 CPU, which is built on the 5nm process. It promises a 20% increase in CPU performance, 35% increase in GPU performance, and 2x the speed in NPU performance.
Moving on to the camera, the Galaxy S21 this year has this new sleek curved design that combines the camera bump with the side of the device. When it comes to features, the cameras now support 8K video recording at 60fps. Apart from that, all lenses on all S21 series variants can now record 4K 60fps super steady video, from the main sensor, to the ultra-wide, and even the telephoto lens.
There is also the new Director’s View feature which includes the vlogger view and live thumbnails. Vlogger view allows you to capture video on both the front and back cameras simultaneously, while the live thumbnails feature shows you a preview of all three lenses before you actually switch to them.
The Single Take 2.0 feature introduces new photo and video modes which include best moment, scene lighting, highlight video, and dynamic slo-mo. All that, with a press of the shutter button. You can now also adjust the shooting time from 5 to 15 seconds so you can get even more shots out of one press.
As for Space Zoom, the S21 and S21 Plus has a Space zoom of 30x. Night mode has also been improved with a brighter night sensor to reduce noise in lowlight conditions.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
| Specs | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G |
| Display | 6.8-inch Edge QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Display (3200×1440), 515ppi, HDR10+ certified Adaptive 120Hz refresh rate (10~120Hz) Eye Comfort Shield |
| Dimension and Weight | Dimensions: 75.6×165.1×8.9mm Weight: 227g(sub6) |
| Camera | [Front camera] 40MP Phase Detection AF, FOV 80°, F2.2, 0.7 µm [Rear camera] Quad camera Ultra Wide: 12MP Dual Pixel AF, FOV 120°, F2.2, 1.4µm Wide-angle: 108MP Phase Detection AF, FOV 83°, OIS, F1.8, 0.8µm Telephoto 1: 10MP Dual Pixel AF, Optical 3x, FOV 35°,OIS, F2.4, 1.22µm Telephoto 2: 10MP Dual Pixel AF, Optical 10x, FOV 10°,OIS, F4.9, 1.22µm 100X Space Zoom Laser AF Sensor |
| CPU | Samsung Exynos 2100 |
| Memory | 12GB RAM (LPDDR5) with 256GB internal storage 16GB RAM (LPDDR5) with 512GB internal storage |
| Battery | 5,000mAh |
| Charging | Improved wireless charging speeds with Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 USB PD 3.0 (PPS) certified Fast Charging for wired charging (AFC and QC2.0 compatible) |
| OS | Android 11 |
| Network and Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E 5G NSA/SA, Sub6 Ultra Wideband |
| Payment | NFC, MST |
| Authentication | Ultrasonic Fingerprint sensor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro sensor, Geomagnetic sensor, Hall sensor Proximity sensor, Ambient Light Sensor |
| Audio | Dual Audio Scalable Codec |
| Water Resistance | IP68 |
The Galaxy S21 Ultra has everything the S21 and Plus has, with a couple of upgrades here and there. The screen is a slightly larger 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 2K resolution. It also has a 1,500 nit max brightness and a 3 million to 1 contrast ratio, resulting in bright visuals with vivid colours.
Since the refresh rate is variable, the S21 Ultra can reach the lowest of 11Hz. That potentially means the Ultra could save more battery as it could change refresh rate for different media consumed. For example, watching a movie could reduce the refresh rate down to 11 or 24Hz, while gaming would kick it all the way up to 120Hz for maximum experience.
The 108MP main sensor uses nona binning to combine 9 pixels into a single pixel for ultra clear pictures. It also supports 8K 60 fps video recording, and 4K 60fps video recording on all lenses. For Space Zoom, the Ultra variant has dual zoom lens which are 3x and 10x optical zoom that gets you a further 100x zoom. And thanks to the dual zoom lens on the Ultra, you now get zoom lock. This feature locks the focus once you’ve zoomed past 30x, and stand still for 2 seconds, or when you tap on the zoom lock icon on the top left corner.
Connectivity wise, the S21 Ultra comes with Wi-Fi 6E, and dual bluetooth connectivity which lets you pair two bluetooth devices simultaneously. The S21 series also gets ultra wide band, which uses Wi-Fi to locate your devices, and the best part is, it can recognize distance too. This feature is used in conjunction with the newly launched Samsung SmartThings Find feature and Smart Galaxy Tag.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 now supports the ever popular S Pen from the Galaxy Note series. This is a first for the Galaxy S series, but that being said, there is no slot for you to place the S Pen in on the phone like the Note series, so it has be carried around separately.
Battery wise, the S21 Ultra has the largest battery capacity at 5,000mAh, while the S21 and S21 Plus gets 4,000mAh and 4,800mAh respectively. They all support 25W fast charging via USB Type-C, fast wireless charging, and reverse charging as well.
A couple of notes to add on, the S21 doesn’t get UWB, while the other two does. And only the S21 Ultra has Wi-Fi 6E, while the other two only has the standard Wi-Fi 6, which is still good.
Pricing And Availability
The Samsung Galaxy S21 series comes in Phantom Violet, Pink, Grey, White, Black, and Silver with the black and silver only available on the S21 Ultra. For the Malaysian local pricing and availability, check it out here.
