So what’s new about the Samsung Galaxy S21 series?

Tech giant, Samsung unveiled its latest flagship series – Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, and Galaxy S21 Ultra at a Galaxy Unpacked event some days ago. Like the predecessor, the S20 series launched in 2020, the Samsung S21 series consists of three phones: the Samsung Galaxy S21, S21 Plus, and S21 Ultra

Design, Display, Dimension and Weight

Design

Galaxy S21 series unveils a bold new style which introduces an all-new, iconic Contour Cut Camera housing that seamlessly blends into the device’s metal frame.

Display

S21	S21 Plus	S21 Ultra
6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED Flat FHD+ 2,400 x 1,080 at 421ppi Adaptive 120Hz refresh rate HDR10+ certified	6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED Flat FHD+ 2,400 x 1,080 at 394ppi Adaptive 120Hz refresh rate HDR10+ certified	6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED Curved WQHD+ 3,200 x 1,440 at 515ppi Adaptive 120Hz refresh rate HDR10+ certified

Dimensions & Weight

The S21 series phones are slightly heavier than the S20 precedesors.

	S21	S21 Plus	S21 Ultra
Dimensions (mm)	71.2×151.7×7.9	75.6×161.5×7.8	75.6×165.1×8.9
Weight (g)	171	202	229

Hardware & Camera

The S21 and S21 Plus come ready with 8GB RAM (LPDDR5) with 128GB / 256GB internal storage while the S21 Ultra is available in two variants – 12GB RAM (LPDDR5) with 128GB / 256GB internal storage and 16GB RAM (LPDDR5) with 512GB internal storage

Unlike the S20 which is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 (or Samsung Exynos 990), the S21 is powered by Qualcomm’s latest flagship Snapdragon 888 in the US. Internationally, the phones ship with Samsung’s own Exynos 2100.

Snapdragon 888 packs industry-leading mobile innovations in 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), gaming, and camera technologies that will transform premium mobile devices into professional-quality cameras, intelligent personal assistants, and elite gaming rigs.

Interestingly none of the S21 series phones features microSD card support, so not chance for expanded memory. The phones also are not shipped with phone chargers in the boxes so you would have to buy this for yourself. It is following in the footsteps of Apple with the ditching of the charger and in-box headphones.

Officially, Samsung says it is trying to cut down on e-waste since it believes it’s unlikely you’ll need. So all you have in the box, apart from the phone, is a USB-C to USB-C cable, the phone’s Quick Start guide and an ejector pin.

The battery capacities for the S21, S21 Plus and S21 Ultra are 4,000 mAh, 4,800 mAh and 5,000 mAh respectively for long life.

The S21 lineup features the same triple rear camera set, with a 12MP wide-angle, 64MP telephoto, and 12MP ultra-wide on the S21 and S21 Plus. However the S21 Ultra presents a quad rear camera setup – 108MP wide-angle, two 10MP telephoto (3x and 10x), and a 12MP ultra-wide.

The S21 and S21 plus have a 10MP selfie camera while the S21 Ultra sports a 40MP front camera.

Software

The Operating System on all the phones is the Android 11 and while the Samsung S20 was recently upgraded to One UI 3.0, the S21 also sports the One UI 3.1

Price and Availability

The Samsung Galaxy S21, S21 Plus, and S21 Ultra are priced at $799, $999 and $1,119 respectively, $200 lower than the S20 series at launch. The Samsung S20 series were priced at $999, $1,199 and $1,399.

The S21 series are all available for pre-order now and will start shipping as from the 29th of January.

The phones are available in matte Phantom colours – Phantom Violet, Phantom Gray, Phantom Pink, Phantom Silver, Phantom Black, and Phantom White