Samsung Galaxy S21 – 5G, pens and flat screens in this year’s flagship

In line with the current trend in the phone market, most details around Samsung’s new Galaxy S series have been leaked in advance. Previous reports have revealed everything from the design to support S Pen accessories from the Note series, the upgraded computing power of the Exynos 2100 and more. When Samsung today lifts the veil for the Galaxy S21 phones, the leaks turn out to be true to the letter.

Specifications: Galaxy S21 Ultra, S21 + and S21

The phone series begins with the Galaxy S21, whose Super AMOLED screen measures in at 6.2 inches and has a resolution of 2,400 × 1,080 pixels. The Samsung Galaxy S21 + grows to 6.7 inches with the same resolution, and both models replace previously curved screen edges with completely flat screens. However, the flagship Galaxy S21 Ultra remains at curved edges, where the 6.8-inch screen is equipped with a resolution of 3,200 × 1,440 pixels.

All phones support updating in 120 Hz, and the image update is adaptive. This means that the image update adapts to the task. When movie is played, the image update can be set at 48 Hz, while a static web page manages with 1 Hz image update. The fact that the screen is not locked to 60 or 120 Hz also means improved battery life, as the screen does not need to update and the graphics part does not have to work harder than necessary. The screen hole camera is accompanied by a fingerprint reader which, as before, is integrated into the screen and is based on sound waves.

When it comes to material selection, the entry-level model S21 uses a combination of plastic and fiberglass Samsung calls glastic, which is already used in the Galaxy S20 FE. With the S21 + and S21 Ultra, the screen and back are protected by Gorilla Glass Victus instead, which will make the phones twice as scratch-resistant and 25 percent more shock-resistant compared to the S20 predecessors. Water and dust resistance are provided via IP68 certification. The current color choice comes S21 / S21 + in the colors purple, gray, white and pink while S21 Ultra sticks to silver and black.

The heart of the Galaxy S21 family is the Exynos 2100 processor, about which Samsung has revealed details in advance. It premieres ARM’s performance core Cortex-X1, which is accompanied by three potent Cortex-A78 and four energy-efficient Cortex-A55. According to the company’s data, the processor is at most 19 percent faster than its predecessor, while the graphics part is 40 percent faster. The NPU units that handle AI and machine learning take the biggest step up with 200 percent better performance.

In terms of primary memory, the Galaxy S21 and S21 + are equipped with 8 GB of primary memory and 128 or 256 GB of storage memory. Galaxy S21 Ultra takes the step up to 12 or 16 GB of primary memory, and is available with configurations of 128, 256 or 512 GB of storage memory. Common to all models is that they do not support expanded storage via memory cards. The reason for this, according to Samsung, is that surveys show that few users use the internal storage space and that memory card readers are therefore considered an unnecessary function.

What the rumor carousel stated in advance turns out to be true when the S21 series receives support for the S Pen pens from the Galaxy Note family. In addition to supporting existing pens, these can be purchased with the S21 phones and Samsung also sells phone cases that have a dedicated space for the pen. The only feature that falls away from the Note series is that air control, where the pen can control the interface via air gestures. The S Pen can be purchased for SEK 399, while the phone case costs SEK 899.

All new enthusiast-class phones need to stand out on the camera side, and just like before, this is an area Samsung is putting a lot of focus on. The Galaxy S21 and S21 + are equipped with a 64 megapixel main camera, which supports 30 × zoom levels. This is accompanied by a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera. The front of the phones is adorned with a 10 megapixel selfie camera.

In Galaxy S21 Ultra, the main camera switches up to 108 megapixels. Here, dual telephoto cameras stand for the zoom level, where both 10 megapixel cameras together provide 100 × zoom level with optical image stabilization (OIS). These are complemented by a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, and autofocus is controlled via a laser sensor. Autofocus also supports Dual Pixel technology, where all pixels are handled by the autofocus system.

For video management, Samsung introduces HDR recording with 12-bit color information and support for the HDR10 + standard. Video recording in 4K UHD at 120 Hz is supported, and for 8K it goes down to 24 Hz. For normal video recording, the software can automatically switch between 60 Hz and 30 Hz depending on the ambient lighting conditions. Since recording in low light can lead to a lot of noise at 60 Hz, the camera can then switch to 30 Hz to provide better image quality, and switch up when lighting conditions are favorable again.

When it comes to wireless networks, all models in the Galaxy S21 series support 5G networks, which here support the frequency bands in Sub-6 GHz and millimeter waves (mmWave). According to Samsung, the modem has the capacity to reach theoretical download speeds of 5.1 Gbps for Sub-6 GHz and 7.35 Gbps for mmWave. For local wireless networks, Wifi 6 in Galaxy S21 / S21 +, and Wifi 6E in Galaxy S21 Ultra are supported.

Wifi 6E offers doubled speed compared to Wifi 6, but since the use of the spectrum space Wifi 6E uses has not been made available in Europe yet, this is a function Swedish mobile users currently cannot use. For connection between devices, Bluetooth 5.0 is used, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra can use both standard and low-energy (BLE) connections simultaneously through the Dual-Mode Bluetooth function.

In the Galaxy S21 Ultra, Samsung also introduces support for communication over ultra-high frequency bands, or Ultra Wideband Radio (UWB). The high frequency bands make it possible to transmit large amounts of information quickly, but only over very short distances. UWB is used to send content such as pictures, videos and other types of content between phones or accessories, such as the Smart Tag tracking tags.

Current batteries take this year’s models a step up in capacity. Galaxy S21 is equipped with a battery of 4,000 milliampere hours (mAh), which rises to 4,800 mAh in S21 + and 5,000 mAh in S21 Ultra. The batteries can be quickly charged both wired and wirelessly via the Qi standard, something that also applies conversely to wirelessly charging other devices on the back of the phones. However, the Galaxy S21 series will be the first to come out with this year’s trend of not including chargers in the package.

According to Samsung, the decision not to include chargers follows a survey that shows that users to a large extent already have chargers from before. Wired headphones are also not included in the package, also a decision based on surveys. According to these, more than 40 percent of Galaxy customers should put the corded headphones on the shelf and never use them.

Prices – Galaxy S21 series

The price levels probably take a little downward, where the Galaxy S21 in its simplest configuration starts at SEK 9,490. On the opposite side of the configuration steps is the Galaxy S21 Ultra, which in its most complete design costs SEK 15,990. Sales start on January 29, where the pre-booking offer for the S21 Ultra includes the Galaxy Buds Pro headphones and the Smart Tag tracking badge. Galaxy S21 and S21 + instead get the simpler headphones Galaxy Buds Live.

What do you think of the Galaxy S21 lineup? Exactly what you wanted, or missing something you had hoped for? Share in the comments!