The Samsung Galaxy S21 series has been launched during the Galaxy Unpacked event earlier today. Like the last time around, there are three variants for you to choose from. You can watch us unbox and try out the Galaxy S21 here:
Samsung Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+
These two models share a lot of similarities bar their sizes – the Galaxy S21 comes with a 6.2-inch screen, while the Galaxy S21+ has a much larger 6.7-inch panel. They use Samsung’s gorgeous Dynamic AMOLED 2x panels with adaptive 120Hz refresh rates – so you can expect vibrant colours and a smooth user experience.
Over on the back is a matte ‘glasstic’ finish that looks and feels like frosted glass. Adding to the aesthetic of the phone is the new Contour Cut Camera design that merges the flush camera housing with the side bumper. The housing sports a different colour and finish to the base colour of the phone.
When it comes to imaging, both phones sport the same triple-lens setup – a 12MP main camera, a 12MP ultrawide shooter, and a 64MP telephoto lens. For selfies, you get a 10MP camera placed in a punch hole module.
Under the hood is an Exynos 2100, 8GB LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage.
The Galaxy S21 comes with a 4,000mAh battery, while the Galaxy S21+ sports a 4,800mAh pack. Both phones support up to 25W of fast charging. The catch here is that you don’t get a charging adapter out of the box anymore, but if you’re upgrading from the previous Galaxy S20, you re-use your charger.
The Galaxy S21 is available in Phantom Violet, Phantom Pink, Phantom Gray, and Phantom White; the Galaxy S21+ will come in Phantom Violet, Phantom Black, and Phantom Silver. The Galaxy The Galaxy S21 is priced at RM3,699 while the Galaxy S21+ is priced at RM4,299.
Galaxy S21 Ultra
This is the top-of-the-line variant, and like last year’s Galaxy S20, the Ultra is a whole other beast. It measures at 6.8-inches and comes with a WQHD Dynamic AMOLED 2x panel, with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate.
Over on the back is proper Corning Gorilla Victus glass this time while sporting a larger Countour Cut camera module. The reason for that is because the S21 Ultra has an extra lens – 108MP main + 12MP ultrawide + 10MP telephoto (10x optical zoom) + 10MP telephoto (3x optical zoom).
The phone is capable of up to 100x Space Zoom, and uses 9-in-1 (nano) pixel binning to achieve 12MP shots. For selfies, you get a whopping 40MP shooter.
Under the hood is also the Exynos 2100 and up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM along with up to 512GB of internal storage.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra packs a large 5,000mAh battery, but with the same 25W fast charging support. Like its siblings, the Galaxy S21 Ultra also supports wireless charging.
What’s interesting this time around is that the Galaxy S21 Ultra will be the only device in the series to support the S Pen stylus. You can use your existing S Pen too.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra is available in two colours only – Phantom Black and Phantom Silver. The Galaxy S21 Ultra is priced at RM5,299.
New Camera Features
Despite having similar camera specs as the Galaxy S20 series, Samsung improves on the current-gen models with a few new useful software features.
Enhanced Portrait lets you go into a portrait shot and edit not just the bokeh level, but studio lighting intensity, as well as add other portrait effects too like spiral, highkey mono, lowkey mono, backdrop, colour point and more.
There’s also zoom lock which greatly reduces the shakiness of your viewfinder when you zoom in at far distances.
There’s also Director’s View which lets you preview each lens on your viewfinder; from there you can switch to any one you like on the fly even while recording, including the selfie lens.
Next up, is Unlimited Super Steady that greatly improves stabilization even at 4K 60FPS video recording. There’s also the improved 8K snap that lets you grab high-res stills from your 8K video recordings.
Why Remove the Charger?
Apple pioneered this new environmental-friendly trend, which Xiaomi then followed suit with the Mi 11. Samsung, too has now omitted their charger from the box citing in their FAQ forum the brand’s initiative to address sustainable consumption issues and “remove any pressure that consumers may feel towards continually receiving unnecessary charger accessories with new phones”.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 series is available to pre-order now and will snag you a free Galaxy Buds Pro and Galaxy SmartTag. Visit Samsung’s website here to make your purchase.