Samsung Galaxy S21 series was launched, with Galaxy S21, S21+ and the latest flagship phone from Samsung, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the successor to the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, with upgrades to Display and Cameras and now also has the support for S-Pen which was only available only for the Note series. Samsung Galaxy S21 series was announced as part of the Samsung Unpacked event along with the S21 and S21+ and Galaxy Buds Pro, the latest true wireless earbuds offering from Samsung.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra will be available from 24th January 2021 and price starts from $1,399 / £1,199 in US and UK respectively.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra UK Deals
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Specs
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 (US Market) 5nm 64-bit Octa-Core Processor 2.8GHz (Maximum Clock Speed) + 2.4GHz +1.8GHz Exynos 2100 5nm 64-bit Octa-Core Processor 2.9GHz (Maximum Clock Speed) + 2.8GHz +2.2GHz |
| RAM & Storage | 12GB RAM (LPDDR5) with 128GB / 256GB internal storage 16GB RAM (LPDDR5) with 512GB internal storage |
| OS | Android 11 |
| Display | 6.8-inch Edge QHD+ Infinity-O Display (3200×1440) HDR10+ certified Adaptive 120Hz refresh rate (10Hz to 120Hz) |
| Dimensions | 75.6×165.1×8.9mm, 229g |
| Battery & Charging | 5000mAh USB3.0 Power Charging. Fast Charging and Reverser Wireless Charging |
| Front camera | 40MP Phase Detection AF FOV 80°, f/2.2, 0.7 µm |
| Rear Camera | Quad Camera 1.Wide Lens: 108MP Phase Detection AF, FOV 83°, OIS, F1.8, 0.8µm 2.Ultra-wide Lens 12MP Dual Pixel AF, FOV 120°, F2.2, 1.4µm 3.Telephoto Lens 1: 10MP Dual Pixel AF, Optical 3x, FOV 35°,OIS, F2.4, 1.22µm 4. Telephoto Lens 2: 10MP Dual Pixel AF, Optical 10x, FOV 10°,OIS, F4.9, 1.22µm 100X Space Zoom Laser AF Sensor |
| Connectivity | [5G]5G Non-Standalone (NSA), Standalone (SA), Sub6 / mmWave [Wi-Fi 6E] [Ultra Wideband] |
| Colors | Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, Phantom Brown, Phantom Navy, Phantom Titanium |
Design & Display
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra doesn’t have a huge design change overall with the biggest design change being the camera bump with the frame extending on from the side to the cover the camera lens rather than a rectangle camera bump like the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Rest of the phone has a similar design with volume rocker and power button on one side and no buttons on the left side of the phone. At the bottom on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has the USB Type-C port, speaker and SIM slot. The Fingerprint sensor is said to more faster and bigger than its predecessor.
At the front of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, the front camera is housed in the punch hole Infinity-O at the centre on the screen. The S21 Ultra is huge 6.8 inch Quad HD+ display with resolution of 3200×1440 pixels and is HDR10+ certified. The display is rated for 1500-nit brightness which is one of the brightest display on a smartphone. Samsung now offers Adaptive refresh rate from 10Hz to 120Hz where the device itself will adjust the refresh rate as per the content that is being viewed. This will result better power efficiency and better battery life but this needs to tested more to confirm how significant the battery life would improve. The display is protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra will be available in Phantom Black and Phantom Silver and three exclusive colours in Phantom Titanium, Phantom Navy, and Phantom Brown only available on Samsung’s official website.
Hardware, Performance & Software
Specs-wise Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is powered by Samsung’s own new 5nm Exynos 2100 chipset for most of the countries but will be powered by Qualcomm’s latest flagship Snapdragon 888 chipset. S21 Ultra has 12GB RAM for 128GB/256GB storage option and a whopping 16GB RAM with 512GB storage. Unfortunately Samsung have now parted with the expandable storage option.
S21 Ultra runs on OneUI 3.1 on top of Android 11 OS, both are latest version from the Samsung and Google. S21 Ultra now supports the S-Pen which was exclusively for Samsung Galaxy Note series. The S-Pen is not available with the Galaxy S21 Ultra and will need to bought separately and the phone doesn’t hold the S-Pen like the Note series. Another point to consider is that not all features of S-Pen are available to the S21 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra will also have Wi-Fi 6E and Ultra-Wide Band which supports the new Galaxy SmartTags, the new tracker unveiled during the Samsung Unpacked event.
Battery & Charging
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra consists of a whopping 5,000 mAh battery with fast charging and wireless charging. Like its previous Galaxy Series S21 Ultra also support the reverse wireless charging
Camera
With the Camera Design change, there are upgrades to the Camera lens for S21 Ultra. S21 Ultra sports the a new 108MP wide lens along with not one but two 10 MP telephoto lens, one with 3x optical zoom and another with 10x optical zoom with now improved 100x space zoom and the 12MP ultra-wide lens. The main lens also supports the phase detection auto-focus. The front camera of the S21 Ultra is a 40MP lens.
The software for S21 Ultra now has new modes for the camera which includes Director’s view which gives a preview from all the lens which will assist in getting a better shot. In terms of video shooting, there is 4K at 60fps shooting and supports 8K as well.
Conclusion
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is packed with all the top-line specs but does comes at a cost. The price start from $1,199 / £1,149 or the 12GB/128GB storage, 256GB storage costs $1,249, £1,199 and the 16GB/512GB is priced at $1,379, £1,329.
S21 Ultra with the cameras, huge battery, flagship processor and new colours will be one of the best smartphones of 2021.
Samsung unfortunately has gone away with the micro-SD card slot, so you will need to be content with only the internal storage. Samsung also has now followed Apple’s path and will not include the charger in the box but will provide a USB to Type-C cable.
This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.
