Samsung Galaxy S21 review: The Best cheapest flagship
Samsung Galaxy S21 is a more refined, smarter, and crucially cheaper new flagship phone. It was launched on 14th January 2021. For years, the Galaxy S series has been do-everything, have-everything flagship phones, but with the Galaxy S21, Samsung has decided to take away almost as much as it’s upgraded.
In this Samsung Galaxy S21 review, we have talked about its camera, performance, battery life, and design so you will get a whole overview.
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It comes with 6.2-inch display, trio of rear cameras, and the same 4,000 mAh battery, the Galaxy S21 isn’t much of an upgrade over its predecessor. Sure, it comes with a new camera module and color schemes, as well as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888. But the Galaxy S21 turns out to be very much an iterative upgrade; the big changes come in the Galaxy S21 Ultra this time around.
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For people holding on to the older Galaxy S10 or, say a Google Pixel 4 or OnePlus 7T, the suite of upgrades, such as a new Dynamic AMOLED display and improved software, all combine to make the samsung Galaxy S21 a rather compelling flagship phone at an attractive size and price. Keep reading our Samsung Galaxy S21 review to find out why taking stuff away has worked out rather well for Samsung’s new flagship phone.
You can order the Samsung Galaxy S21 right now, with the handset going on sale January 29.Before you go with Galaxy s21,just keep in mind, there’s only a USB-C cable in the box, so you’ll need to pay out for a charger if you don’t have one already.
And the S21 only comes with 8GB of RAM, with no option to get the 12GB of the Galaxy S20, unless you opt for the considerably more expensive Galaxy S21 Ultra.
The below given points will help you to understand the basic features of galaxy S21.
- Samsung Galaxy S21 has a 6.4 inches display and 1440 x 3200 pixels resolution
- Triple camera setup on the rear comes with features like digital zoom, auto flash, face detection, touch to focus, and more
- Front camera is of 12 MP
- Powered by 4500 mAh battery
- Runs Android v10 (Q) OS and equipped with octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 875 SM8350 processor
- 12GB RAM and 128GB inbuilt storage
- Dimensions of the phone are 151.7 mm x 71.2 mm x 7.9 mm
- Color options: Violet, Gray, Phantom Pink, and White
Now we can go through the important features and looks of Samsung Galaxy S21 in detail.
Design
From the front, the Galaxy S21 looks a lot like the Galaxy S20, with its 6.2-inch display complete with a neat punch-hole selfie camera in the top middle of the screen. Look closer and you’ll see the S21 has dropped its predecessor’s curved display and opted for flat edges.
The flat edges on the Galaxy S21 lead to the metal edges flowing to the new “Contour Cut” camera design, where the rear camera module seems to blend into the S21’s left-hand edge, as well as the back.
It comes with a plastic back is likely the biggest reason Samsung can offer the Galaxy S21 at its cheaper price. And while the lack of a glass back might seem odd for a flagship phone, but it didn’t feel cheap. it also has a more tactile finish than the glass-backed Galaxy S series, making it feel less likely to escape your grip or suck up fingerprints.
It comes with four colour such as phantom violet, phantom gray, phantom Pink, and phantom white. Measuring 6 x 2.8 x 0.31 inches and weighing 6.07 ounces, the Galaxy S21 is a bit smaller yet a little heavier than the Galaxy S20.
The Galaxy S21’s in-display ultrasonic fingerprint reader is also more responsive thanks to using Qualcomm’s new scanner, which is 1.7x larger and 50% faster than the previous generation. I found the S21 rarely rejected a hasty tap from my thumb, which does wonders for my quick temper.
Display
Samsung’s phones are renowned for their superb displays – this was the firm that pioneered the ‘Edge’ screens that appeared to cascade over the sides of the phone, after all – and the S21 is no different.
The new range’s ‘Dynamic AMOLED 2x’ screens support the 120Hz refresh rate – great for gaming and sports. The S21 has a 6.2in FHD+ panel, the S21+ a 6.7in FHD+ screen and the S21 Ultra a 6.8in WQHD+ jobby. There’s also a new Eye Comfort Shield that automatically adjusts blue levels.
The Ultra boasts the “best display Samsung has ever created”, offering that maximum refresh rate even in maximum resolution quality. Samsung is promising 25 per cent more brightness (the peak is an eye-dazzling 1500 nits) and double the contrast of the S20 Ultra’s screen. Bold.
Of course, that display is at the mercy of your fingertips – or the S-Pen, as it hits the S Series for the first time. Previously, the S Pen was exclusive to Samsung’s Galaxy Note range.
Cameras
Hardware-wise, the Galaxy S21 cameras are the same as the Galaxy S20. The triple camera array comprises a main 12MP wide-angle lens, a 12MP ultra-wide lens and a 64MP telephoto lens with 3x hybrid optic zoom and 30x space zoom.
But Samsung is pulling a Google and leaning hard on software and computational photography upgrades to improve the trio of rear cameras. And for the most part, the Galaxy S21 achieves this. One improvement Samsung did make here is offer a Zoom Lock feature that helps minimize shake when you’re at 20x zoom and beyond.
When you’re at that level, a box appears on the viewfinder’s top left, and tapping it sets the boundaries of the scene. As my hand shook, the scene remained stable, and I needed to move the phone deliberately to shift away.
Performance and battery life
In general, the phone stuck around for a day and a half (sometimes even two days) before needing a charge. On our video rundown test with adaptive refresh rates on, the S21 managed 15 hours and 17 minutes with the same 4,000mAh cell as its predecessor. That’s better than the S20, which clocked just over 12 hours, as well as the OnePlus 8T and the Pixel 5, despite both of those packing larger batteries.
Battery life will of course suffer if you’re using things like 5G and high refresh rates more, so I expect to get closer to a day of use whenever I travel again. The S21 is also one of the first devices to offer the new Wi-Fi 6E standard that taps new spectrum for higher speeds and capacity. Since I don’t have a compatible router, though, I wasn’t able to test this.
Unsurprisingly, the S21 is a good phone. It has a powerful processor, a lovely screen, capable cameras and a long-lasting battery. It even has some useful software and a gorgeous new design in eye-catching colors.
At $800, the S21 is more reasonably priced than its stablemates. If you prefer a pure Google experience and want to save $100, the Pixel 5 may be good enough for you. But the S21 has a more versatile camera setup and faster processor, making it the best Android phone for the money.
Processor: | Snapdragon 888 (5nm octa-core 2.8GHz + 2.4GHz + 1.8GHz) |
RAM / storage: | 8GB / 128GB / 256GB |
MicroSD card support: | None |
Display: | 6.2-inch 120Hz Flat Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O |
Display resolution: | 2,400 x 1,080 |
Rear cameras: | 12MP f/1.8 wide-angle camera with OIS, 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera (120-degree FOV), 64MP f/2.0 telephoto camera with OIS, |
Front-facing camera: | 10MP f/2.2 camera with dual-pixel AF |
OS: | One UI 3, based on Android 11 |
Battery: | 4,000mAh |
Charging: | USB-C, supports USB-PD 3.0 (wired) and Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 |
Dimensions: | 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9mm |
Weight: | 171g |
Fingerprint sensor: | Yes, in-display |
Waterproofing: | IP68 |
NFC: | Yes |
Headphone jack: | No |
Notable connectivity options: | 5G |