Camera refinements are nice, but the price drop’s the thing – ProWellTech
The Galaxy S21 is a tank. It’s a large, heavy (8.04 ounces versus 7.7), blunt phone instrument. It really is the epitome of Samsung – the handset you buy when too much is not enough. It even goes so far as to adopt S-Pen functionality – perhaps the biggest differentiator between the company’s two flagship lines.
In many ways they – and the other S21 models – are logical extensions of the product line. Samsung didn’t break the mold here. But the company didn’t have to. The line remains one of the best Android devices that you can buy. It’s a product experience that the company is happy to refine while saving more fundamental changes for the much more experimental Galaxy Z line.
Samsung undoubtedly deserves credit for going all-in to 5G early on. The company was ahead of the curve in introducing next-generation wireless and was among the first to add it to its flagship offering. 5G became a useful feature remarkably quickly – not least because of Qualcomm’s keen drive to add the technology to its mid-tier chips. In fact, the iPhone 12 may be the last major flagship that can manage to use the technology as its main selling point.
With this, smartphone manufacturers are returning to familiar territory in which to wage their wars – namely imaging. Aside from the S-Pen functionality for the Ultra, most of the top upgrades of this generation are on the camera side. No wonder of course. The camera has always been a focus for Samsung – although the changes have mainly focused on software, which is increasingly the trend for many manufacturers.
Credit: Brian Heater
There are a few notable hardware changes, however. Namely, the new S models represent one of the major aesthetic updates in the recent past. I had mentioned in my original report on the news that I was kind of on the fence about what is mostly due to the weird fold of gadget blogging 2020 / 2021 is due to: not being able to see the device in person. Now that I’ve been floating the product around on the streets of New York for a few days, I can definitely say that I agree with them for the most part, I think.
The big sticking point is the massive camera housing with a contour cut. I’m pretty sure I used the word “brutalist” to describe it last time. After using the product I would say it’s pretty apt. There is something … industrial about the design choices. This is particularly pronounced in the Ultra with four camera holes as well as a laser autofocus sensor and a flash. It’s a large, pronounced camera body made of surprisingly thick metal. I suspect this is partly due to the “folded” telephoto lens.
Samsung also sent the Phantom Black model. The color was something the company devoted a surprising amount of stage time to during the announcement. It was the kind of attention we seldom see for something as inconsequential as a paint finish, save for a few Apple parts. Here is a long video about it if you are curious. I don’t know what to tell you It is nice. It’s matte black. I dig the new metallic back; Even with Corning on your side, a glass back really does feel like an accident waiting to happen.
The curved screen looks good as usual and is well accentuated by the round corners. The screen itself is eye-catching – Samsung’s displays always are. The screens of the S21, S21 + and S21 Ultra are 6.2, 6.7 and 6.8 inches respectively. These are all unchanged except for the Ultra, which is oddly 0.1 inches smaller than its predecessor. It’s not exactly noticeable, but it’s an odd choice from a company that has long insisted that bigger is better when it comes to displays.
Eye Comfort Shield is a welcome addition that allows you to adjust the screen temperature to suit the time of day and your own use. If you’ve used Night Shift or something similar, you know the deal – the screen slowly shifts to the more yellow end of the white balance spectrum, reducing the blue light so as not to throw your circadian rhythms off balance. It’s disabled by default, so you’ll need to go into settings to change it.
The company also introduced a feature for the dynamic refresh rate, which alternates between 46 and 120 Hz depending on the app used. This is supposed to extend the battery life (120Hz along with 5G can be a big problem). The effect is pretty subtle. I can’t say that I really noticed it in the course of my use. I am definitely grateful for the effort to come up with new ways to get extra juice out.
The new era of Samsung is equally notable for what it left off. The new S models mark the end of an era when the company finally ditched expandable storage (following in the footsteps of the Z line). I mean i understand. These devices offer 128 to 512 GB of storage space. For most users, the microSD reader was superfluous. I definitely never had to use it. According to the company, the use of SD cards on smartphones has decreased significantly over time as we expanded storage options for consumers.
Expanding the built-in memory will of course cost you something. Most of the time, however, it’s always a bit stupid to say goodbye to a long-standing factory. Speaking of which, the company has also ditched the in-the-head headphones and power adapter, specifically deleting some ads mocking Apple for recently doing the same thing. It’s the headphone jack again.
The company recently made a similar statement on sustainability in a statement. “We noticed that more and more Galaxy users are reusing accessories they already have and making sustainable choices in their daily lives to encourage better recycling habits.” As a result, the box is almost half the thickness of the one from previous S-lines, which is worth it.
As mentioned above, the cameras are remarkably similar to their predecessors, with a few key differences. The S20 Ultra was equipped with a 108 megapixel wide lens (1: 1.8), 12 megapixel ultrawide (1: 2.2) and 48 megapixel (1: 3.5) telephoto lens (4x zoom), while the S21 Ultra has a 108 megapixel wide lens (f / 1.8), 12 megapixel ultrawide (f / 2.2), 10 MP (f / 2.4) telephoto (3x zoom) and 10 MP telephoto (1: 4.9) (10x zoom). The double telephoto lenses are the biggest differentiator.
Photo credit: Brian Heater
The device switches between telephoto objects depending on how much you zoom in. The device performs much better than many competing handsets at distances that require roughly 10 times that. While the ability to zoom 100x is extremely impressive for a phone on paper, the images at higher levels deteriorate very quickly. At some point, the image takes on the style of an impressionist painting, which in most cases isn’t particularly useful.
Once Samsung (or whoever) can properly crack the code in translating that noise into a signal, it will really be a breakthrough. Still, Zoom Lock is a nice addition to minimize hand shake while zooming. Accidental movement tends to increase exponentially the closer you get to an image. The super steady has also been improved for video recording.
Portrait mode has been improved. There are still problems with more complex shapes, but this is a problem I’ve come across with pretty much all of the solutions. Samsung gets some points here for offering a ton of post-shot portrait editing, from varying levels of bokeh to adjusting the focus to other effects. As with a lot of camera software, there is a lot to play with.
Other major additions include 8K Snap which is a nice addition that allows you to get high resolution images from a single frame of 8K video. There’s also vlogger mode that shoots from the front and back at the same time. Someone will no doubt find some social use for this, but it feels a bit tricky – one of those features that the majority of users will instantly forget. Additional options are generally a good thing, although the camera software has gotten to the point of having a ton of menus to navigate around.
I feel like most of the users want a way to quickly take photos and record videos. The S21 entries below are great for this. The hardware is strong enough to get great shots with minimal effort. If you really enjoy learning about features and getting the best pictures on the device without exporting them to a third party app, the Ultra is the choice for you. The high-end device is not just a kind of kitchen sink approach, it’s also a choice.
Credit: Brian Heater
The addition of the S Pen functionality is probably the most remarkable – and weirdest – thing the Ultra has to offer. At first glance, this seems like the latest – and most distinct – in a series of moves that are effectively blurring the lines between the company’s two flagships. Perhaps Samsung will take a step to further differentiate the next note, or maybe the company is content with just letting the device merge over time.
There is of course a big difference right off the bat. Namely the fact that there is no pen slot on the S21. This means that:
- The pen is available separately.
- You’ll need to buy a case with an S-pen holder (also sold separately, of course) if you’re hoping not to lose it.
Credit: Brian Heater
I happened to have a Note S pen lying around and found the experience to be pretty smooth. I knew I am not a pen myself, but Samsung has done a good job building the software over the years. The S Pen is a surprisingly versatile tool that is available thanks to several generations of updates. But I’d say if the peripheral is important to you, just buy a note.
The components meet the expectations of a high-end Samsung. That includes the brand new Snapdragon 888 (at least in some markets) as well as 12 or 16 GB of RAM and 128, 256 or 512 GB of storage on the Ultra. The battery remains the same as last year at 5,000 mAh. Despite 5G and a high refresh rate, I have more than a day and a half of moderate consumption on a single charge.
In the end, the S21 isn’t a huge change from the S20. It’s really more of a refinement. For Samsung, however, this is a big change. The company introduced an overall price drop of $ 200 for these products. The S21, S21 +, and S21 Ultra models start at $ 799, $ 999, and $ 1,199, respectively. Neither is exactly what you’d call cheap, but $ 200 isn’t exactly insignificant, whether it is to get started with the entry-level model or to make it easier to choose a high-end model.
It is a clear reflection of the stagnant smartphone sales of a few years, compounded by some dire numbers amid COVID. It’s nice to see a company taking these problems – and the concern of spending more than $ 1,000 on a smartphone – to heart rather than just offering a flagship “lite”.
