- Samsung revealed the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra on January 14th.
- All three Galaxy S21 phones feature at least 8GB of RAM, at least 128GB of storage, dynamic AMOLED displays with adaptive 120Hz refresh rates, and Snapdragon 888 chipsets.
- The Galaxy S21 ($799), Galaxy S21+ ($999), and Galaxy S21 Ultra ($1,199) are now available to preorder, and will begin shipping to consumers on January 29th.
On Thursday morning, Samsung pulled back the curtain on the Galaxy S21 lineup during the latest Galaxy Unpacked event. This was about as early as Samsung possibly could have revealed its phones, and nearly a month earlier than it announced the Galaxy S20 in 2020, but it still wasn’t soon enough to stop a deluge of leaks from spoiling each and every detail about the new flagship phone models. Nevertheless, the Galaxy S21 is now official.
The Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ are more alike than they are different. Both have 8GB of RAM, both models have 10-megapixel front-facing cameras, both have FHD+ displays with 120Hz adaptive refresh rates, both have the same redesigned rear camera arrays that have a different color scheme and bleed over the edges of the phones. The triple-lens cameras feature a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens, a 12-megapixel wide-angle lens, and a 64-megapixel telephoto lens. The only notable differences are the sizes of the components that are equipped on each model.
The Galaxy S21 features a 6.2-inch display, and the Galaxy S21+ display comes in at 6.7 inches. The S21 also has a 4,000mAh battery, while the Galaxy S21+ has a much larger 4,800mAh battery. The Galaxy S21+ also weighs about 30 grams more than the standard S21, but otherwise, the two models are cut from the same cloth.
As for the Galaxy S21 Ultra, while the design is virtually the same, the feature set is far more impressive. In addition to having a 6.8-inch WQHD+ display with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, the S21 Ultra is the only model to feature a quad-lens camera array. On the back of the S21 Ultra, you will find a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens, a 108-megapixel wide-angle lens, and two 10-megapixel telephoto lenses capable of 3x and 10x optical zoom, respectively. The S21 Ultra also has 12GB of RAM out of the box, or 16GB of RAM if you spring for the 256GB model.
The other unique feature of the Galaxy S21 Ultra is its ability to interface with the S Pen, which was once reserved for the Galaxy Note phones. You can now draw, take notes, edit photos, and sign documents with an existing S Pen that you already own or with an S Pen you purchase separately, with or without a case.
All three devices are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 chipset (or Samsung’s Exynos 2100 chipset in some regions), and they all also have improved wireless charging speeds with Fast Wireless Charging 2.0. Samsung’s new phones feature 5G connectivity as well, and they all run on Android 11 with One UI 3.
The Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ start at $799 and $999 for the 128GB models, while the Galaxy S21 Ultra starts at $1,199. Preorders for all three phones open today, and the S21 series begins shipping on January 29th.
