Is the Samsung S21 ultra Too Big? - Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus review

Mohamed Sirag

6 Apr, 2021

The Samsung Galaxy S21 series is now in the public domain after being officially unveiled at CES 2021 on Samsung Unpacked.

The range of Samsung Samsung 21, Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, and here you can get our first impressions officers of the new line, along with all the information about the price of the Galaxy S21, release date, specs, camera and battery.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 review video below also shows the differences between each new phone and explains the differences in terms of what you get in the box. Just click on the video below to start watching. The Plus model in the Galaxy S line was Samsung's flagship phone just a couple of years ago, but with the introduction of the S20 Ultra last year, it has faded into the background. The gap between models is widening with the S21 series and it seems that Samsung is pushing the most demanding users towards the ultra with a lot of force, very similar to what we saw in the Note 20 series. The S21 Plus could be a tough phone to recommend considering last year's S20. Plus has the same camera settings and screen size, but with a higher resolution; The S21 Plus has the best chipset and the biggest battery, but anyone looking for any of these should look at the S21 Ultra, which improves the game in every way.

FOR

Exynos 2100 seems to be a good chipset

Large fingerprint sensor

Screen resolution lower than last year's model

Camera setup identical to last year's S20 Plus

Following the same pattern as last year, Samsung launched three Galaxy S21 models, with the Plus Phone, which was a flagship device just a couple of years ago, in the middle of the line.

While the main difference between the S20 Ultra and the S20 Plus was the camera configuration, this year Samsung has made a clearer distinction between the two models.

Now, the Samsung Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Plus are not as top notch as Samsung, which pushes advanced users and serious Galaxy enthusiasts to the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus release date and price

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus was announced on January 14 alongside the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Ultra during a virtual Unpacked event, where Samsung introduced its 2021 flagship line about a month earlier than in previous years.

The launch date of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus is set for January 29, 2021 in most regions, including the United States. You can also preorder phones in each of these regions.

Prices for the Galaxy S21 Plus start at $ 999 / £ 949 / AUD $ 1549 for a Phone option with 128GB RAM and 8GB. There is also a 256GB / 8GB version, but we haven't received confirmed pricing yet.

That price is noticeably below the starting price of the Galaxy S20 Plus, especially in the US This is mainly because the company chose a Full HD + screen instead of a higher resolution QHD panel, we will see that later.

The best Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus deals you'll find right now

Design and display

Looking at the front of the Galaxy S21 Plus, not much has changed compared to last year's S20 Plus. The new model is a little wider and heavier, but you don't feel it in your hand; it's well balanced, and it's no surprise that every inch of the S21 Plus feels like a premium phone.

Flip it over and the new look of the camera block dissolves into the body - it looks much better in real life than in the leaked images we've seen. The S21 Plus will be available in Phantom Black, Phantom Silver and Phantom Violet. All models have a glass back panel with a matte finish, which allows you to minimize fingerprint traces.

The volume keys and power / Bixby buttons are located on the right side, and at the bottom of the phone there is a SIM card tray, a USB Type-C port, and a speaker. There is an additional speaker at the top of the device, and the glass back panel allows for wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.

The S21 Plus has the same 6.7-inch screen as the Galaxy S20 Plus. However, for some reason, Samsung has lowered the maximum resolution for the S21 Plus, which is now limited to Full HD + instead of QHD. Another key difference between the S21 Plus and S21 Ultra screen is that the former is incompatible with the S-Pen. Fortunately, the new phone's display still supports a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz.

The fingerprint sensor on the display on the S21 Plus and other S21 phones is larger than on the S20 phones, and Samsung claims it's faster too, so unlocking the phone should be easier.

Camera and battery

The Galaxy S21 Plus camera set consists of a 12MP wide-angle lens, a 12MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 64MP telephoto lens with 3x hybrid zoom. if all of this sounds familiar to you, it's because this is the kind of camera specs we saw on the Galaxy S20 Plus last year.

The ISP of the new Exynos 2100 chipset and improved artificial intelligence capabilities are likely to help deliver better image quality, but it will only be known if that also means better / faster overall camera performance when we analyze the S21 Plus.

When it comes to video, Samsung has introduced a new filmmaker view that allows you to record videos from multiple cameras at once-for example, you can use the front and rear cameras to capture reactions as well as your main video.

Samsung has increased the battery capacity of the S21 Plus to 4800 mAh from 4500 mAh on the S20 Plus, and along with a more energy efficient processor, we hope this means the S21 Plus has better battery life than its predecessor, although we didn't have much. to complain in terms of the battery performance of the S20 Plus.

Performance and software

Much runs on Samsung's Exynos 2100 processor, the chip that powers the S21 line outside the US. In the United States, the phones will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, and the Galaxy phones will run on the chips themselves. In the past, Samsung has lost out to models using Qualcomm processors in terms of performance and battery life, this year Samsung is promoting the Exyon 2100.

The phone certainly seemed very energetic and smooth during hands-on use, but it's not the most reliable measure of performance. We'll have to wait until we get the phone for a full review to see what progress Samsung has made with its next-generation chip and how it compares to the Snapdragon S21 version.

The Galaxy S21 range is fully compliant with the 5G standard. This year, Samsung is also phasing out separate 4G and 5G models, which never made sense to us - why would anyone choose one 4G version of a flagship phone when a promising 5G is also available, even if it costs a little. plus?

The Galaxy S21 runs Android 11 with the Samsung OneUI 3.1 overlay. The two big changes we've seen are the inclusion of Google Feed instead of Samsung on a daily basis and Google Messages for text messages instead of the Samsung messaging app. Interestingly, the Samsung messaging app was also present on the phone, but it wasn't installed by default and wasn't on the home screen. We are happy to see the Google feed, as the Samsung version was very disappointing.

Early verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S21 series is now in the public domain after being officially unveiled at CES 2021 on Samsung Unpacked.