There’s a 6.2-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display on this handset, which we’ll dive into more in the display section below. This phone is the smallest member of the Galaxy S21 family, and while it may not be as trim as the iPhone 13 mini, those with smaller hands shouldn’t have too much trouble using it. Glasstic is the company’s own name for the material, which as the name suggests is somewhere between plastic and glass. It doesn’t feel as premium as a glass rear, but the matte finish also means it doesn’t feel like cheap plastic either. Sitting at the top of Samsung’s new flagship trio, the Galaxy S21 Ultra has everything you could want from a top-end flagship phone, including a gigantic 6.8in screen, a smattering of rear and front-facing cameras, up to 512GB of internal storage and the option to upgrade to a – frankly bonkers – 16GB of RAM. It’s also the first Samsung phone to come with Android 11 pre-installed, and it can record 8K video, just like last year’s Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review: Price and competition The design is where Samsung has made the most obviously noticeable changes over the S20 (which we crowned 2020’s best smartphone), overhauling the materials used, the colors, and the overall look of the device.

Not that there’s much need to tweak the camera settings, though. Open up the camera app and you’ll be treated to wonderful, detail-rich images that are filled with vibrant colours and rich, intricate details. I was particularly impressed with the portrait mode, which you can see here side-by-side with the iPhone 12 Pro: We’ve only had the chance to test the Exynos 2100 version of the S21, and it seems like a major improvement over previous generations of Samsung’s chipset. In the past, the Exynos variant tended to lag behind the Qualcomm-powered phones in some areas but here the gap seems to have narrowed.Reverse wireless charging is also supported, so you can use your phone’s power to top up devices such as Qi-compatible wireless headphones, but we found that to be slow, and it’s a feature you’d likely only want to use in emergencies. Hope someone can help (that includes Samsung programmers/engineers) – I have two SIM cards in my phone, personal and work. If I’m talking to someone on SIM1 (personal) and someone calls me on SIM2 or I have a missed call, I receive a missed call notification (so far so good!!). When I go to return the ‘SIM2 missed call’, my phone dials out using SIM1 – frustrating. This can be changed in options where if an outgoing call is placed it asks which SIM you want to use for the call – pointless. My OnePlus 7 Pro would intelligently select the SIM – so a missed call on SIM2 would be dialled out via SIM2 automatically, a missed call on SIM1 would be dialled out via SIM1 and you also have the option of changing which SIM dials out should you choose to do so. Samsung has fully embraced 5G for the S21 line too, as all variants of the Galaxy S21 are 5G-compatible. Even if you’re not in a 5G-ready area, it essentially means you’re futureproofed, ready for when 5G connectivity is more widely available. Samsung Galaxy S21: battery life

The S21 runs Android 11 out of the box with Samsung’s One UI 3.0 skin, which is among our favorite software interfaces. The phone has since been updated to Android 12, and it will be getting Android 13 when that's available too. To choose what SIMs and phone plans are used by default for data, voice and messages go to Settings> Connections> SIM card manager. Let’s move to the numbers-heavy portion of this review, then. In the Geekbench 5 CPU test, the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s Exynos 2100 matched the single-core performance of its predecessor, the Exynos 990, found inside the S20 Ultra. Where it differs, however, is in multi-core performance. The S21 Ultra is roughly 24% faster here, which is a huge boost. Overall, though, the S21 Ultra lags slightly behind the Snapdragon 888 (tested in the Xiaomi Mi 11) and is no match for the as-yet-unbeatable processing speeds of the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

The other thing to note here is that the Galaxy S21 doesn’t come with a charger in the box. Samsung has followed in Apple’s footsteps by not bundling a charger with its new phones as it seeks to cut down on e-waste. Samsung has opted for a lower-spec screen than the one on the S20, with a Full HD+ 6.2-inch display, but it offers a 120Hz refresh rate for super-smooth scrolling and graphics, plusfantastic colors, and strong brightness levels – and we didn’t notice the lower resolution in most of our testing. This is also the first Samsung phone to launch without a charger in the box. Following in Apple’s footsteps, Samsung says the charger’s removal is an effort to reduce the environmental impact of the phone, but it also says that it “removes any pressure that consumers may feel towards continually receiving unnecessary charger accessories with new phones”. Camera improvements include enhanced noise reduction in low-light conditions, as well as the ability to slow down multiple instances in a single slow-mo video. You can also grab a still image directly from 8K footage, and add virtual lighting in portrait pictures.

The cameras also receive their fair share of upgrades this year. Indeed, the Ultra is the only S21 phone to come with a 108MP (f/1.8) main camera and it also comes with a pair of 10MP telephoto lenses. All in all, the Samsung Galaxy S21 feels like a premium device, although it’s unlikely to feel as top-end as the Samsung Galaxy S20 if you own that handset, or the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Or if you want a newer model there's now the Samsung Galaxy S22 line - but those phones will cost you more. One negative for some is the switch to a completely flat screen on the Galaxy S21. Samsung has used screens that curve attractively into the body at the left and right edges for a number of generations now, but this has been dropped for the Galaxy S21.

musicMagpie Search

Battery life on the Samsung Galaxy S21 is solid, although it’s not a game-changing improvement over the S20, as the company may have led some to believe with its new Exynos 2100 chipset. The Samsung Galaxy S21 release date was Friday, January 29, 2021 for most of the world, including the US, UK and Australia. That means you can readily buy the smartphone now from a variety of retailers, carriers and networks in all three of those countries. You’ve got four color choices at launch: Phantom Gray, Phantom White, Phantom Pink, and Phantom Violet (the shade you see pictured throughout this review) – we think Violet is the standout color here.