26
Jan
Two-minute review
The Samsung Galaxy S21 is an odd handset on paper, but having spent a week using it we’ve found it to be a highly capable handset that’s a pleasure to use, despite a couple of specs being dropped from previous handsets, notably the Galaxy S20 from 2020.
Why does the Samsung Galaxy S21 have lesser specs than the Galaxy S20? Two reasons. The first is that Samsung wanted to drop the price of its handset – the S21 starts at $799 / £769 / AU$1,249 compared to the Galaxy S20 5G’s $999 / £899 / AU$1,499.
The second is that the company is also putting a bigger focus on its Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra – and unlike the Galaxy S20 Ultra in 2020, it’s a handset we’d readily recommend to those who are desperate to try the company’s latest innovations, and happy to pay for them.
That makes the S21 a significantly less exciting Galaxy S phone than we’re used to seeing, but make no mistake: the Galaxy S21 is still a fantastic handset choice, albeit with a few tweaked specs compared to the Galaxy S20 – and that price drop is likely to attract a lot more people to the S series.
If you want a larger screen but similar specs, there’s also the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus but we’ve yet to have that phone in for a full review on TechRadar.
Back to the S21, and the chipset is powerful, the camera software has improved over recent models, and the battery life is strong, giving you a solid day of use from a full charge, alongside effective fast-charging and wireless charging options.
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, fantastic colors, and strong brightness levels – and we didn’t notice the lower resolution in most of our testing.
The chipset – we’ve tested the Exynos 2100 version of the phone – is also powerful, delivering some fantastic results real-world use as well as in benchmarking software.
If you already own a Samsung Galaxy S20, or if you can find that handset for a significant discount, you won’t want to opt for the Galaxy S21 – while the new phone gains in some areas it loses in others, and overall there’s not much between the two phones – certainly not enough to justify paying a couple of hundred dollars or pounds more.
Conversely, if you’re after the top-end tech that Samsung is selling this year then you’ll want to check out the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. But if you’re after a (much) cheaper alternative to that phone, that shares a lot of the same design language and features, and which works fantastically well for everyday tasks, the Galaxy S21 is just that.
Samsung Galaxy S21 release date and price
– Samsung S21 release date was January 29, 2021
– Samsung S21 price starts at $799 / £769 / AU$1,249
– Want higher specs? You’ll pay $849 / £819 / AU$1,349
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.
The Samsung S21 was was officially unveiled on January 14, 2021 which was the earliest in a year we’ve seen the company introduce its new smartphone technology.
The Galaxy S21 price is remarkably lower than that of the S20 at launch, with Samsung trimming a few specs, including reducing the maximum display resolution and dropping microSD support, in order to make this possible.
The Galaxy S21 price starts at $799 / £769 / AU$1,249 for a version with 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. There’s also a 256GB and 8GB RAM variant, and that costs $849 / £819 / AU$1,349.
The Galaxy S20 5G price started at $999 / £899 / AU$1,499 so the new phone is quite a bit cheaper. If you want the very top-end specs, you’ll be looking for the Galaxy S21 Ultra, which sports perks like a QHD+ display and expandable storage, but which comes with a much higher price tag.
It’s also worth noting that all of Samsung’s S21 phones are 5G-compatible in 2021, so you won’t be able to buy a 4G-only variant. Instead, Samsung had made its 5G-compatible smartphones more competitively priced, so you’ll be getting a future-proofed option even if you don’t intend to use next-gen connectivity in the near future.
Looking for a slightly higher spec Samsung Galaxy S21 handset? The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus starts at $999 / £949 / AU$1,549 with the Galaxy S21 Ultra taking the honor of the series’ most expensive phone at $1,199 / £1,149 / AU$1,849.
Design
– New Contour Cut camera design stands out
– ‘Glasstic’ rear with a matte finish
– Feels premium, but not as high-end as S21 Ultra
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.
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 12 mini, those with smaller hands shouldn’t have too much trouble using it.
If you want a larger phone, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus comes with a larger screen and the Galaxy S21 Ultra has the largest screen of the whole series. Both of these handsets are more expensive though.
Samsung has switched from a full glass rear on the Galaxy S20 – a design that wasn’t too exciting in the flesh – to a ‘Glasstic’ rear that comes with a matte finish and incorporates a new camera block design.
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.
Samsung used the same material on the Galaxy Note 20, but the matte finish feels more suitable here and it’s much less shiny than the glass rear on the Galaxy S20, which means it’s less of a fingerprint magnet. The metal edges around the outside of the device add a touch of premium polish.
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.
The company has made the camera array on the S21 phones look different to any other on the market .Samsung is calling this its Contour Cut Camera, and it’s a divisive design to say the least – although we think it looks bold, and it’s something we’ve grown used to during our time testing the phone. The gold camera array on the Phantom Violet variant is particularly good-looking, and it feels slimmer than on the Galaxy S20, so it doesn’t jutt out from the rear of the phone so much.
There’s very little to break up the sleek edges of the phone: the bottom edge features the SIM tray, a USB-C port and a speaker grille, while on the right side are the power button and volume rocker; however, the Bixby button found on other handsets from the company hasn’t made a return here. Instead you can launch Samsung’s assistant by long pressing the power button.
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.
It’s unlikely to be something you’ll notice unless you’re used to those curved edges, but it’s worth noting if you’re someone who particularly likes that design feature – and as is the case with other dropped features, Samsung has retained the curved-edge screen for the premium S21 Ultra.
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.
Conclusion:
The Galaxy S21 isn’t the star of Samsung’s S series in 2021, like we’ve been used to for most of the past decade, but it’s a solid smartphone choice with an impressive camera, powerful internals and great battery life. If you want the best of the best, look to the Galaxy S21 Ultra; but if you want a handset that’s cheaper than the Galaxy S20 was at launch, with a whole load of premium features, the Galaxy S21 is a delight to use, and will do you proud.
