The Samsung Galaxy S21 series is official as of Thursday with the standard S21, S21 Plus, and S21 Ultra rounding out the latest additions to the Galaxy family. Samsung’s online Unpacked event took place on the last day of CES 2021 and is essentially the first major flagship launch of the season.
Confirming many of the longstanding rumors that have circulated the Galaxy S21 series, the devices are now available for pre-order and will launch to market starting January 29. The Galaxy S21 starts at $799, while the Galaxy S21 Plus starts at $999, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra at $1,999.
Check out more specs and feature details for all three devices below.
Samsung Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Plus
The primary differentiation between the Galaxy S21 and the Galaxy S21 Plus is their displays and battery capacities. While both models feature an FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O displays, the Galaxy S21 is 6.2-inches in diagonal width and the Galaxy S21 Plus is 6.7-inches. Samsung chose flat displays for these models after several generations of dual-edge curved screens, now opting to designate that feature to the absolute premium.
Both handsets are HDR10+ certified with a 2400×1080 resolution, adaptive refresh rate between 48 and 120Hz, and an eye comfort shield; however, the Galaxy S21 has a pixel density of 421ppi and the Galaxy S21 Plus a density of 394ppi.
The Galaxy S21 also has a 4,000mAh battery and the Galaxy S21 Plus a 4,800mAh battery; however, both devices support Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 and wireless power share up.
Hardware-wise, the devices are very similar, being powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip or the Samsung Exynos 2100 chip depending on the region. These chips feature the latest 5nm processing, making them among the smallest and fastest on the market that allows for multiple 5G bands, including Non-Standalone, Standalone, and Ultra-Wideband. The Galaxy S21 standard and Plus models also feature 8GB of RAM and 128GB and 256GB internal storage options. For these models, Samsung opted away from expandable storage.
With a heavy focus on camera specs, the two main S21 devices both feature a triple camera set up, including a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, a 12-megapixel wide-angle lens, and a 64-megapixel telephoto lens, as well as a 10-megapixel front camera.
Other notable features include IP68 water resistance, an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor, face recognition, Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi 6E, and Android 11 for both devices.
For color options, the Galaxy S21 will be available in Phantom Violet, Phantom Pink, Phantom Grey, and Phantom White. The Galaxy S21 Plus will be available in Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, Phantom Violet color options with additional Phantom Gold and Phantom Red options, which are customizable.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
The Galaxy S21 Ultra stands out as Samsung’s premium flagship device for early 2021; housing most of the major technology upgrades consumers will find in the new series. The Galaxy S21 Ultra features a 6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O display. Keeping its edge curves, the display is also HDR10+ certified with a 3200×1440 resolution, an adaptive refresh rate between 10 and 120Hz, and a pixel density of 515ppi.
For hardware, the Galaxy S21 Ultra features a 5000mAh battery, the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip, or the Samsung Exynos 2100 chip options, 12GB of RAM, and 128GB and 256GB internal storage option. There is a model that will feature 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. Similar to the standard and the Plus, the Galaxy S21 Ultra will not include expandable storage.
Samsung really shows off its latest camera prowess with the quad-shooter set up on the Ultra, which includes a 12-megapixel ultra lens, a 108-megapixel wide-angle lens, and dual 10-megapixel telephoto lenses, as well as a 40-megapixel front camera. Standout features on the Galaxy S21 Ultra camera include 100X Space Zoom.
The device also includes S-Pen support, IP68 water resistance, an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor, face recognition, Bluetooth 5.0, and WiFi 6E among its other notable features.
For color options, the Galaxy S21 will be bailable in Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, as well as Phantom Brown, Phantom Navy, and Phantom Titanium, which are customizable.
