Samsung expands its Galaxy
THE LATEST RELEASE OF THE TECH GIANT’S FLAGSHIP SMARTPHONE INCLUDES ITS MOST FEATURE-PACKED HANDSET YET
AT A special Samsung Unpacked event last week, the South Korean tech giant unleashed the newest versions of its flagship smartphone and there is lots to get excited about.
MEET THE GALAXY S21.
THERE was little about the phones that was much of a surprise – like most new smartphones coming to market during the present era, there isn’t a lot of revolution.
And much of what was revealed about the S21 variants had already leaked out ahead of the event.
The line-up consists of what you could reasonably consider two different phones – there’s the regular S21 and S21+, which are the phones I would expect most people to go for. Then there’s the monster in the line-up – the S21 Ultra, which, as the name suggests, is more or less the most featurepacked phone Samsung could have made – and it has a price to match.
With the regular models Samsung has taken a somewhat unusual approach. Rather than incremental improvements across the board, these phones are better in some ways, the same in others, and actually lower-specced in some important areas.
But the big story is the one that is most important to users – they are cheaper than last year’s S20 models, starting at £769 for the S21 with its 6.2in screen, and at £949 for the S21+ with its 6.7in screen. How can they be cheaper? Well, there are some compromises in terms of the materials used – for example, there’s no glass back, with a metal back on the 21+ and a plastic back on the S21.
All the changes have allowed Samsung to trim the price.
What’s better is the processor – much faster than before, allowing a snappier performance all round.
The devices also sport a new design, with a brand new camera bump that integrates much more seamlessly with the rest of the device. If you’re going to have a camera bump (and if you want the best quality images, physics dictates that you must), then this is not a bad way to do it.
Inside that housing, the camera array is more or less the same as last year’s model, with 12MP wide and ultra-wide units, and a 64MP 3x telephoto unit. Samsung says it has updated the software to allow for better performance from the camera. One other thing that’s changed is that there is no 4G only version of the S21 – both are fully 5G compatible. Colour-wise we’re looking at four options for the S21 – Phantom Violet, Phantom Grey, Phantom Pink and Phantom White – and three for the S21+, which offers no white version.
If you’re after the best of the best, you’ll want to look at the S21 Ultra, which starts at £1,149, and comes in any colour you like as long as it’s black or silver.
Building on everything the regular S20s can do, the Ultra 5G is bigger with a 6.8in screen, and has no fewer than four cameras – and a bigger bump to prove it.
There’s a 12MP wide, two 10MP telephotos (one with 3x zoom and one with 10x zoom), and an ultra-wide unit with a 108MP lens.
It’s hard to imagine Samsung packing much more in, but it has managed one other high-end feature – support for the S Pen stylus, which comes at an extra cost.
All the new phones can be ordered now, with a January 28 release date.
Two other new things were shown off by Samsung at its Unpacked event – a new set of wireless earbuds in the Galaxy Pro Buds, and a location tracking tile that can be attached to items like bags and keys, enabling you to locate them if lost using your phone’s ultra-precise tracking system.
The Pro Buds will cost £219, while the Galaxy Smarttags will be £29 each. Samsung will bundle one of each in for free if you order an Ultra before release day.
See samsung.com/uk for more