Buying Guide: Everything you need to know about the Samsung S21 series
The Galaxy S21 series is the 2021 flagship line of Samsung, the world's largest smartphone manufacturer. In 2020, Samsung tried to start attracting ultra-high-end buyers, and just one year later, the S21 series is already mature and comprehensive.
S21 Ultra
However, since the launch of the S22 series, Samsung has stopped producing the S21 series. The good news is that you can still find new models from retailers in China, but the inventory will continue to decrease in 2022, and you can also get your favorite S21 series on the Samsung official flip platform.
In this issue of the S21 Series Buying Guide, we've rounded up everything you might want to know about the S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra.
Note: This guide is valid until May 2022 and will be updated continuously in the future.
S21 Series Overview
Samsung released the S21 series on January 14, 2021, much earlier than the usual S series, in part due to the impact of the epidemic. Pre-orders for the three phones began on January 14 of that year, followed by January 29.
On February 9, 2022, Samsung launched the S22 series, marking the end of the S21 series.
S21 Ultra overview
Not to be taken too far, the S21 Ultra was the most powerful phone in the series, and even one of the most powerful phones in the world at the time. It comes with a large 6.8-inch display, a large 5,000mAh battery, and a 108MP main camera, in addition to up to 16GB of RAM.
S21+ Overview
The S21+ comes with a slightly smaller 6.7-inch display and a 4,800mAh battery, and it has three rear cameras instead of five, 8GB of RAM.
S21+
S21 Overview
The S21 is the smallest of the three, and on the bright side, the 6.2-inch display is easier to operate with one hand and is basically the same as the S21+'s specifications. However, it also sacrifices some of the battery capacity – 4,000mAh.
Is the S21 series phone worth buying?
Because Samsung no longer produces the S21 series of phones, it will not be as easy to buy as the S22 series. However, there are several reasons that may prompt you to opt for the S21 series at the moment.
First, the batteries of the S21 and S21+ are larger than those of the S22 and S22+.
Second, the S21 series from third-party vendors will be cheaper than the S22 – especially the official refurbished machines.
Third, the S21 Ultra has a 16GB of running memory, while the S22 Ultra has a maximum memory of 12GB, although it can also be attached.
S21
Overall, the three mobile phones of the S21 series are still very durable. They have a very fast processor, a great camera, an elegant design and excellent software. Admittedly, the hardware inside the S22 series is slightly better in general, but this does not mean that the S21 series is suddenly not good.
In addition, Samsung launched a "fan version" in the S21 series: S21 FE, and the entry price became quite affordable.
How good are the cameras of the S21 series?
All along, Samsung's flagships have had excellent cameras. If you want to have one of the best photo and video phones in the Android world, then the latest products of the S series can't go wrong.
The S21 series is in the same frame
S21 Ultra camera
108 million pixel wide-angle camera, 12mp ultra-wide camera, 10 million dual telephoto camera (3x optical zoom and 10x optical zoom), laser autofocus, optical image stabilization, top color accuracy. With 40 million pixels, the front selfie camera has a phase detection autofocus and looks great for selfies.
In fact, the 2020 S20 Ultra has similar specifications, including 108 million main cameras, but the S20 Ultra has a little focusing problem, and the S21 Ultra solves almost everything seen in the S20 Ultra.
S21 and S21+ cameras
We know that since 2017, the normal version of the S series and the plus version will make a difference in terms of camera, and the plus version will tend to be equipped with more and better sensors or lenses. However, on the S21 and S21+, Samsung made changes, and the two phones have exactly the same image quality.
With a 12MP wide-angle camera, a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera, a 64MP telephoto camera, a 10MP selfie camera, the S21 and S21+ cameras are essentially perfect for the average user, and even for professional photographers, high-quality sensors can allow them to take some amazing pictures and videos.
How about the battery life of the S21 series?
During our review of the S21 Ultra and S21+, we saw a surprising battery life, with heavy use that can persist until the early hours of the next day before charging, and light use can easily get two days of battery life. As for S21, it can basically meet the heavy use of the next day a charge.
Note, the accessories of the original new machine do not contain a charger, but in the Samsung official flip platform to buy, the official will often engage in the activity of giving away 25W charger.
Finally, S21 series mobile phones all support wireless charging, and most wireless charging pads can be matched. In addition, all three phones support reverse wireless charging, so you can also charge things like earbud boxes or smartwatches.
How has the S21 series changed over the S20 series?
Design: Samsung has added more color matching options for the S21 series, and the rear camera module uses a whole piece of aluminum alloy connected to the middle frame as the base, and the overall side frame is rounded and the weight is moderate, and the daily operation will be more convenient.
Storage: Both the S21 and S20 series start at 128GB, but the S21 and S21+ add 256GB versions.
MicroSD cards: None of the S21 series have microSD card slots, which is the first time since the S6 series that the entire lineup has abandoned this feature.
Camera: The front and rear camera settings for the S21 and S21+ are exactly the same, which has never happened since the S8 series.
S Pen: For the first time ever, Samsung has supported the S Pen for the S Series (S21 Ultra).
About the S21 FE
On January 3, 2022, Samsung launched the S21 FE, and we made a simple comparison with the S21.
Dimensions: Compared to the S21's 6.2-inch screen, the S21 FE is slightly taller and slightly wider, at 6.4 inches, with exactly the same thickness.
Battery: Due to its larger size, the S21 FE battery is larger than the S21, with the former being 4,500mAh and the latter being 4,000mAh.
Weight: The S21 FE weighs 177 grams, slightly heavier than the 171 grams S21.
Camera: The camera system of the S21 FE is weaker than that of the S21.
Use: The S21 FE is equipped with an on-screen optical fingerprint scanner, and the different ultrasonic sensors in the S21 may result in slightly slower performance and reduced accuracy.
RAM: The S21 FE comes with 6GB of RAM in the 128GB version, 8GB in the 256GB version, and 8GB in the S21.
Where can I buy S21 series phones now?
If you want to refurbish the machine, you can start with the Samsung official overturning platform and enjoy the quality of the new machine and the lower price, such as the official refurbished 128GB version of the S21 Ultra, which is only about 5200.
About software updates for the S21 series
Although Samsung stopped production of the S21 series this year, it announced that most of its flagship products (including the S21 series) will have four More Android upgrades and five years of Android security patches in the future, currently Android 12, which means that the S21 series can see Android 15, plus another year of patches. This is perfectly sufficient for the replacement cycle of the general user.
Based on the above price, camera, features, battery, software updates and other analysis, we believe that now is the best time to get started with the Samsung S21 series.