Our thoughts on the new Samsung Galaxy S21 - Telstra

For avid Samsung fans the Samsung Galaxy S21 series has not failed to deliver. 

With its huge screen, 5 cameras and incredible zoom the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G is sure to impress those looking for a top-shelf Android phone. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S21 5G and Galaxy S21+ 5G offer premium features for midrange prices.

Let's take a deeper dive to compare the specs and features.

If you don’t like reading tables, here’s the quick answer. 

The Samsung Galaxy S21 5G and Galaxy S21+ 5G are both excellent phones with very good cameras that provide high quality shots for the everyday photographer.

The main differences between the two are that the Galaxy S21+ 5G has a bigger battery capacity. And it offers a larger display, which will appeal to people who want to do even more on screen.

Then there's the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, which is a more premium model. It has the biggest screen and biggest battery of the three. It also features a higher-quality screen that gives better resolution.

And for the first time on a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, the screen is compatible with Samsung’s S Pen. So you can draw, doodle and take notes directly on the screen if you buy the S Pen stylus.

The most significant difference however is in the camera.

While Samsung says that all three models feature pro-grade camera and video, the Galaxy S21 Ultra camera offers higher resolution and a more powerful zoom. This is the phone for those who are serious about their photography.

That’s the top-level summary. Now let’s have a look at the features in more detail.

The cameras on the Galaxy S21 5G and Galaxy S21+ 5G are essentially the same as the Galaxy S20 series.

And remember, the S20 series only came out last year, so these cameras are still good quality. They feature a 12MP main sensor, 64MP telephoto lens, and 12MP ultrawide lens.

While the hardware of the Galaxy S21 5G and Galaxy S21+ 5G cameras is unchanged from the S20, the design has been updated to improve the ergonomics.

Rather than the camera ‘bump’ of the S20, the Galaxy S21 series cameras are flush with the body of the phone.

As we mentioned earlier, the Galaxy S21 Ultra, however, does have a new camera setup.

The main camera has an upgraded 108MP sensor. This as an improved version of the sensor in the Galaxy S20 Ultra and is the highest resolution available on a Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

And while the ultrawide is the same 12MP camera as the Galaxy S21 5G and Galaxy S21+ 5G, it features two zoom lenses: a 3x and a 10x optical zoom.

Samsung has added Laser Autofocus to the Galaxy S21 Ultra to help create super-sharp pics.

The cameras on all three models feature an improved night mode. Samsung says this function can capture significantly brighter images via the increased image sensor which is designed to take in more light. The result is richer photos, even in the dark.

We all love sharing video content. So Samsung has added some new video features that you can use to make your videos more creative.

The Galaxy S21 cameras can capture 8K video. That’s the best quality on a Samsung Galaxy smartphone. You can shoot with incredible detail in 8K. In fact, the video quality is so sharp, you can even pull a pixel-perfect 33MP still from your video long after the moment’s passed.

Meanwhile the Super-Smooth video function that adapts to 60 or 24 frames per second lets you create professional-looking video worthy of the big screen. 

In the Galaxy S21 Series, the higher the model, the larger the battery.

The base model Galaxy S21 5G has a 4000mAh battery, the same as last year’s S20.

Next is the Galaxy S21+ 5G with a 4800mAh. That’s a 300mAh increase compared to the 4500 mAh of its predecessor, the Galaxy S20 Plus.

The top-of-the range Galaxy S21 Ultra has a 5000 mAh, also unchanged from the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

All three models charge super fast, so you can get hours of power from only minutes of charge.

Interestingly, the Galaxy S21 series may provide up to two hours more battery life than the S20 series. That’s because the Galaxy S21 features a new style of display that uses less much power.

So what is this new display? Let’s look a little more closely.

The phones in the Samsung Galaxy S21 series feature an Infinity-O Dynamic AMOLED display with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate.

The screen resolution on both the Galaxy S21 5G and the Galaxy S21+ 5G is full HD+. As we mentioned earlier, the difference between the screens on these two models is the size. The Galaxy S21 5G screen is 6.2 inches on the diagonal, while the Galaxy S21+ 5G is 6.7-inches.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G is the largest screen at 6.8 inches. It is also set apart from the other two Galaxy S21  models by its ability to support WQHD resolution as well as FHD+.  And it’s the only screen in the Galaxy S21 series compatible with S Pen technology.

These are Samsung’s brightest screens ever and they allow you to see clearly in the sun. The screens also continually adjust the blue light filter to help care for your eyes. The 120Hz refresh rate makes scrolling feel very smooth while the adaptive screen performance helps reduce battery use.