Samsung Galaxy S21 series: Everything we know so far
What's the story
On January 14, at the upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung will announce its latest batch of flagship smartphones. The company will introduce the S21, S21, and S21 Ultra as the successors to last year's S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra models. Over the past few weeks, a barrage of leaks have revealed almost everything there is to know about the S21 line-up. Here's our roundup.
Design
At a glance
The S21 and S21+ will share the same design features as well as most of the hardware. Both devices will have a flat, punch-hole screen with ultra-slim bezels, Gorilla Glass Victus protection, and an IP68-rated build quality. The S21 Ultra will also have the same highlights along with slightly curved screen edges. The handsets will weigh at 171g, 202g, and 228g, respectively.
Display
All about the screen
The S21 and S21+ will offer a 6.2-inch and 6.7-inch display, respectively, with a Full-HD+ (1080x2400 pixels) resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and 1300-nits of brightness. The S21 Ultra will bear a 6.8-inch WQHD+ (1440x3200 pixels) AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, 1600-nits of brightness, and S Pen support. The trio will also sport an ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint scanner.
Cameras
S21 and S21+: For the shutterbugs and selfie lovers
The S21 and S21+ will be equipped with a triple-lens rear camera unit comprising a 12MP (f/1.8, OIS) primary sensor, a 64MP (f/2.0, OIS) telephoto lens with 3x hybrid optical zoom, and a 12MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide camera with a 120-degree field-of-view. The rear camera will offer support for 8K video recording at 30fps. Up front, the handsets will have a 10MP (f/2.2) selfie snapper.
Flagship optics
What will be the camera like on the S21 Ultra?
The S21 Ultra will house a quad rear camera arrangement, including a 108MP (f/1.8, OIS) main sensor, a 12MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide lens with 120-degree field-of-view, a 10MP (f/2.4, OIS, 3x zoom) telephoto lens, a 10MP (f/4.9, OIS, 10x zoom) periscope camera, and a laser autofocus unit. It will also support 8K video recording at 30fps. For selfies, there will be a 40MP (f/2.2) camera.
Internals
Under the hood
The upcoming S21 trio will be powered by an Exynos 2100/Snapdragon 888 chipset, coupled with up to 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. Under the hood, the S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra will house 4,000mAh, 4,800mAh, and 5,000mAh batteries, respectively. They will also offer support for Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, 5G, NFC, dual SIMs (nano) + eSIM and a Type-C port.
Pocket-pinch
Pricing and availability
The S21 series will be announced on January 14. The blind pre-orders for the upcoming handsets are already live in some countries, including India as well as the US. In India, the devices will reportedly go on sale starting January 29. Lastly, the S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra are tipped to start at €849 (Rs. 75,900), €1,049 (Rs. 94,000), and €1,349 (Rs. 1,20,600), respectively.