Introduction
A few months ago, I reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which is a remarkable phone with lots of great features. However, not everyone needs an “Ultra” phone with everything maxed out. And to be honest, the S21 Ultra is quite a huge phone. This time around, we got the regular S21, the most affordable variant in the S21 series at the moment. Without further ado, here’s the full review!
Samsung Galaxy S21 Specs
- 6.2-inch flat Full HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O display with adaptive 120Hz refresh rate (48 – 120Hz)
- 5nm Exynos 2100 processor
- 8GB LPDDR5 RAM
- Up to 256GB storage (non-expandable)
- Camera
- Rear: 12MP ultra-wide + 12MP wide with OIS + 64MP 3x telephoto with OIS (30x Space Zoom)
- Front: 10MP AF
- 4,000mAh battery
- IP68
- One UI 3.1 on top of Android 11
- Colors: Phantom Violet, Phantom Gray, Phantom White, Phantom Pink
Design
The Samsung Galaxy S21 looks different compared to the Ultra model but still features the same design language. It is a smaller phone and the front is now a 6.2-inch flat Full HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O display. Yes, it has a flat display, I actually prefer it to the one on the S21 Ultra with curves on both sides. It has the same ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor as the S21 Ultra, which is faster and more accurate than its predecessor.
My review unit is the Phantom Violet variant, which is the only variant that has a two-tone finish. Just like the Note20, it uses a matte polycarbonate back a.k.a plastic, which isn’t really a huge problem if you snap a case on it. It has the Contour Cut Camera housing in gold, which blends the camera bump into the frame design.
Like the S21 Ultra, all the buttons and the USB-C port are located at the same positions. Like many flagship phones, the S21 has stereo speakers, one at the bottom next to the USB-C port and another one doubles up as an earpiece.
Display
The Samsung Galaxy S21 sports a 6.2-inch flat Full HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O display with an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. Unlike the S21 Ultra, it doesn’t have an LTPO panel, hence its refresh rate can only go down to 48Hz.
As usual, it has one of the best displays if not the best in the world. I really love the fact that it has a flat screen, as I find no reason of owning a phone with curves on both sides of the screen.
Performance
Similar to the S21 Ultra, the S21 is also powered by a 5nm Exynos 2100 processor with 8GB RAM and up to 256GB non-expandable storage. In terms of performance, the S21 has quite a similar performance as the S21 Ultra, since it uses the same chipset.
Software
The Samsung Galaxy S21 runs on One UI 3.1 on top of Android 11. The overall software experience is quite similar to the S21 Ultra, minus the S Pen support. You get features like Google Home integration, the new volume interface, the ability to remove location data from photos before sending, and more.
Camera
In terms of camera, the Samsung Galaxy S21 packs a triple-camera setup on the back — 12MP ultra-wide + 12MP wide with OIS + 64MP 3x telephoto with OIS (30x Space Zoom). It has a 10MP AF front-facing camera for taking selfies.
Ultra-Wide
12MP Main
64MP Main
3x Zoom
Night Mode (Ultra-Wide)
Click here to view all the camera samples
Image quality generally is quite similar to last year’s S20 as Samsung didn’t really change the camera hardware. Images have a great dynamic range, great detail, and great colors. The night mode and ultra-wide shots are pretty good as well!
Battery Life
The Galaxy S21 packs a 4,000mAh battery without a charging brick included. The charging speed is similar to the S21 Ultra, which took around an hour to charge from 15% to full. In terms of battery life, I was able to get around 5 hours of screen-on-time and the phone can last through a day if you are not a heavy user.
Final Words
Retailing at RM3,299, the Samsung Galaxy S21 is actually a great phone for many people if you don’t need those “Ultra” features like a camera that can zoom pretty far and S Pen support. It has a flagship performance and the cameras are actually good enough, though they are quite similar to the last-gen. Personally, I actually like its form factor, flagship phones nowadays are just too big. It might not be as small as the iPhone 12 mini, but I’m actually comfortable with this form factor. If you want a bigger phone, you can go for the bigger S21+.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 is now available at:
Yay
- Nice small form factor
- Impressive display
- Affordable flagship
Nay
- Exynos 2100 processor still doesn’t perform as good as Snapdragon 888 processor
- No expandable storage
- No charging brick in the box and still the same old fast charging speed