The main Galaxy S21 specs have been revealed in a massive leak today. It details the salient features of all three models – the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+ and the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Samsung will once again release three models of its flagship smartphone.
This leak gives us a good idea of what to expect from the company's upcoming lineup. There's plenty to be excited about. It also mentions that the previous Galaxy S21 design leaks are fairly accurate, so now we also have a sense of what the Galaxy S21 looks like.
These Galaxy S21 specs make the new flagship series look amazing
Display
AndroidPolice reports that the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 Ultra will feature a 6.2-inch, 6.7-inch and 6.8-inch display respectively. The Galaxy S21 and S21+ will both have FHD+ resolution 120Hz displays but won't feature the adaptive refresh rate like the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra does.
On the other hand, Samsung seems to have gone all out for the Galaxy S21 Ultra's display. The WQHD+ resolution LTPO panel will feature 1Hz to 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. It will also achieve the searing peak brightness of 1600 nits, higher than the 1,400 nits of the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Samsung is also said to improve the display's contrast ratio to 3,000,000:1.
We've heard the rumor about the Galaxy S21 Ultra having support for the S Pen several times. This report claims that the S Pen will indeed be supported by the Galaxy S21 Ultra. However, it won't come with the stylus in the box nor will it have an internal silo to store it like the Galaxy Note series. Samsung will actually sell cases for the phone that will be able to store the S Pen.
Design
The renders that have previously leaked online are an accurate representation of the Galaxy S21's design. The camera housing has been redesigned and it extrudes from the upper left corner of the frame itself. The frame and camera bump are said to feature different colors depending on the color of the device.
Here's something that you wouldn't have expected: The base Galaxy S21 will have a plastic back. This was probably on the cards after Samsung made a similar move for the Galaxy Note 20. The Galaxy S21 Ultra will stick with the glass back. It's unclear what material will be utilized for the Galaxy S21+. That's because Samsung has seen a more positive response to the plastic back than it expected so maybe plastic isn't off the table yet for the Galaxy S21+.
Color options include Phantom Pink, Violet, Gray and White for the Galaxy S21 and Phantom Silver, Black and Violet for the Galaxy S21+. The Galaxy S21 Ultra will only be available in Phantom Black and Silver initially.
Specifications
The Galaxy S21 series will be powered by Samsung's new Exynos 2100 processor in most markets. They will utilize the Qualcomm Snapdragon 875 in other markets. We've already explained how the Exynos 2100 may be much closer to the Snapdragon 875 in terms of performance. The scribe hears from its sources that the Exynos 2100 could be “on-par or better than the Snapdragon 875” so that's something to look forward to.
Both of these chipsets are 5G compatible so there will obviously be 5G models of these handsets. It's unclear if Samsung is going to offer LTE-only models. It did that this year for the Galaxy S20 series so that remains a possibility. Wi-Fi 6 is supported by the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ while the Galaxy S21 Ultra will be the only model to support Wi-Fi 6E. Samsung will claim that it's 2x faster than Wi-Fi 6.
The Galaxy S21 and S21+ will feature a 4,000mAh and 4,800mAh battery. The Galaxy S21 Ultra will get a 5,000mAh battery. Maximum charging speeds for all devices hasn't been confirmed yet but we expect them to at least support 25W charging. RAM and storage details aren't available as yet.
The Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 Ultra will also have support for Ultra Wide Band or UWB. This tech will be used to track Samsung's SmartThings tags that will be released in the coming year. Support for digital car keys will be added to SmartThings as well for these two models. It's not known which car manufacturers will support this feature.
Cameras
The Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ may not see a big improvement in the camera department. They're claimed to feature a 12-megapixel ultra-wide, 12-megapixel primary, and 64-megapixel telephoto camera. The technical specs haven't been confirmed but the speculation is that they might be the same parts as the Galaxy S20 and S20+.
Samsung will once again adopt the everything but the kitchen sink approach for the Galaxy S21 Ultra's camera. It's said to feature the improved second-generation 108-megapixel primary sensor with the same 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera as its siblings. There's going to be a major improvement in the zoom department.
As expected, the Galaxy S21 Ultra will feature two telephoto sensors – one 10-megapixel sensor with 3x and one 10-megapixel sensor with 10x optical zoom. This will give Samsung the opportunity to bring back 100x Space Zoom which has not been included on any other flagship device in 2020 other than the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Samsung will also utilize laser autofocus for the Galaxy S21 Ultra so the focus issues that were present on its predecessor would likely be mitigated.
New camera features will also be offered across the entire lineup. All cameras will support 4K/60fps recording, a feature that was previously limited to the main sensor only. The Super Steady stabilization feature will also support 60fps recording. The camera may also intelligently switch between 30 and 60fps based on the lighting conditions.
An 8K 30fps option will also be added. A dual recording mode will be offered that will let you record with the front and rear cameras at the same time. Night mode will be improved with manual controls and so will the moon mode. The specs of the front cameras are not available yet.
Price and availability
There's no word as yet on how much these phones are going to cost. However, the report does make a claim that many Samsung fans will appreciate. It's claimed that Samsung will lower the prices of the Galaxy S21 series so that they're more competitive in these pandemic-driven tough times.
As far as the availability is concerned, we have already revealed exclusively before that the Galaxy S21 series is going to be unveiled in early January 2021. A recent report claimed that the handset is going to be released before the end of January.
Going by everything that has been revealed in this leak, the Galaxy S21 series is shaping up to be quite the flagship offering. The Galaxy S21 Ultra will definitely be one to watch as it would be a refinement of the no-holds-barred strategy that Samsung adopted for the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Fingers crossed that it lives up to expectations!
