What do we know about the Galaxy S21?
Well, to begin with, we know it’s called the Galaxy S21 – for a while, many of us expected Samsung to jump on the S30, but that’s certainly not what’s happening this year.
As always, the Galaxy S21 is Samsung’s smallest flagship phone, and has received a bit of a makeover this year. The changes are most noticeable when you look at the device later: the all-black camera humps that debuted last year’s S20 series are replaced by more elegant homes that blend into the S21’s metal frame. (The Phone Nord community quickly dubbed this Phantom of the Opera Design, and who do we argue with?) As a result, some of the S21’s new color options look a lot cooler than others; The black and pink models have metal frames that match their bodies, while the white and purple models have an eye-catching silver and bronze scent, respectively.
Meanwhile, the camera itself seems very close to what was found in last year’s non-Ultra Galaxy S20. Roland Quandt of WinFuture The main 12-megapixel rear sensor notes that it offers the same f / 1.8 aperture and 79-degree field as last time, and the phone’s 12-megapixel ultra-wide and 10-megapixel front camera look the same. One difference that Quantum points out has to do with the S21’s 64-megapixel telephoto camera: Samsung’s chosen sensor looks a bit smaller than last year, but the light-capturing pixels on it are the same size.
The front of the S21 is as sparse as ever, but there are some interesting things to note about the 6.2-inch, 120 Hz Infinity-O display. For one, it uses LTPS backplanes – long story short – either reduce power consumption or allow for more solutions. Curiously, the detailed leaks provided by AndroidPolice The Galaxy S21’s display only runs on Full HD +, which claims that this year’s display will produce a slightly lower pixel-g ense than last year. If these reports catch on, it’s clear that Samsung wants to squeeze out as much life as it can from the S4’s reported 4,000mAh battery.
Multiple reports also suggest that Samsung is finally leaving to use the curved stream, and we’re happy to see them go. If you’ve ever accidentally launched an app or clicked a link on the side of your hand while reaching for an object, this is good news for you.
Evan Blas / @ Evellex
In the past, we’ve sometimes seen Samsung use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipsets in all versions of certain smartphones, such as the Galaxy Z Fold 2, don’t expect it here, though: Confirm the version and use Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 888 chipset, some variants sold outside the US will pack Samsung’s Exynos 2100 instead.
In other years, it comes as hard news for some of the company’s biggest fans, as Exynos-powered devices are frequently overtaken by their Qualcomm variants, but some initial benchmarks suggest that Samsung may indeed turn the tables this time around. Granted, such tests do not speak to the fullness of the smartphone experience, but the results are at least promising. And beyond the various chips that power the S21, you can expect to see the same configurations almost everywhere: we would expect Samsung’s smaller flagship to come with 12GB of RAM, and 128GB or 256GB of internal storage.
Oh, and one more thing: Samsung could give people the option to use Google’s Discover feed on their homescreen instead of the company’s Lukalik. Not everyone will find this change interesting, but it’s great news for Google purists who prefer search giant’s clever reminders and customized comment pics.
