The Galaxy S21 series will arrive pretty early next year. As revealed by a leaker, the new phones will be announced on January 14 and will go on sale on January 29. We already know what the phones will look like thanks to CAD renders. Now, the key specifications of the three phones have been revealed along with some interesting details.
The leak confirms that Samsung will launch the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, and Galaxy S21 Ultra in two processor variants. In some markets, the phone will come with the Exynos 2100 processor while in others, it will be powered by the Snapdragon 875. The Exynos chipset will be better at power efficiency than its predecessors, so battery life should get an upgrade. It is also said to match or even outperform the Snapdragon 875 with respect to performance
Below are the specs and features for each model as reported by Android Police:
Galaxy S21
The standard Galaxy S21 will have a 6.2-inch LTPS display with an FHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. There is no info on RAM and storage but that should vary from market to market.
On the back of the phone will be three cameras which is the same configuration as that of the Galaxy S20. So you get a 12MP ultrawide camera, a 12MP main sensor, and a 64MP telephoto camera. The selfie camera is not stated but that may also remain unchanged from the 10MP sensor we have on this year’s model.
The cameras will be getting software upgrades such as support for 4K @60fps recording on all cameras, support for 60fps recording in Super Steady Stabilization mode, and the ability to automatically switch between 30fps and 60fps depending on the lighting conditions. Other stated features are 8K video recording at 30fps, support for dual recording (front and rear cameras at the same time), and an improved moon mode.
Samsung is also sticking to the same 4000mAh battery capacity of the S20. The phone will run One UI 3.1 based on Android 11 and will have 5G support, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.1. It will be available in Phantom Violet, Phantom Pink, Phantom Gray, and Phantom White. Just like the Galaxy Note 20, the Galaxy S21 will have a plastic back. Apparently, Samsung says the reception of the Galaxy Note 20’s plastic body was better received than it expected.
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Galaxy S21 Plus
The Galaxy S21 Plus will come with a bigger 6.7-inch display but the resolution is now FHD+ and not QHD+. It also has a 120Hz refresh rate but it is not adaptive. That feature is exclusive to the Ultra model.
The camera configuration on the back is also 12MP + 12MP + 64MP and you get the same software features as the standard variant. The battery capacity has been increased from 4500mAh in the Galaxy S20 Plus to 4800mAh. It will also run One UI 3.1 based on Android 11 and will be available in Phantom Silver, Phantom Black, and Phantom Violet. There is no confirmation on the material the backplate of the Galaxy S21 Plus will be made of.
Galaxy S21 Ultra
The Galaxy S21 Ultra is said to feature one of the best displays on a smartphone. The 6.8-inch screen has a WQHD+ LTPO display with a variable refresh rate from 1Hz to 120Hz and a peak brightness that reaches 1600 nits. The contrast ratio has also been increased to 3,000,000:1
Its quad-camera setup consists of a 12MP ultrawide camera, a 108MP sensor which is a newer version of the one in the S20 Ultra; a telephoto 10MP sensor with 3x optical zoom, and another 10MP super-telephoto sensor with 10x optical zoom which brings 100X Space Zoom. The two telephoto sensor are said to have 130% larger pixels and dual pixel autofocus. There is also a laser focus system on the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
The Plus and Ultra models are the only two that will have Ultra Wide Band support. The feature will be used for tracking the upcoming SmartThings tags. The source also mentions that the two phones will also have support for digital car keys but this feature may be available in select regions.
The phone will also have Bluetooth 5.1 and will be the only model with Wi-Fi 6E. It will have a 5000mAh battery under the hood. Another feature that has been confirmed is S Pen support but it will be purchased separately along with custom cases that have a slot for storing the stylus.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra will come in Phantom Black and Phantom Silver and will have a glass back.
Design and Price
The source confirms that the design of the three phones matches what the CAD renders have shown us. They claim they have also seen press renders but can’t show them so as to protect their insider source.
With respect to price, it is said that the Galaxy S21 series will be cheaper than the Galaxy S20 series due to the recession and pandemic ad also to make them more competitive. Sadly, there is no specific info on how much each model will cost. There is also no confirmation that the phones will not ship with a charger.
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