Samsung has announced its next flagship smartphone through a virtual press conference this afternoon.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 will be the de facto rival to Apple’s iPhone 12 series that was launched late last year.
The Galaxy S21 comes in three variants: the Galaxy S21 5G, the Galaxy S21+ 5G and the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G. As you may have guessed, all the phones are fully 5G-capable.
The most premium of the devices, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G offers up a 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of up to 1,500 nits. It’s also compatible with Samsung’s S-Pen stylus.
It’s the phone that’ll go toe-to-toe with Apple’s premium iPhone 12 Pro Max.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 5G and Samsung Galaxy S21+ boast 6.2-inch and 6.7-inch screens respectively.
Around the back is a quad-camera with 108 MP wide-angle, 12 megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens and, for the first time, two telephoto lenses in a Galaxy smartphone.
Samsung claims the camera has an improved night mode and noise reduction for even better shots in low light conditions.
A new Video Snap feature gives users the ability to extract high-resolution photos from the 8K videos the phone is capable of taking. And, again for the first time on a Galaxy smartphone, recordings can be made in 4K with any of the lenses – including the front camera.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G is powered by Samsung’s powerful Exynos 2100 processor and comes in three ROM/RAM configurations. There’s a 128GB/12GB option for £1,149, a 256GB/12GB option for £1,199 or a 512GB/16GB option at £1,329. All three come in a choice of either silver or black.
The regular Samsung S21 5G and S21+ 5G are available in 128GB and 256GB models with 8GB RAM. The S21 comes in violet, grey, pink and white while the S21+ comes in violet, silver or black.
Pricing for the S21 is £769 for the 128GB model and £819 for the 256GB model. The S21+ costs £949 for the 128GB version and £999 for the 256GB version.
‘This year, we’re using technology to stay connected more than ever before. With many of us working remotely and spending more time at home, we wanted to deliver a seamless smartphone experience that empowers you to share your world and connect with the people that matter the most,’ said Conor Pierce, Corporate Vice President for Samsung Electronics UK and Ireland.
‘2021 marks a new era for the Galaxy range. We believe this year will be the real test of the power of 5G and we are committed to getting it in the hands of the next generation of innovators. With 5G enabled across the entire S21 Series, Galaxy S21 5G and Galaxy S21+ 5G offer the latest flagship experience to help you get the most out of every moment.’
Samsung says the non-removable battery on the S21 Ultra 5G will charge up to 50% in just 30 minutes.
The phones are all available for pre-order from today, January 14.
