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Samsung announced the Galaxy S21 series on January 14, making it the first smartphone release of 2021. But with such a crowded smartphone market, why should you buy the Galaxy S21 over another smartphone that may come out later this year – even another one from Samsung? Well, we have 10 reasons why you should buy the Galaxy S21 now, over anything that might come out later. And some of these reasons may surprise you.
Options for everyone
Samsung has always been good about providing options for everyone. But the Galaxy S21 really has options for everyone this year. Whether you want a small phone or a big phone. Whether you want 128GB of storage or up to 512GB of storage. And whether you want a curved display or a flat display.
The Galaxy S21 and S21+ both have flat displays at Full HD+ resolution. And are available in 128GB or 256GB storage capacities. Galaxy S21 has a 6.2-inch display and the Galaxy S21+ has a 6.7-inch display. Meanwhile the Galaxy S21 Ultra has a 6.8-inch curved QHD+ display, and is offered in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB storage capacities. It also boasts more RAM, 12GB compared to 8GB on the Galaxy S21 and S21+. While the maxed out version of the Galaxy S21 Ultra has 16GB of RAM.
This also means that you can get a high-end smartphone for only $799. And it’ll be one that can fit in your hand. Instead of being a large smartphone like the S21+ and the Galaxy S21 Ultra. This is just one of the many reasons why you should buy the Galaxy S21 smartphone.
Stunning design
Samsung did revamp the design of the Galaxy S21 series this year. It wasn’t a complete redesign, compared to the Galaxy S20, but there are some notable changes here. The biggest one being the camera bump.
With the Galaxy S21 series, Samsung engineered a “contour cut” design for the camera bump. So it melts into the frame nicely. And doesn’t look as obtrusive. Basically, Samsung leaned into the design.
The other big change Samsung did, was making it matte, across the entire lineup. The Galaxy S21 and S21+ use a “glasstic” back, which actually feels really nice. And it has a matte-like finish. The Galaxy S21 Ultra has a glass back, with a matte finish, and it works really well. It keeps scratches away, as well as fingerprints. And just looks absolutely stunning.
Speaking of stunning, Phantom Black. Samsung did spend a considerable amount of time during Unpacked, talking about the color of the Phantom Black Galaxy S21 Ultra, and it was warranted. This is a deep black color, that honestly, looks amazing. Typically, I gravitate more towards the bright color phones, like the Phantom Violet, but the Galaxy S21 Ultra in the Phantom Black looks really good.
Impressive display
The displays on Samsung phones are always impressive, but the Galaxy S21 Ultra display is impressive in another way, this year. It’s the first phone to have the new low-power OLED panel. Which means that you are able to get impressive battery life out of this smartphone, even while using it at the maxed out QHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Which is another interesting tidbit about this display.
Last year, Samsung debuted 120Hz on the Galaxy S20 series, however you could only use 120Hz at the Full HD+ resolution, and not at QHD+. That is different this year, but only on the Galaxy S21 Ultra. So you can go QHD+ and 120Hz, instead of having to sacrifice resolution to use the faster refresh rate.
Colors and brightness on the OLED panels for the entire Galaxy S21 lineup is impressive. Still among the brightness displays you’ll see on a smartphone. So if you are one that works outside or uses their phone outdoors a lot, you’ll still be able to see the display on the Galaxy S21 series.
Incredible battery life
Because of the low-power OLED panel on the Galaxy S21 Ultra, it also has pretty incredible battery life. We have reviewed the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Ultra – Samsung didn’t seed the Galaxy S21+ this year, apparently. And we found that the battery life was incredible on both. But much better on the S21 Ultra. We were able to get seven hours of screen on time, without any issue. And that was at QHD+ 120Hz, that is mighty impressive.
This means that you can go a full day (maybe even a day and a half, as we found), without charging the Galaxy S21. Making the slower charging speeds, a bit less of an issue. It does charge at up to 25W, which is a pretty decent speed, to be honest.
It also makes the Galaxy S21 Ultra a great phone for power users. As typically they drain their phones battery a lot quicker, and need to charge it more often.
The latest version of Android & three years of guaranteed updates
Starting with the Galaxy Note 20 series last year, Samsung announced that its smartphones will be getting three years of guaranteed Android system updates. That means that the Galaxy S21 series will get Android 12, 13 and 14 updates. If not more.
And in recent years, Samsung has been absolutely killing it, in terms of updating its devices. Many of them have already been updated to Android 11. Which is what the Galaxy S21 series is launching with.
Out of the box, you’ll get Android 11 along with One UI 3.1, which also brings a good number of changes, making the experience even better on the Galaxy S21 series. This might not be the biggest reason why you should buy the Galaxy S21, but still a good thing to have on these phones.
Top-of-the-line specs
Every year, Samsung packs its flagship smartphones with the best specs that are currently available. And this year, that is no different.
Though there is a distinct difference between the Galaxy S21/S21+ and the S21 Ultra. Where the Galaxy S21 and S21+ are just “flagship” smartphones. And the Galaxy S21 Ultra represents the “ultra smartphone experience”.
You can check out the full specs for all three models in the table below.
| Galaxy S21 | Galaxy S21+ | Galaxy S21 Ultra | |
| Display | 6.2-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X 120Hz |
6.7-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X 120Hz |
6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X 120Hz |
| Processor | Snapdragon 888 5G | Snapdragon 888 5G | Snapdragon 888 5G |
| RAM | 8GB | 8GB | 12GB/16GB |
| Storage | 128/256GB | 128/256GB | 128/256/512GB |
| Battery Capacity | 4000mAh | 4500mAh | 4800mAh |
| Charging Speeds | Wireless Powershare, Super Fast Charging, Fast Wireless Charging |
Wireless Powershare, Super Fast Charging, Fast Wireless Charging |
Wireless Powershare, Super Fast Charging, Fast Wireless Charging |
| Software | Android 11, OneUI 3.0 | Android 11, OneUI 3.0 | Android 11, OneUI 3.0 |
| Rear Cameras | 12MP wide 64MP telephoto 12MP ultrawide |
12MP wide 64MP telephoto 12MP ultrawide |
108MP wide 10MP telephoto1 10MP telephoto2 12MP ultrawide |
| Front Camera | 10MP | 10MP | 40MP |
| Dimensions | 71.2×151.7×7.9mm | 75.6×161.5×7.8mm | 75.6×165.1×8.9mm |
| Weight | 171g | 202g | 229g |
| Price | $799 | $999 | $1299 |
| Colors | phantom violet phantom pink phantom gray phantom white |
phantom violet phantom silver phantom black |
phantom silver phantom black |
| Available | January 29 | January 29 | January 29 |
Much improved cameras
Samsung went all out with the cameras on the Galaxy S20 series, and they, had problems. However, with the Galaxy S21 series, those problems have been fixed, thankfully. Mostly with the Ultra model. Since it now has a laser autofocus module, which has fixed the autofocus issue that the Galaxy S20 Ultra had last year. It also adds a second telephoto sensor. So that you can use 3x and 10x zoom, without using digital zoom. Which in turn has also improved the 100x zoom.
On the other two Galaxy S21 series models, the cameras have mostly stayed the same, but they have also improved. Mostly thanks to software. Night Mode is much improved, and there’s also some AI in there for Single Take and Selfie pictures.
S-Pen now supported
One of the more interesting features for the Galaxy S21 Ultra is the S-Pen support. It’s the first time a smartphone that wasn’t a Note, has support for the S-Pen. It’s not included in the box, unfortunately, but you can use any S-Pen on the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Samsung is also selling a S-Pen separately, as well as with a case for the Galaxy S21 Ultra that will hold the S-Pen. So you won’t lose it.
Improved fingerprint sensor
Samsung remains the only company that uses Qualcomm’s Ultrasonic Fingerprint sensor under the display. In the past it’s been pretty slow, but more accurate than other under-display sensors.
It is still using Qualcomm’s sensor, but it is the new and improved sensor, which is also larger. So there’s a larger target area to use to unlock your phone. And it also is much faster than it was on previous smartphones. Which is also a very big deal. Making it easier to unlock your phone on the go.
It’s great that Samsung kept the fingerprint sensor, seeing as we are all wearing masks now, and face unlock isn’t as useful.
$200 cheaper than the Galaxy S20 series
Perhaps the best reason why you should buy the Galaxy S21, is that it is $200 cheaper than its predecessors. The Galaxy S21 starts at $799, meanwhile the Galaxy S20 started at $999.
Galaxy S21 is $799, Galaxy S21+ is $999 and the Galaxy S21 Ultra is $1,199. Making them more affordable, but they still aren’t cheap. And given the specs and hardware inside these phones, that’s not a surprise.
For $799, you can get a really great device out of Samsung. Or spend $1,199 and go all out with the Galaxy S21 Ultra.