The launch of the Samsung Galaxy S21, S21 Plus and S21 Ultra has been brought forward to January this year. This deviates from the usual February or March launch months in the past few years. It is also the first global smartphone launch of 2021!
Availability, Pricing and Colour
These smartphones will be available in stores in Singapore from 29 January 2021. Pre-orders have started and the phones will be available for collection on 22 January 2021. Check out this link for pre-order freebies and bundles.
The design of the new S21 series is pretty chic. The Phantom Violet with the gold metallic chassis looks great together. I like the Phantom Silver multi tone finish. Making it subtly chic. The Phantom Silver gets my vote for best colour for this series. Which colour do you prefer?
By the way, the Galaxy S21 series comes with minimal items in its packaging. There is only the smartphone and a cable. Just as in the launch of Apple’s iPhone 12 series in 2020, the Galaxy S21 series of smartphones will not come with a charger or earpiece. This must be the new norm …
| Model | Price | Colour |
| Galaxy S21 5G (256GB/8GB RAM) | S$1,248 | Phantom Pink, Phantom Violet, Phantom White & Phantom Grey |
| Galaxy S21+ 5G (256GB/8GB RAM) | S$1,498 | Phantom Violet, Phantom Black & Phantom Silver |
| Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (256GB/12GB RAM) | S$1,798 | Phantom Black & Phantom Silver |
| Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (512GB/16GB RAM) | S$1,998 | Phantom Black & Phantom Silver |
Both the S21 and S21+ feature a triple rear camera system. The main difference this time will be the battery capacity, screen size. The S21+ will have Ultra Wide Band enabled features. The new Samsung SmartThings Find feature uses Ultra Wide Band to help you detect missing Samsung devices or items and pets tagged with the Galaxy SmartTags. With SmartThings Find, you can track all your devices via GPS and detect the items based on signal strength when you are near it. Or you can just turn on the beeper to find hidden devices.
Taking Photos and Videos with Galaxy S21 Series
The S21 series will also have advanced vlogging features. Take a video clip from 5 to 15 seconds and generate an array of pictures and videos from that video clip with Single Take 2.0 which also comes with new Dynamic slow motion and Highlight reel. All these are generated based on AI to help you get the best Instagram worthy shots without much effort. The new Director View feature lets you use both the front and rear cameras to record a footage without missing any moments while filming. Night photography with the S21 series have also been greatly improved from S20.
Samsung had also improved the stabilisation of video recording with improved SUPER Steady mode. Now Space Zoom has been improved to minimise shaky hands and capture clearer shorts at 30 times and more.
The Exynos 5nm Processor Chip
The Galaxy S21 series smartphones in Singapore will not use the Qualcomm SnapDragon 888. You may have to wait for the Fan Edition as in the case of last year’s Galaxy S20 FE which was equipped with the SnapDragon. The new Exynos 5nm processor chip on S21 series CPU is 20% faster than its predecessor. The GPU is 35% faster and AI processing power is up by two times. So it’s actually not that bad.
The new Samsung S21 series will also support WIFI 6E. However, IDA has not approved the use of WIFI 6E in Singapore. The new S21 series also comes with Eye Comfort Shield to reduce the blue light emitted that in turn reduces eye fatigue.
Out of the three devices, the S21 Ultra has ostensibly gotten a few more improvements. Now you will be able to view your screen outdoors under the glaring sunlight. Samsung built the brightest smartphone display with 1,500 nit, the Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. The contrast of the screen has also been bumped up to 3,000,000 : 1. Your videos and pictures will pop with this display.
Using The S Pen with The Galaxy S21 Ultra
With the new S Pen support, you can now scribble your thoughts like you do on a Galaxy Note smartphone. However, there is no slot for you to keep the S pen on the phone. You have to purchase the S Pen casing for S21 Ultra. The casing has a dual function of protecting your smartphone and storing the S Pen. Charging the S Pen is no longer required. Once you hover the S Pen above the screen, the S pen command will automatically appear. Start using it like the regular S Pen on the Note series. If you have an existing S Pen from a Note or Galaxy Tab device, you can use the S Pen from these devices on the S21 Ultra. It will work just fine.
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