Right now, all signs point to 2021 being a turning point for Samsung smartphones. An end-of-year scoop from Reuters cites multiple anonymous sources who claim there won’t be a new Galaxy Note this year, and a Samsung official basically confirmed as much to a Korean news agency. We’ve also seen Samsung announce plans to make its flashy new foldable phones more “accessible”, which dovetails with earlier reports saying the resources that would’ve been allocated to the Note is instead going to those foldables. The times, they are a-changing.
All of that means the new Galaxy S21 Ultra is more important than usual — it might be the only premium “traditional” smartphone in Samsung’s line-up for all of 2021. The pressure was on for Samsung to nail it with this phone, and for the most part, the company did just that.
Pros
- It’s cheaper!
- Excellent performance
- Polished cameras
- Packs valuable software changes
Cons
- The era of expandable storage is over
- S Pen experience isn’t as good as the Note's
- Some camera features are flaky
Key specs
| Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra |
Processor | Octa-core Snapdragon 888 |
RAM/storage | 12GB+128GB, 12GB+256GB, 16GB+512GB |
MicroSD card support | No |
Main display | 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display |
Display resolution | 1440 x 3200 (20:9) |
Rear cameras | 108MP f/1.8 wide camera with OIS, 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera (120° field of view), 10MP f/2.4 telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, 10MP f/4.9 telephoto camera with 10x optical zoom, laser autofocus |
Front-facing camera | 40MP f/2.2 camera |
OS | Android 11 with One UI 3 |
Battery | 5,000mAh |
Charging | USB-C, supports fast wireless charging |
Dimensions | 161.5x75.6x8.9mm |
Weight | 229g |
Fingerprint sensor | Yes, in-display |
Waterproofing | Yes, rated IP68 |
NFC | Yes |
Headphone jack | No |
5G support | Yes, sub-6 and mmWave |
Configurations
If you’re mulling buying a Galaxy S21 Ultra, you have some decisions to make. The first is color: In addition to the Phantom Silver and Phantom Black options we’ve already seen, Samsung has navy, titanium, and brown models available on their website. (Our review unit came in matte black, and despite all of Samsung’s breathless press conference hyperbole, it doesn’t look that different from any other black smartphone.)
Your next decision will be about how much storage you need, and it’s worth really thinking about this one. Here are your options:
12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage: $1,200
12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage: $1,250
16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage: $1,380
There are two quick things worth noting: First, none of these have expandable storage, which most people won’t have a problem with. Second, the starting price is a full $200 less than the equivalent model last year. If you look at old S20 Ultra reviews, you wouldn’t find a single one that didn’t call the phone out for being too costly. Samsung clearly made the right move here, and the price cut is certainly appreciated, but let’s be clear: this is still a very expensive smartphone. It’s just not an obscenely expensive one the way last year’s model was.