Drew Evans/CNET
Samsung’s much-awaited Galaxy S21 lineup arrived in January — and the standout feature isn’t found on its software or hardware. It’s its price tag. The next-gen flagship lineup starts at $800 (£769, AU$1,249) for the baseline Galaxy S21, rises to $1,000 (£949, AU$1,549) for the Galaxy S21 Plus, and maxes out at $1,200 (£1,149, AU$1,849) for the Galaxy S21 Ultra, representing a $200 price cut for the trio of models from last year’s S20 family.
Samsung promises its new S21 lineup works better than its predecessors, despite its cheaper price tag. But Samsung is a publicly listed business after all, and it needed to make a bunch of calculated compromises to allow the S21 to hit that lowered price, even if component costs are trending lower. Here are a few ways Samsung did exactly that.
Read more: The best phone to buy for 2021
1. Removed bundled charger and earphones
One of the most controversial omissions is the in-box wall adapter and earphones. Samsung is pushing its customers to reuse older accessories in the name of the environment, just like Apple did with the iPhone 12 family. Samsung has been using standardized USB-C type charging ports since 2017, so older chargers will still be compatible with the S21 phones.
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2. Memory, storage and resolution reduced or eliminated
The S21 line also lost expandable local storage, joining last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Z Flip foldables in ditching the microSD card slot because “usage has markedly decreased,” according to the company. One of the other trade-offs getting less attention is: a reduction in RAM on the base S21 (it has 4GB less RAM than the S20); the reduction of the screen resolution (by half) on the S21 and S21 Plus.
3. S21 phone loses glass backing
For its base S21, Samsung replaced the Gorilla Glass from the back with a high-end plastic called polycarbonate, going in the direction of its more pro Note 20 line. The S20 Plus and Ultra however, each have Victus glass on both the front and back.
If you need more details, read CNET’s Galaxy S21 review for more or take a look at our specs chart below.
Samsung Galaxy S21 lineup vs. S20 lineup
Galaxy S21
Galaxy S20
Galaxy S21 Plus
Galaxy S20 Plus
Galaxy S21 Ultra
Galaxy S20 Ultra
Display size, resolution
6.2-inch Flat FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x, (2,400×1,080 pixels)
6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X; (3,200×1440 pixels)
6.7-inch Flat FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x, (2,400×1,080 pixels)
6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (3,200×1,440 pixels)
6.8-inch Edge WQHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, (3,200×1,440 pixels)
6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (3,200×1,440 pixels)
Pixel density
421 ppi
563 ppi
394 ppi
525 ppi
515 ppi
511 ppi
Dimensions (Inches)
2.80×5.97×0.31 inches
2.72×5.97×0.31 inches
2.97×6.35×0.3 inches
2.9×6.37×0.30 inches
2.97×6.5×0.35 inches
2.99×6.57×0.35 inches
Dimensions (Millimeters)
71.2×151.7×7.9mm
69.1×151.7×7.9 mm
75.6×161.5×7.8 mm
73.7×161.9×7.8 mm
75.6×165.1×8.9 mm
76.0×166.9×8.8 mm
Weight (Ounces, Grams)
6.03 oz; 171g
5.75 oz; 163g
7.12 oz; 202g
6.56 oz; 186g
8.07 oz; 229g
7.76 oz; 220g
Mobile software
Android 11
Android 10
Android 11
Android 10
Android 11
Android 10
Camera
64-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)
12-megapixel (wide-angle), 64-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide)
64-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)
12-megapixel (wide-angle), 64-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), time-of-flight camera
108-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto), 10-megapixel (10x telephoto)
108-megapixel (wide-angle), 48-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), time-of-flight camera
Front-facing camera
10-megapixel
10megapixel
10-megapixel
10-megapixel
40-megapixel
40-megapixel
Video capture
8K
8K
8K
8K
8K
8K
Processor
Snapdragon 888 64-bit octa-core processor 2.8GHz (max 2.4GHz + 1.8GHz)
64-bit octa-core processor (Max 2.7GHz + 2.5GHz + 2GHz)
Snapdragon 888 64-bit octa-core processor 2.8GHz (max 2.4GHz+1.8GHz)
64-bit octa-core processor (Max 2.7GHz + 2.5GHz + 2GHz)
Snapdragon 888 64-bit octa-core processor 2.8GHz (max 2.4GHz + 1.8GHz)
64-bit octa-core processor (Max 2.7GHz + 2.5GHz + 2GHz)
Storage
128GB/256GB
128GB
128GB/256GB
128GB/512GB
128GB/256GB/512GB
128GB/512GB
RAM
8GB
12GB (5G), 8GB (LTE)
8GB
12GB (5G), 8GB (LTE)
12GB, 16GB
12GB, 16GB
Expandable storage
None
Up to 1TB
None
Up to 1TB
None
Up to 1TB
Battery
4,000 mAh
4,000 mAh
4,800 mAh
4,500 mAh
5,000 mAh
5,000 mAh
Fingerprint sensor
In-screen
In-screen
In-screen
In-screen
In-screen
In-screen
Headphone jack
No
No
No
No
No
No
Special features
IP68 rating, 5G-enabled, 30x Space Zoom, 10W wireless charging
5G enabled; 120Hz refresh rate; water resistant (IP68)
IP68 rating, 5G-enabled, 30x Space Zoom, 10W wireless charging
5G enabled; 120Hz refresh rate; water resistant (IP68)
IP68 rating, 5G-enabled, 100x Space Zoom, 10W wireless charging, 10x optical zoom
5G enabled; 120Hz refresh rate; 100X zoom; water resistant (IP68)
Price off-contract (USD)
$800 (128GB)
$999
$1,000 (128GB)
$1,199, $1,349
$1,200 (128GB)
$1,399 (128GB), $1,599 (512GB)
Price (GBP)
£769
£799, £899 (5G)
£949
£999 (5G)
£1,329
£1,199 (128GB), £1,399 (512GB)
Price (AUD)
AU$1,249
AU$1349 (4G), AU$1,499 (5G),
AU$1,549
AU$1,499 (4G), AU$1,649 (128GB), AU$1,899 (512GB)
AU$1,849
AU$1,999 (128GB), AU$2,249 (512GB)
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