Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
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Product Overview
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is a flagship 5G smartphone that features a 5nm octa-core processors, Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, and four rear-facing cameras.
It shares much of the same features with the S21+, including the height and width, but the S21 Ultra comes with a bigger battery and a larger display. Unlike the plastic-backed S21, the S21 Ultra also retains the glass back that consumers have come to expect of the best from the South Korean marque.
Compared to the Galaxy S20 Ultra from 2020, the Galaxy S21 Ultra removes the micro-SD card slot; however, unlike the S21 and S21+, the S21 Ultra keeps QHD+ resolution. As a tradeoff, the new 5nm processors promise increased power efficiency as well as speed. Samsung has also endowed the S21 Ultra a new, stylish design.
Alongside the Galaxy S21 Ultra, Samsung also unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked 2021 the smaller Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ as well as the sleek true wireless headphones, the Galaxy Buds Pro.
Ratings
What we found
Pros
- Gorgeous 120Hz display
- Long battery life
- Fast Wi-Fi 6E
- Good cameras
Cons
- Quite expensive
What external reviewers found
External score 86%
Pros
- Incredible performance
- Great camera system
- Excellent camera performance
- Gorgeous 120Hz display
Cons
- Lackluster performance
- No IP rating
- Slow charging
- No wireless charging
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Price Comparison
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Specifications
| International | USA / China |
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Related Products
External Reviews
androidauthority[1]
Reviewer score 69% (normalized by Neofiliac)At 227g and 8.9mm thick, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is a hefty smartphone. Samsung managed to make the phone 2mm thinner than the S20 Ultra, but it's still not what I'd call ergonomic. 25W wired and 15W wireless charging is somewhat slow by modern standards, although prioritizing low temperatures over brute charging speed is a sensible decision.
Pros
- Gorgeous 120Hz display
- Foldable 3.5mm headphone jack
- Good battery life
Cons
- Lackluster performance
- No wireless charging
digitaltrends[2]
Reviewer score 88% (normalized by Neofiliac)There's no charger included with the Galaxy S21, and while I don't think this is a problem on its own, I have had some issues with charging using third-party chargers. Samsung's staple of delivering a stunning screen continues, and the price is significantly lower than its predecessor. The upsides still definitely outweigh the downsides.
Pros
- Gorgeous screen
- Excellent camera
- Excellent battery life
Cons
- No IP68 water resistance
- No charger included
gsmarena[3]
Reviewer score 81% (normalized by Neofiliac)The S21 Ultra is big, thick, heavy, and notably top-heavy. This combo means using it may not be a joyous experience for you, in the literal sense of what it feels to hold, especially for more than a few minutes at a time. One UI is not entirely stutter-free - stutters have been reduced compared to past Samsung flagships, but they're still there.
Pros
- Big, heavy, and top-heavy
- Great cameras
- Great battery life
Cons
- One UI is a bit complicated
- No wireless charging
laptopmag[4]
Reviewer score 96% (normalized by Neofiliac)The Galaxy S21 Ultra runs Android 11 with Samsung's One UI 3.1 overlay. While it isn't stock Android, one of the biggest criticisms of Samsung phones was that they received slow updates due to the Android overlay. Samsung is almost irrefutably the best manufacturer outside of Google itself thanks to its consistent timely updates.
Pros
- Gorgeous 120Hz display
- Great battery life
- Fast charging
Cons
- No S Pen support
- No 120Hz refresh rate
ndtv[5]
Reviewer score 90% (normalized by Neofiliac)The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G runs OneUI 3.1, and it worked smoothly with no real hint of lag or slow-downs. This is the latest version of Samsung's custom skin, and is based on Android 11.1. Samsung DeX is present, which I found super useful for transferring files from my laptop to the phone and vice versa, wirelessly. Ads are not something we expect from Samsung, especially in a phone this expensive.
Pros
- Excellent battery life
- Super fast charging
- Excellent camera performance
Cons
- Chunky design
- No telephoto camera
nextpit[6]
Reviewer score 88% (normalized by Neofiliac)Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is powered by a 5,000 mAh battery - similar to the one found in the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. The possibilities offered by the telephoto lens duo make it the most versatile camera smartphone to date. Samsung provides you with a slew of software enhancements to capture the best possible shots even without any photographic skills.
Pros
- Fast charging up to 25 W
- Excellent camera performance
- Good battery life
Cons
- No wireless charging
- No charger
notebookcheck[7]
Reviewer score 71% (normalized by Neofiliac)The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is a well-made evolution of its predecessor with a great design refresh. The new OLED display is capable of supporting a high resolution and a high adaptive 120 Hz refresh rate at the same time. The two speakers make for a nice and pleasing soundscape as long as you keep the volume down. The upgraded zoom features are definitely a major improvement and helped to solidify our overall positive impressions.
Pros
- Bright OLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate
- Long battery life
- Fast charging
Cons
- Mediocre cameras
- No microSD card slot
pcmag[8]
Reviewer score 93% (normalized by Neofiliac)The Galaxy S21 Ultra is an impressive, high-quality superzoom camera phone. It's still big, heavy, and expensive, and some of its features rely on networks that don't exist yet. The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, at $500 (!) less, will serve 90% of your needs.
Pros
- High-quality, high-quality superzoom camera
- Excellent battery life
- Fast charging
Cons
- No third-party apps
- No wireless charging
techadvisor[9]
Reviewer score 93% (normalized by Neofiliac)The Galaxy S21 Ultra is a major improvement on last year's S20 Ultra. New 108Mp lead sensor is supported by a laser autofocus module. Dual telephoto zoom system features dedicated 3x and 10x optically-magnified lenses. Front-facer is also the highest resolution among the S21 range, at 40Mp (up from 10Mp)
Pros
- Incredible performance
- Excellent battery life
- Excellent cameras
Cons
- No IP rating
- No wireless charging
techradar[10]
Reviewer score 90% (normalized by Neofiliac)The Galaxy S21 series is faster for two reasons: it marks the debut of brand-new chipsets, and the software has been streamlined just a bit. Director's View is a neat idea that you don't get on most phones (the iPhone 12 series requires a third-party app to pull this off). It joins last year's video-focused additions, like zoom-in microphones for better capturing the subject you're zooming into, and an improved Single Take mode for recording video and taking photos at the same time.
Pros
- Fast Snapdragon 888 processor
- Fast 120Hz display
Cons
- No microSD card slot
- No headphone jack
theverge[11]
Reviewer score 89% (normalized by Neofiliac)Samsung's One UI interface is still good for big screens, but there are just so many options in quick settings. Unforgivably, there are still ads built into Samsung's default apps. Bixby, Samsung's digital assistant, is still the default, and it's difficult to switch away from.
Pros
- Gorgeous new design
- The best camera system in the world
- Great battery life
- Great camera system
Cons
- No headphone jack
- No 4K video recording
tomsguide[12]
Reviewer score 92% (normalized by Neofiliac)The Galaxy S21 Ultra has the highest resolution main camera (108MP vs 64MP for S21 and Plus) It also has the most powerful zooms (100x vs 30x) and the sharpest display (QHD vs 1080p) The screen on the Ultra is more dynamic, as it can scale from 120Hz all the way down to 10Hz. It has the largest battery at 5,000mAh, compared to the S21 (4,000 mAh) and S21 Plus ( 4,800mAh)
Pros
- Gorgeous 120Hz display
- Great battery life
- Fast charging
Cons
- Lack of microSD slot
- No microSD card slot
trustedreviews[13]
Reviewer score 82% (normalized by Neofiliac)Samsung has packed the S21 Ultra with a giant battery and during my week of testing it has offered impressive performance. Yet, a lot of the software remains frustratingly different from Google’s interpretation of Android. There are multiple apps and drivers required for something as basic as pairing a smartwatch and many things require a Samsung account. Bloatware is a big issue too, with Samsung pre-installing apps from Microsoft, Google and itself – many of which offer the same functionality.
Pros
- Gorgeous display
- Fast performance
- Great battery life
Cons
- Slow charging
- No wireless charging
References
- ^ Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra revisited: This year's Galaxy Note. [androidauthority].
- ^ Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G review: 2021’s true S Series phone, and the best yet. [digitaltrends].
- ^ Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra long-term review. [gsmarena].
- ^ Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review: Small changes yield big results. [laptopmag].
- ^ Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Review. [ndtv].
- ^ Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review: Slight tweaks aimed at perfection. [nextpit].
- ^ Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Smartphone Review: Improved in many ways, but not all. [notebookcheck].
- ^ Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Review. [pcmag].
- ^ Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review. [techadvisor].
- ^ Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review. [techradar].
- ^ Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review: the real deal. [theverge].
- ^ Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review. [tomsguide].
- ^ Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Review. [trustedreviews].
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