Samsung held its most coveted launch event of 2021 introducing a new major product including the Samsung Galaxy S21 series and the Galaxy Buds Pro. The January 14 UnPacked 2021 event was a huge success where we got to see the Galaxy S21 trio with all its specs officially revealed, pricing, and more. The Galaxy Buds Pro tagged along with its advanced ANC and top-notched Dolby Atmos sound quality. Here’s everything that was revealed at the event.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Specifications & Pricing
The South Korean giant has made quite a lot of upgrades with its Galaxy S21 Ultra. It is more refined than ever, runs on a powerful chipset with a hefty battery under the hood, and a highly-optimized Android 11-based OneUI 3.1 firmware on-board.
The S21 Ultra also gets S-Pen stylus support that you can use to showcase your creative skills, note something, and much more.
The highest model of the Galaxy S21 series, the Galaxy S21 Ultra packs in quite an impressive specifications sheet compared to its siblings and predecessors. The device packs in a humongous 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display that complies with HDR10+ and has a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. It has a resolution of 1440×3200 pixels, 515 PPI density, and a Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on top for resistance against a couple of falls and more.
Under the hood, there are actually two chipsets installed. As usual, the Chinese and the US variant of Galaxy S21 Ultra got the Snapdragon 888 SoC while the international market has received the latest Exynos 2100 SoC both manufactured on a 5nm node. The device comes with a 128+12GB, 256+12GB, and 512+16GB UFS 3.1 storage configuration, however, there’s no memory card slot neither hybrid nor dedicated.
Next up, the cameras had us pretty good as the Galaxy S21 Ultra as one of the most powerful optics on smartphones. It is equipped with a 40MP punch-hole front camera setup capable of shooting 4K videos at 30 and 60fps. Flip the phone and you will find an intriguing quad-camera setup whose bump fuses with the left side of the back panel. It houses a108MP primary shooter with OIS, 0.8micrometer pixel size; a 10MP periscope telephoto sensor with OIS, f/4.9 aperture, 10x optical zoom, and dual pixel PDAF.
The third sensor is a 12MP telephoto sensor with OIS, f/2.4 aperture, a 70mm focal length, 3x optical zoom, and dual pixel PDAF. Finally, the fourth sensor is a 12MP ultrawide snapper with dual pixel PDAF, an f/2.2 aperture, and a 1.4micrometer pixel size. The entire rear camera setup is capable of shooting excellent quality videos at up to 8K and with up to 960fps at 720p.
Need more power to use this enthralling device, check out its humongous 5,000 mAh battery supplied with a 25W fast charging (down from 45W on S20 Ultra), Qi 15W, and 4.5W reverse charging technologies embedded on it. Also, it is available with 5G connectivity.
The biggest of them all, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is available at a price tag of $1,199 or Rs 1,05,999/- in India for its base 12GB+128GB variant while the highest of them all, the 16GB+512GB trim is available at Rs 1,16,999/- in India or $1,379 in the U.S. Apparently, Samsung is not selling the 12+256GB variant in India at the moment but it is available at $1,249 in the U.S.
Samsung Galaxy S21+ Specifications & Pricing
The Galaxy S21+ is now different than its elder sibling, the Galaxy S21 Ultra. The device packs in a slightly shorter 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with HDR10+ and a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. Samsung somehow managed to squeeze the fun out of its display by giving Galaxy S21+ a 1080×2400 pixels resolution while the S21 Ultra gets a QHD resolution.
The device is almost the same when it comes to its chipsets i.e. the international version gets Exynos 2100 5nm chipset while the USA/China variant has a Snapdragon 888 under the hood clocked at 2.9/2.8GHz max frequency respectively. The device still runs on one of the most refined custom UIs available i.e. the Android 11-powered OneUI 3.1.
Talking about the camera setup, the selfie shooter is a 10MP sensor with f/2.2 aperture, Dual Pixel PDAF, and a 4K video recording capability. For those who are unknown, the Galaxy S21 Ultra gets a 40MP shooter here. The rear quad-camera setup housed in a rather chunky rectangular camera bump that fuses into the left edge of the back panel has some changes too.
The primary sensor at the back is a 12MP sensor with OIS, f/1.8 aperture; the secondary is a 64MP telephoto sensor with OIS, 3x hybrid, and 1.1x optical zoom; and finally, a 12MP ultrawide sensor with f/2.2 aperture and a field of view of 120-degrees. There are some major changes on-board Galaxy S21+ when it comes to the camera setup and the same applies to the standard Galaxy S21 as well. Next up, we have a hefty 4800 mAh battery with 25W fast charging, 15W wireless charging, and a 4.5W reverse charging support.
According to the pricing, the Samsung Galaxy S21+ is up on sale at $999 or Rs 81,999/- for its 8GB+128GB variant while the higher trim of 256GB storage fetches a price tag of Rs 85,999/- in India.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Specifications & Pricing
The Samsung Galaxy S21 is the standard version of the Galaxy S21 series and sports specifications as an upgrade to its last year’s S20. The device gets a hefty 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with HDR10+ and 120Hz refresh rate support which is identical to its other peers as well. Like the Galaxy S21+, Samsung dialed down the resolution of S21’s display to 1080×2400 pixels while the Galaxy S20 sill has a 1440×3200 pixels resolution.
The powertrain under the hood is a major upgrade. It is equipped with a Snapdragon 888 under the hood clocked at 2.84GHz max frequency but it is available in the US and China only. The international model has Samsung’s in-house Exynos 2100 5nm chipsets on-board.
Samsung Galaxy S21 sports the same camera setup as its Plus variant including a 12MP wide-angle primary sensor, a 64MP telephoto sensor, and finally, a 12MP ultrawide sensor. As with its siblings, the camera bump at the back is fused on the left side of the back panel which is glass. The front, on the other hand, is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus for better protection.
Finally, the device gets its power from a 4,000 mAh battery which is the same as its predecessor including the same 25W fast charging support, 15W wireless charging, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging support.
Talking about the Samsung Galaxy S21 pricing, the device commences at $799 for its 8GB+128GB which is roughly Rs 69,999/- in India. The higher 256GB variant is available at a price tag of Rs 73,999/- in India.
Finally, talking about the availability, all three phones under the Galaxy S21 series are now available for pre-order as of January 14. The phones will be up for sale at stores on Friday, January 29 in the United States and across the whole of Europe. The availability for other countries will be declared soon.
The stunning Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro
The Samsung Unpacked 2021 event started with a bang i.e. the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro. The $199.99 Galaxy Buds Pro offers a rich listening experience. Samsung tweaked its design to not resemble a bean-shaped Galaxy Buds. Its size has been optimized, improved, and minimized where it doesn’t create the feeling of your ear being clogged up.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro offers a two-way speaker system with a built-in 6.5mm tweeter and an 11mm woofer. Artificial intelligence plays a vital role in keeping the Buds Pro on-point with use cases. The Ambient Sound Mode amplifies the surroundings while the Buds Pro can switch between in-ear music and ambient sound mode automatically thanks to the extensive AI under the hood.
The Buds Pro sports three built-in mics to pick voice during a video or a phone call. The signal-to-noise ratio rating minimizes background noises so you can have a great music experience without any hassle. The Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro offers 360-degrees audio thanks to its Dolby Head Tracking technology which is a technology that Apple users have on their AirPods dubbed as spatial audio.
According to Samsung, the Buds Pro offers 5 hours of playback on a single charge when ANC is enabled and 8 when it is not. Getting a case to keep your Galaxy Buds Pro will improve its battery life to additional 13 hours when ANC is on and 20 hours if it is off.
The Galaxy Buds Pro is available in Purple, Silver, and Black colors and at a price tag of $199.99 available from January 15th onwards.
