Claiming the Best Smartphone of 2021? Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review

Revealing excellence, Samsung Galaxy S 21 is the best smartphone of 2021

In the evolving world of smartphones, 2021 witnessed huge competition for the title of best mobile device on the market. Among all the contenders, Samsung Galaxy S 21 emerged as a standout performer that push the boundaries of evolution, innovation and setting new standards in phone industry. With the help of our guide, discover why this flagship device is standing tall as the crown jewel of smartphones in 2021.

Unlike budget smartphones, the flagship market is very small. Among the main players, perhaps only Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi and OnePlus can be noted. Previously, Huawei could have been added to the list, but the lack of Google services makes the Chinese company’s smartphones uncompetitive. One of the brightest representatives of the flagship segment is the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which we will take a look at today.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G : simple hype ?

Understanding if megapixels are so important, and whether the Exynos 2100 processor really outperforms the Snapdragon 888

Design

The South Korean manufacturer has been experimenting with the appearance of its smartphones for a long time, because of which each subsequent device was not similar to the previous one, however, it was difficult to distinguish the devices from the devices of other companies. At some point, it just became quite difficult to determine by appearance who the manufacturer of this or that smartphone, since they all looked alike. But in the line of Samsung Galaxy S21 the company has finally managed to find its own corporate identity.

The body of the smartphone stands out with an unusual main camera module, which has become a continuation of the side frame. Such a solution not only looks stylish, but also original, since no other company has yet used this option. In addition, now the camera module is covered from above with a protective cover that does not allow the lens glass to come into contact with the outside world. This allows you to stop worrying and put your smartphone on hard surfaces without a case. In general, this generation can be called a serious work on errors, because the company listened to users and fixed the errors that it encountered in previous models, while not forgetting about innovations.

The body of the smartphone is made of glass, while frosted glass is used on the back, which can easily be confused with metal. We have a black version of the device in our review, and, perhaps, this is the only beautiful black smartphone on the market. The bezel is completely frameless with a perforated cutout for the front camera. It is worth noting that the bezels around the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra are significantly thinner than those of the iPhone 12 Pro.

However, despite the unique appearance, the design of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is not so smooth. In this line, the company uses very attractive colors – pink, red and deep lilac, but only in the younger models S21 and S21 +. S21 Ultra, in turn, received only two colors – silver and black, although custom colors can also be ordered on the company’s website, but they are also very conservative. And this is weird. After all, such ultimatum flagships are mainly intended not at all for rich businessmen, but for a creative audience that loves to express themselves not only through their projects, but also through stylish accessories, therefore bright colors of device cases are very important for them.

Display

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra received a 6-8-inch display with Dynamic AMOLED X2 matrix, a resolution of 3200×1440 pixels (Quad HD +) and a refresh rate of 120 Hz.

You can change the screen resolution in the smartphone, so we recommend setting the value to FullHD +, you will not notice the difference between these modes, but this will reduce power consumption and extend battery life.

An important innovation is the adaptive frame rate. The smartphone independently analyzes the content displayed on the screen and chooses which frequency to use. So, for example, when the interface is working, the maximum frequency will be used to make scrolling smooth, and when watching a video on YouTube, this indicator will decrease, since the video hosting does not support displaying content with such a frequency. Adaptability has a positive effect on battery life.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra display itself is very bright. It peaks at 1,500 nits, making the screen readable even in the hot May sun. The color reproduction of the display, while maintaining the saturation of colors, remains natural, which will appeal to those who like to process photos on a smartphone.

Performance and autonomy

Samsung, like Apple and Huawei, installs its own processors in its smartphones. At times, users have complained that Samsung’s chips are inferior to competitors from Qualcomm. However, this came to an end.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is powered by a proprietary Exynos 2100 processor, which is made according to the standards of a 5-nanometer process technology. In the Antutu benchmark test, the smartphone is gaining almost 580,000 points. At the same time, unlike Snapdragon 888, the processor does not start throttling during repeated runs and does not drop frequencies, keeping the results at the same level.

But benchmark tests have long been uninteresting, because the realities of 2021 are such that now it is quite difficult to find at least one application that could make any flagship smartphone fail.

But in heavy games, the smartphone starts to heat up. Uncritically, but tactilely you can feel how the device is getting warmer. This cannot be called a minus, since all smartphones behave this way, but we must mention it.

In normal operation, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra performs well. The interface works smoothly, the only slowdowns can be noticed only in the first seconds after the device is rebooted, when the operating system starts up gradually. The test device is equipped with 12 GB of RAM, which is enough to keep ten applications open in the background without unloading them from memory. The volume of permanent memory was 256 GB, which is also enough to store thousands of photos and videos. In addition, the system has a built-in Samsung Knox module, which is responsible for data storage security.

The smartphone is powered by a 5000 mAh battery. Thanks to the energy-efficient processor, the smartphone quietly draws from a single charge from 8 am to midnight, when about 10% of the charge remains on it. It should be noted that there is no charging adapter included. If you charge the device with a proprietary 25 W adapter, it will take about an hour to fully replenish the battery capacity.

Camera

Smartphone cameras are becoming increasingly difficult to compare as different companies focus on different aspects. For example, Huawei is trying to detail everything that is possible. And Samsung and Apple, in turn, do not forget about color rendition. At the same time, in our subjective opinion, Samsung has much better camera algorithms.

The main camera of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra received the main Samsung ISOCELL HM3 108 megapixel sensor, which is not yet available to other smartphones. This sensor in standard mode combines nine adjacent pixels into a single superpixel to improve light sensitivity, allowing you to capture high-quality images in low light conditions. In this mode, it produces 12-megapixel photos. You can also manually turn on the 108 MP mode, which will provide maximum detail even for distant objects.

In addition to it, there is a 12MP wide-angle sensor and two 10MP telephoto lenses. The first telephoto lens has 3x optical zoom, and the second periscope lens has 10x optical and 100x digital. Interestingly, after using a periscopic telephoto lens, I do not want to use other smartphones at all, since this solution, due to the increased focal length, allows you to shoot in non-standard scenarios, giving out interesting shots like SLR cameras.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra can shoot video in 8K resolution – an interesting feature, but it’s definitely not a pleasure for ordinary users, since TVs and monitors with 8K resolution cost fabulous money. In addition, when shooting in 8K, the smartphone starts to heat up.

But when shooting a regular video, the device shows very well. The camera is equipped with optical stabilization, to which digital stabilization is also connected during video, which allows you to shoot very smooth videos without shaking.

The device produces high-quality photos with a high level of detail and a wide dynamic range. But the main feature of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the camera algorithms that adjust the color reproduction to near-ideal levels, producing rich and deep colors in both normal and night modes.

Output

Who is the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra for? First of all, this smartphone was created for lovers of mobile photography and video filming, since the device’s camera is its main feature. The advantages of the device also include high performance and a high-quality display. But among the minuses, one can note a slight heating in games and when shooting 8K video.

In Russia, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is sold at a price of 100,990 rubles. Yes, the price bites, but a smartphone can be taken under the Samsung Upgrade program, which implies monthly payments for the device, which will appeal to students and novice fans of mobile photography who cannot afford to pay the full amount right away, but at the same time love the most top-end gadgets.

FAQ’s