If trends tell us something, it’s that we have an estimate time period when teh brands unveil new products. Samsung has always used February as the month to unveil the new Galaxy S series. That changes today, as they moved up their Unpacked keynote to CES 2021 and unveiled three Samsung Galaxy S21 series of smartphones.
It’s clear that 5G is here to say, and good thing that they haven’t done a separate 5G-only model at a premium. It’s now a mainstay standard, given the rollout across many countries worldwide including the Middle East region.
Camera gets visual makeover
The early leaks have proven to be accurate, as the rear triple camera bump looks flush being meshed with the binding chassis near the top corner.
The standard with a triple rear camera system is already known: Ultra Wide, wide-angle, and telephoto. There’s been some improvement to the aperture for allowing more light, especially for low-light and night scenery. An extra oomph with this new system is that Samsung is keen to allow third-party apps to leverage them, which includes both Instagram and Snapchat (once they update their apps).
If you thought 4K was just becoming a standard for video recording, Samsung is keen to march ahead with 8K video. Want a high-res still for a photo but couldn’t capture it? You can grab a 33MP still from the 8K video using the improved 8K video snap.
Going Above and Under
Last model saw an adaptive refresh rate reserved only for the highest end SKU, and this year’s makes is a standard across the entire family. The display can easily adjust between 48Hz – 120Hz for it’s new Dymanic AMOLED display.
Don’t foget that it’s also HDR10+ certified, especialyl if you’re looking to watch such type of content.
Keeping it powered with full visual fidelity and fast performance is a new 5nm fab ARM-based chipset, yielding even better AI and GPU performance. Of course, it’s the Exynos chipset that is destined for all the markets worldwide (including Middle East).
What’s not there?
All of the Samsung Galaxy S21 models omit the microSD card slot, which has been a staple with previous models to expand storage. So you’re stuck with the storage option you select during teh purchase stage.
Plus, no more charging adapters in the box save for the USB-C charging cable. This gives it a smaller packaging footprint and so many devices meet the minimum power requirements.
The Unpacked Surprise
From my experience, Samsung always has a special guest for making a special announcement. This time, it’s from Google where they’re further expanding their partnership.
Google will make the S21 Series an Android enterprise recommended device, which will greatly help businesses looking to have their employees use a smartphone that meets both the security and performance demands of work.
Pre-Order it
Preorders are already up and running in many of the countries in the Middle East, with special pre-order gifts bundled based on which model you order (based on your country of residence):
- UAE: Etisalat and du (S21 and S21+)
- Saudi Arabia: Mobily (S21 and S21+)
- Qatar: Vodafone Qatar and Ooredoo Qatar
- Oman: Omantel (S21 and S21+) and Ooredoo Oman
- Kuwait: Ooredoo Kuwait
- Bahrain: Batelco (S21 and S21+)
When you compare the prices of its year, you’ll likely notice that they start much lower than last year’s S20.
If you’re looking to glean over the key specs of both models, here’s a simple table that sums it up.
| Galaxy S21 | Galaxy S21+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.2" Flat FHD+ @ 2400x1080 (421 ppi); Adaptive 120Hz refresh rate (48~120Hz); HDR10+ certified | 6.7" Flat FHD+ @ 2400x1080 (394 ppi); Adaptive 120Hz refresh rate (48~120Hz); HDR10+ certified |
| Rear Camera | 12MP Ultra Wide f/2.2 FOV 120 12MP wide-angle FOV w/ OIS 64MP f/2.0 phase detection AF telephoto FOV 76 w/ OIS | 12MP Ultra Wide f/2.2 FOV 120 12MP wide-angle FOV w/ OIS 64MP f/2.0 phase detection AF telephoto FOV 76 w/ OIS |
| Front Camera | 10MP f/2.2 Dual Pixel AF, FOV 80 | 10MP f/2.2 Dual Pixel AF, FOV 80 |
| Battery | 4,000 mAh | 4,800 mAh |
| Storage | 128 GB and 256 GB (8GB LPDDR5) | 128 GB and 256 GB (8GB LPDDR5) |
| Connectivity | 5G (NSA, SA, Sub6/mmWave) 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz); NFC; Bluetooth 5.0, USB 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector | 5G (NSA, SA, Sub6/mmWave), Ultra Wide Band 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz); NFC; Bluetooth 5.0, USB 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector |
| Colours | Phantom Violet, Phantom Gray, Phantom Pink, Phantom White | Phantom Violet, Phantom Silver, Phantom Black |
Image Credits: Samsung Newsroom
