It comes with lots of new camera modes, including the ability to shoot from multiple sensors at once This is the current high-end chipset from both companies and the Galaxy S21 is one of the first phones to use them. Like Apple’s A14, they’re both built on a highly efficient 5nm process which to non-techies is a key reason why it offers improved battery life compared to the S20. The easiest way to differentiate between case types is the material that they’ve been made for, as this typically determines the characteristics of a specific case.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 is far more affordable than the S20 and while sacrifices have been made, it’s not a worse phone as a result. Plus, if you do want all those bells-and-whistles, there’s the Ultra model to jump at. You should not buy if 1. You want a phone with a big screenIn the S21 both chips are paired with 8GB of RAM – if you want more than that on an S21 series device, you’ll want to opt for the Galaxy S21 Ultra, which comes with either 12GB or 16GB.

The Samsung S21 was officially unveiled on January 14, 2021 which was the earliest in a year we've seen the company introduce its new smartphone technology. The downgrade to the display is perhaps the most controversial change Samsung has made for the Galaxy S21, with the company switching to a lower-res Full HD+ screen than the Quad HD display available on 2020’s Galaxy S20.The design is where Samsung has made the most obviously noticeable changes over the S20 (which we crowned 2020’s best smartphone), overhauling the materials used, the colors, and the overall look of the device. Benchmarking doesn't show everything, but we've found everyday tasks on the phone have been faster than previously with the handset more than capable at handling gaming, multi-tasking and having multiple apps open in split-screen view too. There have been two notable cuts, along with a couple of other smaller bits that have been left out. The biggest, especially for those who still want this to be a high-end flagship phone, is the drop in maximum screen resolution. Specifically, Samsung’s dropped it from WQHD+ to FHD+, basically 1440p down to 1080p. While yes, you can – if you really look for it – see a difference, on a 6.2-inch panel this isn’t much of an issue for me. It’s also worth noting that all of Samsung’s S21 phones are 5G-compatible, so you won’t be able to buy a 4G-only variant. Instead, Samsung had made its 5G-compatible smartphones more competitively priced, so you’ll be getting a future-proofed option even if you don’t intend to use next-gen connectivity in the near future. Overall, the camera system might not make it the best camera phone around. But, it’s capable and reliable, with that trademark pop of colour you’d expect from a Samsung flagship. Battery life

There’s a good 10MP selfie camera that produces far more realistic and natural images than previous Samsung attempts. We’ve yet to test the Samsung Galaxy S21 with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset inside, but the Galaxy S21 Ultra performed well with this chipset inside so we’d expect similar results from the S21.All in all, the Samsung Galaxy S21 feels like a premium device, although it’s unlikely to feel as top-end as the Samsung Galaxy S20 if you own that handset, or the Galaxy S21 Ultra. If you already own a Samsung Galaxy S20, or if you can find that handset for a significant discount, you won’t want to opt for the Galaxy S21 – while the newer phone gains in some areas it loses in others, and overall there’s not much between the two phones – certainly not enough to justify paying a couple of hundred dollars or pounds more.

Glasstic is the company’s own name for the material, which as the name suggests is somewhere between plastic and glass. It doesn’t feel as premium as a glass rear, but the matte finish also means it doesn’t feel like cheap plastic either. There’s a 6.2-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display on this handset, which we’ll dive into more in the display section below. This phone is the smallest member of the Galaxy S21 family, and while it may not be as trim as the iPhone 13 mini, those with smaller hands shouldn’t have too much trouble using it. The S21 is the lowest entry point to Samsung’s flagship phone line and it comes with a few key changes to last year’s Galaxy S20. Expandable storage is gone, you’ll have to make do with a plastic rear and the screen’s resolution tops out at just FHD+. On top of that, you’ll have to spend extra for your own charger and headphones – cheers for setting this precedent last year with the iPhone 12. They might not be huge jumps forward from the S20, but I have to say that I do like the pictures from the S21 and they’re especially great for social media sharing as they have a real colour punch. The ultra-wide is great and the new Director’s Views is a useful way to record video from multiple cameras at once. 3. You don’t want to spend nearly a grandThe majority of cases are compatible with wireless charging, however it’s worth noting certain protective cases which are extremely bulk or those which have a metal construction will not be compatible. Samsung has opted for a lower-spec screen than the one on the S20, with a Full HD+ 6.2-inch display, but it offers a 120Hz refresh rate for super-smooth scrolling and graphics, plusfantastic colors, and strong brightness levels – and we didn’t notice the lower resolution in most of our testing. If you want the best Samsung camera phone possible, then you’ll need to invest in the significantly more expensive Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. The cheaper S21 has a set-up that’s very similar to the outgoing Galaxy S20, albeit with some tweaks to the software. We generally found that the phone would comfortably last a full day, but on one occasion, when we were making more use of the phone’s GPS signal and other power-hungry features we found the device ran out of steam by around 10pm.