Samsung GALAXY S21 ULTRA

amazon Samsung GALAXY S21 ULTRA reviews

The design is easy to hold, more square, very close to the Note series.

The first improvement comes from the design. With the S20 Ultra, Samsung has received many complaints about its appearance, especially in the oversized, somewhat rough camera cluster.

Many curves on the back make the device unnecessarily “bulky” set. On the S21 Ultra, the Korean technology company has made changes.

The back of the latest S can be considered as the successor to the Note 20 Ultra when it is made square and neater. The design of the camera cluster is renewed when it is almost completely covered from the back to the frame, creating the feeling that this is a seamless block and looks “catastrophic.” The camera lens is also more prominent with a large size.

When observed at close range, it can be seen that the camera cluster and the border are still separated, not a monolithic form. The rear camera cluster can be seen as the most unbalanced detail in the design of this phone. The lens part is concave compared to the bezel to avoid impact and reduce flare.

This year, the S21 Ultra has a rather fancy silver version, transforming into tones like purple, pink, and blue when tilting the device at different angles. This color makes the device stand out, and at the same time, resists dirt, sweat, or fingerprints more effectively than the traditional black version.

The point that S21 Ultra has not overcome is the thickness and weight. Due to having to “carry” a battery of up to 5,000 mAh with a large 6.8-inch screen, two telephoto lenses, the device has a thickness of up to 8.9 mm and a weight of 229 g (S20 Ultra is 8.8 mm and 222 g). The feeling of holding will be like a small “dumbbell” in hand, more suitable for men than women. Putting it in a pants pocket can also clearly see the sharpness. For ease of visualization, the iPhone 12 Pro Max also weighs the same at 228g but is only 7.4mm thick due to a mere 3687 mAh battery.

Samsung has “solved” this problem on the Note 20 Ultra (8.1 mm, 208 g) when reducing the battery capacity to 4,500 mAh, but perhaps the new 5,000 mAh battery is enough to “balance” the 120Hz QHD + screen with the same 120Hz QHD + screen. 4-camera system on the most advanced S21.

The screen has no longer “Achilles heel,” maintaining a clear, bright style and thin borders.

Contrary to the back, the front of the S21 Ultra is completely similar to the previous generation with a central mole, softly rounded corners, the typical femininity of the S series, and four slim edges. The edge of the screen is still 3D curved, but the curvature has been reduced much compared to the Note 20 Ultra. I still prefer the square screen like on the Note series because it creates a personality different from dozens of other phones on the market today.

The most valuable point on the screen of the S21 Ultra is probably the 120Hz refresh rate that has run at the highest resolution WQHD +, no longer having to reduce to Full HD + like previous generations. In a detailed review of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, I once said that only running at 120Hz refresh rate at Full HD + is the “Achilles heel” of this machine. Because with a size as large as 6.9 inches, the Full HD + resolution sometimes proves to be “out of breath,” causing the Note 20 Ultra’s screen to appear blurry, less sharp, especially when displaying large-sized web pages. Small letters or when observed at a close distance of 20cm or less.

The “Achilles Heel” on the screen has ceased to exist in the S21 Ultra. As a result, the machine takes full advantage of the large 6.8-inch screen, WQHD + 3200×1440 pixel resolution and 120Hz high refresh rate, providing a sharp, detailed experience, smooth page scrolling. When used in the hot sun, the screen of the S21 Ultra is also clear, without any difficulty.

The camera has many useful new features, especially Zoom Lock and automatic night shooting.

S21 Ultra marks the first time that Samsung has equipped up to 2 telephoto cameras on its smartphones with one camera with 3X optical zoom and a second periscope camera with up to 10X optical zoom. That is a solution that some Chinese phone companies have applied before, such as Huawei or Xiaomi. On the S21 Ultra, Samsung continues to keep the 108MP main camera with a maximum digital zoom of 100X, similar to the S20 Ultra, twice the 50X level of the Note 20 Ultra. The 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera has also been upgraded to autofocus, allowing shooting at close range to create macro photos.

Thanks to the two telephoto cameras and the new generation 108MP sensor, Samsung claims that the S21 Ultra’s 100X zoom capability will be significantly improved than the S20 Ultra, delivering sharper photos and less shaky photos. A new feature on the S21 Ultra is Zoom Lock. As soon as a zoom level above 20X is selected. A white sub-viewfinder will appear in the corner of the screen. You only need to hold your hand firmly for about half a second on the subject to be photographed. This viewfinder will immediately turn yellow, and the image will also significantly reduce shake.

Samsung has likely used more digital stabilization like recording video and optical image stabilization (OIS). Through experience, I found Zoom Lock very useful, making taking photos with high zoom levels on the S21 Ultra much easier than previous generations.

Photos are taken from the S21 Ultra still retain the inherent features of Samsung flagships so far. Bright colors, high contrast, somewhat brilliant, flattering eyes. Good detail, sharpness, wide light range. However, when shooting in low light, Samsung still suppresses noise quite strongly. The image is clear, with little noise, but the sharpness and detail are significantly reduced.

Fortunately, the machine has a night mode, which can be used on all four cameras, greatly improving the quality of low-light photos. The new feature in night mode on the S21 Ultra is that the device will automatically activate when it detects that the environment is too dim, almost like on the iPhone, making operation more convenient. Of course, you can still manually enable this Night mode if you want, but this is no longer necessary.

An annoying point when taking photos on the S21 Ultra is that the device heats up quickly. After just a few minutes of taking photos or filming, you can feel the heat emanating from the rear camera cluster, the frame, and the screen around that area.

Other new features such as Director View allow displaying the entire image from all four cameras, including three rear cameras and one front camera, or Vlogger View, which allows both front and rear camera images to be displayed simultaneously. Like the video format of streamers, vloggers are also quite interesting, helping to create new videos. The 8K 24fps video recording feature is still equipped, but no longer is Samsung’s promotion too much. Instead, the company equipped the ability to record 4K 60p video for the entire lens on the S21 Ultra.

A small note is that when recording 4K 60fps, the S21 Ultra will not allow you to switch between lenses while recording video. Switching lenses will only be possible before recording or must be reduced to 4K 30p or Full HD 60p.

Exynos 2100 performance is stable, clearly improved compared to the previous generation.

Genuine S21 Ultra in Asia continues to use high-end Exynos 2100 chips developed by Samsung. Exynos 2100 is Samsung’s first flagship chip with an integrated 5G modem and the second chip to use its 5nm EUV process after Exynos 1080. Following Samsung’s tradition, in some markets such as the US, Korea, Hong Kong Kong, S21 Ultra will continue to use Snapdragon 888 version.

The RAM and internal memory of the S21 Ultra are similar to the previous generation, with 12GB of RAM and 128GB of internal memory. The device also has a version with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal memory.

During my time using the S21 Ultra, I noticed that the Exynos 2100 had markedly improved compared to the Exynos 990 on the Note 20 Ultra or S20 Ultra.

Samsung’s new chip helps S21 Ultra operate faster and smoother. Latency with common tasks such as browsing the web, surfing, switching multitasking, performing gesture operations is significantly reduced. 12GB of RAM is still too much, and I rarely have to reload an application. Facebook can be left overnight, turned off the screen, reopened the next morning, and still displays the same comment that is being read, very convenient. The phenomenon of overheating when browsing the web normally also no longer appears.

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The Exynos 2100 also gives decent gaming performance with familiar games like League of Legends, Arena of valor Mobile, Call of Duty, PUGB, or Dead Trigger 2. The stable frame rate at 60fps, with high graphics settings.

Only with a game “close to the hardware” is Genshin Impact, the new Exynos 2100 is “out of breath.” You will need to lower the settings to low to play stably with the above frame rate from 30 to 40fps. Note that the S21 Ultra also radiates a lot of heat when playing games for a long time, so you need to consider the “battle” time and reduce the settings to reduce the load on the machine.

One cut on the S21 Ultra is the microSD card slot. With internal memory starting at 128GB, most users probably won’t need this feature. However, the memory card is still one of the advantages of Android over iOS, especially for those who often record videos, take high-quality photos, or have a hobby of storing movies, installing many heavy games.

The S Pen is interesting but not as convenient as the Note; the ultrasonic fingerprint is much faster.

Another important feature of the S21 Ultra is the S Pen. However, as you know, this pen will need to be purchased separately or reused the S Pen pens on the Galaxy Note or Tab S6 and above. Unfortunately, I do not have an S Pen to experience more features that first appeared on the S series.

Earlier in the post, I tried using the Note 20 Ultra’s S Pen with the S21 Ultra and found the pen completely stable. As soon as the pen is inserted, the S21 Ultra immediately receives the command without requiring any connection operation. The feeling of writing and drawing is smooth and agile, not inferior to the Note series. That can be considered a new attempt by Samsung to bring the S and Note series closer to each other instead of restricting them. However, the S21 Ultra does not have a pen hole like the Note, so you will have to buy a separate accessory to accommodate this pen. The case and the leather case with the S Pen slot will be significantly thicker S21 Ultra.

S21 Ultra uses Qualcomm’s ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor but has been upgraded to the latest 2nd generation. According to Qualcomm, the reader area of ​​​​the new sensor is 77% larger, collects 1.7 times more fingerprint data, and most importantly, 50% faster reading speed than the original sensor. Indeed, when using the fingerprint of the S21 Ultra, I noticed that the speed was noticeably faster than previous generations. The commendable point is that even with wet fingers, the device can still recognize and unlock normally.

Battery life is good, but fast charging is still “stagnant.”

With a large 5,000 mAh battery, the S21 Ultra gives a relatively comfortable duration with high usage intensity. Statistics from the AccuBattery application show that the screen time is about five and a half hours, the mixed-use time is about 25 and a half hours.

With BiaReview’s standard battery tests such as watching movies, surfing the web, playing games in QHD + 120Hz screen mode, the S21 Ultra achieved 14 hours of 16 minutes watching movies, 10 hours 4 minutes surfing the web 4 hours 37 minutes playing games.

If you reduce the screen to Full HD +, 120Hz, the battery life will increase significantly with 17 hours 21 minutes watching movies, 13 hours 34 minutes surfing the web, and 5 hours 12 minutes playing games.

The point that made me quite disappointed is that Samsung went to “follow” the “environmental protection” movement that Apple initiated, removing the included charger and headset. The accessories only have a USB-C charging cable, sim stick, and user manual in the box. Users will have to buy more 25W chargers or take advantage of old chargers if available.

I charged the S21 Ultra with a 25W charger from the Galaxy Z Fold 2; after 30 minutes, the device can charge about 55% of the battery. The battery is 100% full after 1h15 minutes, equivalent to the last 2 Ultra generations.

This charging speed of S21 Ultra can meet the most common needs. Now, competitors like Oppo and Xiaomi have 65W, even 120W fast charging, which can fully charge a 4200mAh battery (Oppo Find X2) in 40 minutes and 4500 mAh (Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra) in just 25 minutes. If you don’t want to be left behind, Samsung should continue to improve the charging speed on their flagships.

Summary

Constantly facing fierce competition from fierce rival Apple accompanied by the strong rise of Chinese smartphone “army” such as Oppo, Xiaomi, OnePlus. Samsung itself may well understand that the company is no longer there can be “frugal” in upgrading elements of design, camera, screen, or performance…

S21 Ultra marks Samsung’s bold change in design, adding features that first appeared on its S-series smartphones such as dual telephoto cameras, QHD + 120Hz screen, 5nm processor, S Pen. At the same time, the company also has small but useful tweaks in software such as Zoom Lock, automatic night shooting to perfect the camera experience.

It can be seen that the Korean technology company is perfecting itself. Making progress after each generation and drawing the bloody lesson that a high-end smartphone is not necessarily perfect, but only needs to meet customers’ needs fully meet the most practical factors that users care about.