Samsung Galaxy S21 5G 256GB Pink - Amazon (Renewed)

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Samsung’s made a few cuts to the Galaxy S21 that make it feel less “flagship” than past Samsung hero phones. Whether this is a blessing or a curse will depend on your personal expectations, but in general I think the move is the right one as it has let Samsung reduce the phone’s RRP. Samsung has fully embraced 5G for the S21 line too, as all variants of the Galaxy S21 are 5G-compatible. Even if you’re not in a 5G-ready area, it essentially means you’re futureproofed, ready for when 5G connectivity is more widely available. Samsung Galaxy S21: battery life 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.

In Geekbench 5, the Samsung Galaxy S21 returned a multi-core score of 3367. That's notably better than the Galaxy S20 (the one featuring the Exynos 990 chipset) that returned a score of 2699. The chipset – we’ve tested the Exynos 2100 version of the phone – is also powerful, delivering some fantastic results in real-world use as well as in benchmarking software.

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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.

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 company is instead just offering internal storage, and again this seems to be a cost-saving measure from Samsung, but it’s likely to disappoint anyone who wants the most affordable handset but needs a lot of storage.

A buyer's guide to Samsung Galaxy S21 cases

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. Samsung used the same material on the Galaxy Note 20, but the matte finish feels more suitable here and it’s much less shiny than the glass rear on the Galaxy S20, which means it’s less of a fingerprint magnet. The metal edges around the outside of the device add a touch of premium polish. 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. This is the earliest we’ve seen Samsung unveil its flagship smartphone in quite some time, with a typical release happening in March. But, with the pandemic continuing to have an impact across the globe, it looks like this year might be quite different in general. Design and Screen

The other thing to note here is that the Galaxy S21 doesn’t come with a charger in the box. Samsung has followed in Apple’s footsteps by not bundling a charger with its new phones as it seeks to cut down on e-waste.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. As mentioned, Samsung has done this to help keep the price of the new phone down, and unless you’ve used a phone with a QHD resolution we don’t believe you’ll be able to easily tell the difference– we found that all the videos we watched on the S21 looked suitably high-quality on the Full HD+ panel. You’ve got four color choices at launch: Phantom Gray, Phantom White, Phantom Pink, and Phantom Violet (the shade you see pictured throughout this review) – we think Violet is the standout color here. The Galaxy S21 camera hardware hasn’t changed from the previous year’s phone, as Samsung’s big sensor upgrade happened between the Galaxy S10 and S20 generation. With the S21 it’s all about the software, and Samsung finding a way to slim down the camera module.

If you’re after a camera that can get really close to a subject without sacrificing detail, you might be better off with the S21 Ultra as that has a duo of dedicated zoom lenses. 3. You want a phone that’ll last multiple days 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 screen The software available on this phone works well, and you've got access to a whole host of extra Samsung services on top of the normal Android apps you expect from a modern smartphone. 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 lifeWith its 4000mAh battery, the Samsung Galaxy S21 isn’t a multi-day device and you shouldn’t expect the same mammoth endurance offered by the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. But with real world use I never struggled to make it through the day on a single charge. Aside from some minor bugs inside Samsung’s OneUI software, the Galaxy S21 is very fast. You won’t notice it on the daily if you’re coming from a phone from 2020 or 2019, however if you’re upgrading from an S8 or S9 then prepare to be impressed. When you’re shooting with that main 12MP sensor with its f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilisation (OIS), the pictures are generally very pleasing.