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Samsung's new Galaxy S21 phones feature a new look, improved specs, and cheaper prices than last year's models
By Antonio Villas-Boas
The Galaxy S21 Ultra (left), Galaxy S21 Plus (center), and Galaxy S21 (right).
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Samsung launched its new Galaxy S21 flagship phones on January 14.
Prices start at $799.99 for the Galaxy S21, $999.99 for the Galaxy S21 Plus, and $1,199.99 for the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
They're available for preorder today and will be widely available to buy starting January 29 from Samsung's website, online retailers including Best Buy, and carriers including AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile.
The Galaxy S21 phones come with a fresh design, new specs, and camera improvements.
See also: The best smartphones
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Samsung announced its latest Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, and Galaxy S21 Ultra flagship smartphones on January 14.
The new Galaxy S21 phones will be available to preorder from Samsung's website starting on January 14 at 11 a.m. ET, and ending on January 28. They'll be widely available to buy starting on January 29 in carrier stores, online retailers, and Samsung.com.
The phones start at $799.99 for the Galaxy S21, $999.99 for the Galaxy S21 Plus, and $1,199.99 for the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Those are cheaper price tags than Samsung's 2020 Galaxy S20 series, which are always welcome. Samsung says that the price difference can largely be attributed to maturing 5G technology.
The Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Plus have flat screens compared to the curved screens from previous generations.
As usual, Samsung has some incentives for preorders, which include $200 in Samsung credit and a free Galaxy SmartTag. Samsung and some carriers also have trade-in program that let you trade in your old phone to reduce the price of a Galaxy S21 device.
Samsung Galaxy S21 features
Samsung has overhauled its usual smartphone design for the new Galaxy S21 series, including flat screens for the S21 and S21 Plus compared to curved screens from previous models. The backs of the Galaxy S21 series are also getting the matte glass texture treatment compared to Samsung's traditional clear glass.
There's a fancy new camera module design that wraps around the top left corner of the Galaxy S21 phones as well. It's a unique look compared to the usual plaques we often see on smartphone camera models, and it helps the Galaxy S21 series stand out among the crowd.
The Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus come in a variety of colors.
The Galaxy S21 series is getting the full 120Hz screen refresh rate treatment that's largely expected on high-end phones these days, which makes for a smooth look and feel when navigating around Android and apps. Samsung also added a new Eye Comfort Shield feature to each S21 model that automatically adjusts the screen's color temperature based on the time of day. The screen will have a brighter, cooler tone that transitions to a warmer tone as the day wears on.
And of course, the cameras got some attention, too. Save for the Galaxy S21 Ultra's new quad-lens system, there's nothing too remarkably different with the camera hardware itself, but Samsung added some new features that could prove handy for certain users. Namely, the new Director's View shows you what each camera lens sees in small thumbnails and lets you switch between lenses while you're recording video. There's also a Vlogger View that records video with both the rear and front cameras at the same time.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra has four camera lenses, and comes in two different colors.
The fourth lens in the Galaxy S21 Ultra's quad-camera system is an extra 10x optical zoom lens that complements a 3x optical zoom lens. Having this variety of lenses should lead to better zoomed photos and a wider range of distances, while also enabling Samsung's crazy 100x digital zoom, which is seeing several improvements as well.
Samsung also said that it's improved the Galaxy S21 Ultra's low-light photography capabilities by combining nine pixels into one to absorb more light. Unfortunately, this feature won't be available on the S21 Plus or standard S21.
Also specific to the Galaxy S21 Ultra, is support for the S Pen stylus from Samsung's Galaxy Note series. It'll offer the same functionality as Note users get, and you can store the S Pen in a sleeve that comes with a special case.
And specific to the Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra will be ultra-wide-band (UWB) radios. The UWB radios will let users turn their phones into digital car keys to lock and unlock their cars.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra is compatible with Samsung's S Pen stylus with the same functionality as the company's line of Note phones.
Galaxy S21 specs
Display: 6.2-inch flat 1080p (2,400 x 1,080) 48-120Hz AMOLED
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
Memory and storage: 8GB RAM, 128GB/256GB storage
Rear cameras: 12-megapixel standard wide, 12-megapixel 120-degree ultra-wide, and 64-megapixel 3x hybrid zoom up to 30x digital zoom
Selfie camera: 10-megapixel
Water resistance: IP68
Connectivity: Sub6 (5G), mmWave (5G)
Galaxy S21 Plus specs
Connectivity: Sub6 (5G), mmWave (5G), ultra-wide-band (UWB)
Galaxy S21 Ultra specs
Display: 6.8-inch curved 1440p (3,200 x 1,440) 10-120Hz AMOLED
Memory and storage: 12GB RAM with 128GB/256GB storage; or 16GB RAM with 512GB storage
Rear cameras: 108-megapixel standard wide with phase detection, 12-megapixel 120-degree ultra-wide, 10-megapixel 3x optical zoom, and 10-megapixel 10x optical up to 100x digital zoom
Connectivity: Sub6 (5G), mmWave (5G), WiFi 6E, ultra-wide-band (UWB)
Antonio Villas-Boas
Senior Tech Reporter
Antonio is a senior tech reporter for Insider's Reviews team, where he helps lead coverage, reviews, and guides of smartphones, tablets, accessories, wearables, smart home products, as well as audio devices from Apple, Google, Samsung, OnePlus, and other major tech companies. Before joining Business Insider, Antonio was a consumer-electronics analyst at PCMag. He graduated from Colgate University in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in history. You can contact Antonio with tips and cool tech via email at: avillasboas@businessinsider.com Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here. Learn more about how we test tech and electronics.
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Samsung Galaxy S21 Galaxy S21 Plus