Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review - TechRadar

Surprise, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is launching a month earlier than anticipated, and that’s good news if you’re eager to own the very best of what Samsung can pack into a smartphone.

The new Galaxy S21 Ultra is Samsung's new ‘everything phone’ with more cameras, beefier specs, and even S Pen compatibility to eclipse the very likable Note 20 Ultra.

If you're dismayed about rumors of the end of Note series, just try the S21 Ultra.

This is Samsung’s vision of smartphone excess for 2021: five cameras led by a 108MP sensor, two telephoto cameras, 100x zoom and 40MP selfies, plus 5G, all-day battery life and up to 16GB of RAM – all packed into an Android phone with a 6.8-inch 120Hz Quad HD display and an upgraded in-screen fingerprint sensor that has a 1.7x larger surface area than the one on last year’s phone.

It’s the first new smartphone we’ve tested in 2021, along with the Samsung Galaxy S21 and Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus, and it sets the bar high – much higher than last year’s problematic ‘Ultra’ phone.

Samsung has retooled its main camera with lasers – yes, lasers – to remedy the autofocus issues on the Galaxy S20 Ultra, and also upgraded the specs to keep up with the demands of processing those large 108MP photos, 40MP selfies, and 8K video without as much as a hiccup.

It’s the S21 Ultra’s 10x and 3x optical zoom levels that nailed the photos we wanted every time – more than any other smartphone telephoto camera.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra is Samsung’s best-looking phone ever.

Welcome amid an economic slowdown, the overhauled look and boost in performance haven't led to a price increase over last year’s S20 Ultra – Samsung has actually made this phone significantly cheaper.

Granted, we felt like the first Ultra phone was overpriced, and the S21 Ultra is still mighty expensive – it’s more than the iPhone 12 Pro Max – but Samsung gives you a bit more for the extra cost: a larger, brighter and more capable curved screen, 10x optical camera zoom (vs 2.5x on the iPhone), and stylus support, something Apple has yet to offer on any iPhone.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra release date is Friday, January 29, with preorders still available in the US, UK and Australia.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra price is also notably cheaper than the S20 Ultra at launch, though it’s still going to cost you a lot.

The Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Plus don’t tout ‘Space Zoom’, S Pen support or 108MP/40MP photos, but you do get the 3x optical zoom and slick design, at a far cheaper price.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra is one gorgeous-looking smartphone – so much so that we didn’t bother to put a case on it during testing.

Both the Galaxy S21 Ultra and S21 Plus have a smooth Gorilla Glass back while the Galaxy S21 is stuck with a polycarbonate (read: plastic) back that feels less smooth to the touch.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra screen is Samsung’s first (among smartphones) that’s capable of running at a smooth 120Hz refresh rate while in a pixel-packing Quad HD resolution.

The entire S20 series and Note 20 Ultra forced you to choose between 120Hz/60Hz and Quad HD/Full HD, while the new S21 and S21 Plus are stuck at Full HD+, with 120Hz enabled by default.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra is Samsung’s first non-Note phone that’s compatible with its S Pen stylus, and it’s a trend we like seeing.

There’s a folio case that holds a newly designed S Pen that’s slightly larger and more comfortable to hold than the version that tucks inside of the body of Galaxy Note phones.

It neatly slots into the inner spine of the case and feels secure there, so you'll want a Galaxy S21 Ultra case for more than protection.

Even with all of the hype around the appearance of an S Pen on an S phone, we fully expect to see the Note 21 Ultra in the next six to seven months (six if it comes early and seven if Samsung sticks to its usual August time frame).

There's still a demand for that phone – and for being able to embed the stylus inside the handset, though recent rumors suggest that Samsung may do away with the Note series.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, with its five cameras and 100x zoom range, impresses this time around, even if grainy ‘Space Zoom’ photos continue to not meet our quality threshold for readily posting to our Instagram accounts.

Going all the way from the ultra-wide camera at 0.6x to the digitally zoomed-in 30x with usable photos each step of the way is how Samsung stands apart from Apple and its cameras on the iPhone 12 Pro Max (capped at 2.5x optical / 12x digital), and Google’s Pixel 5 (no telephoto).

The zoom functionality on both is optical, though Samsung’s camera software oftentimes has a mind of its own.

Our previous favorite telephoto camera from Samsung, on the Note 20 Ultra, had a 5x optical zoom and 50x digital zoom.

So the 10x optical zoom on the S21 Ultra gets you closer to those far-off subjects, while the 3x optical is handy for pulling it back a little bit without digital distortion.

We noticed that the Galaxy S21 Ultra camera offers improved dynamic range in outdoor photos (see photos with a bright sky and darker buildings) over its predecessors, and Samsung now offers 12-bit raw files for greater flexibility when editing.

The iPhone 12 Pro series still wins out for many non-zoomed photos, especially indoor and nighttime shots, but Samsung and its more finely tuned night mode (it doesn’t simply bump up the exposure) help close the gap.

The Galaxy S21 series is faster for two reasons: it marks the debut of brand-new chipsets, and the software has been streamlined just a bit, with the ever-evolving OneUI 3.0 interface tied into Android 11.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra battery life was solid during our normal testing, amounting to a full day and change – but we tanked the battery much more quickly when we pushed that 120Hz screen refresh rate to the max and cranked up the resolution to Quad HD

Its 5,000mAh battery matches the Galaxy S20 Ultra capacity, and you’re going to get all-day battery life if you stick with Samsung’s default settings

Samsung doesn’t support 45W charging on the S21 series whatsoever, something that may seem like a step backward – the Note 10 Plus and entire S20 series were compatible with this optional charger

Grab an S Pen and start jotting down notes on a Galaxy S phone

We’ve also gotten to use tools like translating text and previewing links, just like on a Note phone

Almost any other Android phone (outside of Google’s Pixels and OnePlus) has this feature – but you won’t get that advanced camera zoom

Some features, like Bluetooth shortcuts and a spot to embed it in the body of the phone, remain exclusive to the Note 20 Ultra