The Galaxy S21 lineup is here, with a $200 price cut, new design and S Pen support - CNET

The lineup starts at $800 instead of last year's $1,000.

Samsung's new lineup includes (from left) the $800 Galaxy S21, $1,000 Galaxy S21 Plus and $1,200 Galaxy S21 Ultra. .

Samsung's new Galaxy S21 lineup is here.

And the new Galaxy S21, S21 Plus and S21 Ultra have plenty to attract would-be buyers, including new designs and $200 shaved off the starting price of their predecessors.

The South Korean electronics giant on Thursday, during its first virtual Unpacked event of the year, showed off its three new phones: the $800 Galaxy S21, the $1,000 Galaxy S21 Plus and the $1,200 Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Samsung's Galaxy S21 lineup is packed with refinements to the cameras, displays and 5G capabilities.

On the other end of the spectrum, the S21 Ultra is designed for people who want the "best of the best." It features a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x display, Samsung's best camera of the S21 lineup with four back lenses, and Corning's scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass Victus on the front and back.

Of the three new phones, only the S21 Ultra works with the S Pen, and it comes as a separate accessory that costs $40 for just the pen or $70 when bundled with a specially designed case that stores the stylus.

When the Galaxy S20 lineup hit the market a year ago, there still were relatively few 5G phones available, and they weren't cheap.

One of the biggest differentiators for the Galaxy S21 Ultra over the S21 and S21 Plus is the camera.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra has four camera and laser autofocus on the back.

The S20 Ultra features 100x Space Zoom, like its predecessor, but in this year's phone is a new feature called Zoom Lock that keeps the camera focused on an object for a clearer picture.

The Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus both have three rear cameras in ultra-wide, wide and tele-lens.

The new Galaxy S21 phones also feature Multi-Mic Recording when paired with the new Galaxy Buds Pro, letting users record with their camera mic and earbuds mic at the same time. .

All phones in the Galaxy S21 lineup in the US come with Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 888 processor and integrated 5G modem.

The Galaxy S21 Plus gets a bigger battery -- 4,800 mAh versus 4,500 in the S20 Plus -- while the S21 stays steady with 4,000 mAh and the S21 Ultra retains its 5,000 mAH battery. .

Samsung also included ultra wideband, or UWB, technology in the Galaxy S21 Plus and S21 Ultra

"We took this a step further with Galaxy S21 Plus and S21 Ultra, which use expanded UWB capabilities to utilize the AR finder so you can send virtual messages to other Galaxy users during your search."

The phones in the Galaxy S21 lineup all feature a matte finish that helps minimize fingerprints

Samsung's Galaxy S21 (left), Galaxy S21 Plus (center) and Galaxy S21 Ultra hit stores Jan

The Ultra also has a Quad HD+ display -- versus flat, full HD+ in the S21 and S21 Plus -- and "the best, brightest display ever," Samsung's Hawke said