Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review: The Verdict
With the Galaxy S21 Ultra, Samsung have made a phone that feels deserving of the "Ultra" moniker and expensive asking price - for the most part. Greats cameras and a lovely display are let down by "just okay" battery life. It's not a deal breaker, but it would have been nice to see the Galaxy S21 Ultra last just a little longer per charge.
What we love
- Great primary camera
- Versatile zoom lenses
- Gorgeous display
- Lovely matte back
What could be improved
- Battery could be better
- Expensive
- No expandable storage
The essentials
- Performance: Top-tier.
- Battery: Just okay. Expect about four-to-five hours of screen time per charge. That should be enough to make it through a single day, but there's very little buffer.
- Screen: Simply gorgeous, as you'd expect from Samsung.
- Camera: Great. The primary camera does an excellent job, and the two zoom lenses offer a lot of versatility in most environments.
80/100
There's a lot going on when it comes to the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, but the first thing most will notice is the camera bump. It takes up about a sixth of the phone. You can't miss it. Like the great Wall of China, you can probably see it from space. It's enough to make you paraphrase the Black Eyed Peas. I mean, what is the S21 Ultra going to do with all that bump inside its trunk?
Before we start, here's a look at how the three S21s stack up in terms of hardware:
Samsung Galaxy S21 specifications
| Galaxy S21 | Galaxy S21+ | Galaxy S21 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.2-inch OLED | 6.7-inch OLED | 6.8-inch OLED |
| Resolution | 1080p+ | 1080p+ | Quad HD |
| Rear Cameras | 12MP + 64MP + 12MP | 12MP + 64MP + 12MP | 108MP + 10MP + 10MP + 12MP |
| Front Camera | 10MP | 10MP | 40MP |
| Processor | Exynos 2100 | Exynos 2100 | Exynos 2100 |
| RAM | 8GB | 8GB | 12GB or 16GB |
| Storage | 128GB or 256GB | 128GB or 256GB | 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB |
| Battery | 4,000mAh | 4,800mAh | 5,000mAh |
| Water-Resistance | IP68 | IP68 | IP68 |
| Back | Plastic | Glass | Glass |
| 5G | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price | From $1,249 | From $1,549 | From $1,849 |
Zoom for the moon
Unsurprisingly, the reason for a massive camera bump is a whole lot of cameras. Embedded within the monolith you’ll find a 108MP primary sensor, 12MP ultra-wide lens, a 10MP 3x zoom lens, a 10MP 10x zoom lens, and a laser autofocus sensor.
Let's start with the zoom, because that's the clear point of difference. The Galaxy S21 Ultra is the only mainstream smartphone on the market with two optical zoom lenses, which creates a whole lot of photographic potential. The 3x zoom is a nice midrange option, while the 10x shoots genuinely great photos at a distance - at least if you have enough light.
Here's a shot at 1x zoom:
And here's the same at 10x:
It's genuinely impressive.
Using software, you can punch in as far as 100x digital zoom, but you genuinely shouldn't. As soon as you get past 10x, your photos slowly become low quality impressionist artwork. With the right subject and enough light, it's possible to still get a decent shot at a 30x, but you really shouldn't go much further.
Here's a comparison between zoom lengths:
When it comes to lowlight, the 3x zoom still holds up pretty well, as evidenced by this highly grammable photo of A Symphonic Tribute to Metallica:
The 10x zoom lens is however a little too unreliable as soon as your ambient light is too dim thanks to a slow aperture. The below photo certainly doesn't belong on your grid:
If it's too dark, it's not worth using the zoom lenses at all. Due to the slower aperture than the primary camera, the S21 Ultra will instead crop in on an image from a different lens and try to work some software magic to sharpen it. It doesn't work. If you're trying to use the 3x lens, it will crop in on the primary lens. If you're using the 10x, it will crop in on the 3x. Here's a 10x zoom in lowlight:
But even if lowlight performance isn't ideal, the 3x and 10x lenses are nice tools to have in the arsenal. In terms of photographic range, the Galaxy S21 Ultra easily has every other phone beat. For example, the iPhone 12 Pro Max can only zoom as far as 2.5x in terms of optical.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra's primary camera is also great, for the most part. There are a few quirks, but it shoots and focuses quickly. It's not quite as good as the iPhone 12 Pro Max primary lens, but it still does a really good job at getting wonderful images, such as this portrait mode shot of a new friend:
Lowlight imagery from the primary lens is mostly free from the artifacting the Note 20 Ultra exhibited, which is a rather welcome upgrade. The Galaxy S21 Ultra can get a great shot even without relying on night mode, which is for the best, as I'm not the biggest fan of Samsung's night mode. It tends to brighten an entire photo uniformly, which robs it of contrast.
Here's a shot with night mode off:
And here's a shot with it on:
The iPhone 12 Pro Max is easily still the phone to beat when it comes to lowlight photography thanks to the sheer clarity of its images, but the Galaxy S21 Ultra fares well against the standard iPhone 12 - even if the images can be a little darker.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra is also much better at focusing than last year's Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Galaxy S20 Ultra, but fast moving subjects such as energetic puppies can result in blurry images - even in good light. The laser autofocus sensor designed to help with this doesn't quite do enough.
In a similar vein, the phone is prone to miss focus on close objects. When I tried getting a photo of this roll, it kept focusing on the sauce rather, leaving the rest of the meal looking shallow:
Similarly you can see the text on the asparagus label isn't quite sharp:
This isn't always noticeable when you're just looking at images on your phone, but when I went back through my camera samples on my review, I found a few that were subtlety off.
Lastly, the ultra-wide lens does a great job for the most part, but as with the zoom, isn't very useful in lowlight.
Quirks aside, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is a solid performer when it comes to camera and doesn't disappoint. And hey, no other device can rival that zoom right now.
Not quite Ultra
One area where the Galaxy S21 Ultra doesn't live up to its moniker is battery. The phone will only last between four and five hours of screen time per charge, which for me, typically meant ending a day with less than 15%. For comparison, the similarly priced iPhone 12 Pro Max can typically get between six and seven hours of screen time per charge, which leaves you with a much more comfortable buffer.
Between four and five hours of screen time certainly is passable, but I’d just expect better from a phone at this price-point and size. The Galaxy S21 Ultra will last the full day a lot of the time, but it’s also the kind of phone where I felt anxious about leaving home in the evening without giving it a quick top up first.
You can eek a little bit of extra charge out of the Galaxy S21 Ultra by turning off the 120Hz display, but this only really works out to be half an hour or so. It’s a much more efficient display than the 120Hz panel in the standard Galaxy S21, where disabling the high refresh rate screen added almost two extra hours of screen time.
As with Apple, Samsung has decided to stop bundling wall chargers and headphones with the Galaxy S21 series (even if did make fun of the iPhone 12 in a now deleted tweet). It kinda sucks, but at the least, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is more affordable than last year’s model. Even if you need a new wall charger, you’ll still pay less for the phone than you would have a Galaxy S21 Ultra at launch last year. It feels inevitable that most manufacturers will go down this path, but it's still something to be aware of.
All the trimmings
In a rather unusual twist, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is the only phone in the S21 family with a curved display, with Samsung all but abandoning the aesthetic that has defined its flagships since the Galaxy S6. The curve is rather subtle and has its charms, but honestly, I would have preferred if Samsung went flat across the board. After all, the curve isn't exactly doing anything other than increasing repair costs if you break it.
On the back, you'll find matte glass which has a rather nice feel to it. More importantly, it barely shows fingerprints, so your Galaxy S21 Ultra should stay looking pristine - even if you don't put a case on it
Samsung's stuck with an in-screen fingerprint reader for biometric security, and thankfully it works a lot better this year. There's a larger hit area, and the phone is faster to unlock. It's a much smoother experience compared to previous Samsung devices with the same tech.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra is the first Samsung flagship outside of the Note range to support an S Pen - Samsung's take on a stylus. You won't find an S Pen in the box, however. You can use any S Pen from past devices, or you can purchase one as an add-on for $59. There's also nowhere to stow the S Pen within the Galaxy S21 Ultra, so it's not quite as elegant a solution as the Galaxy Note family. If you're really big on using the S Pen, Samsung does have an S21 Ultra case with a S Pen compartment on one side.
My handwriting is a straight up disaster and my creative talents do not extend to drawing, so the S Pen has always been more of a novelty for me. I can take it or leave it. There are of course plenty who do love having a stylus with their smartphone, so it's great to see Samsung bring S Pen support beyond the Note. This may however be due to rumours Samsung won't have a new flagship Note this year, and will use the Fold as its second flagship phone for the year. It's likely the Fold 3 will get S Pen support too.
Notably, the Galaxy S21 Ultra doesn't have expandable storage, with Samsung axing the microSD card slot across the entire family this year. Given Samsung was one of the longest lasting proponents of expandable storage, it's a shame to see. It could also necessitate splurging on a pricier model. The entry-level Galaxy S21 Ultra has 128GB of storage, but spending a further $100 will get you a 256GB unit. That's not unreasonable, but it could be frustrating if you were hoping to reuse a microSD from a previous Samsung phone.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra - Final Thoughts
For the most part, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is a phone deserving of its price-tag and the "Ultra" moniker. It's just a shame it doesn't achieve the "no compromise" ideal due to its battery life. The Galaxy S21 Ultra's battery isn't unreasonable - four to five hours of screen time per charge is decent - but it's not as good as what it could be. When you're spending close to $2,000 on a phone, I'd expect more - especially when the competition is delivering the goods.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra's "just okay" battery life isn't a deal breaker, however. It's got the best zoom on a smartphone right now, and a great primary camera. The display is gorgeous, and I've got no complaints about performance. If you're after a premium Android phone, the Galaxy S21 Ultra won't disappoint.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra camera samples
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