Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
The Good Stuff
- Takes excellent day & night pictures
- Bigger battery for more battery life
- Larger and great looking display
- Great assortment of fun software and customization options
- Great overall performance for normal use and gaming
The Bad Stuff
- No headphone jack
- No micro SD to increase storage
- Battery drains after prolong gaming
- Similar design, hardware, and camera specs to the S21
- Pricey
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus smartphone is not more powerful than the entry-model, the Samsung S21. Yet it takes the title of bigger & better with a bigger screen and a bigger battery. Either than the good looks, the feel and the power it’s taken from the S21, the S21 plus still makes its mark as the better smartphone to buy. But the question is, is it worth the cost? Let’s find out from the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus 5G review.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
DISPLAY: 6.7-inch, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, 1080 x 2400 | OS: Android 11, OneUI 3.1 | CHIP: Exynos 2100 (5nm) – Global / Snapdragon 888 (5nm) – USA/China | STORAGE MEMORY: 128GB 8GB, 256GB 8GB | CAMERA: Triple sensor main camera, 12MP (wide), 64MP (telephoto) 3x optical zoom, 12MP (ultrawide) | SELFIE: Single sensor, 10MP (wide) | VIDEO: up to 8K at 24fps main camera, up to 4K at 60fps | BATTERY: 4800mAh | WEIGHT: 200g
Overview
So what is this Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus? Well, it’s a high-tier smartphone, a really good one, that comes with a 6.7-inch FHD screen, a three-lens main camera, and comes with a unique smartphone design with three ‘Phantom’ color choices.
Under the hood, it packs an Exynos 2100 or a Snapdragon 888 chipset. It includes 8GB of RAM and is available with your choice of storage from 128GB to 256GB. The battery is bigger at 4800mAh which means you get more battery life. In summary, it’s a top-range smartphone in the Samsung S21 series, with a bigger screen and a bigger battery than the entry model.
Display
So what can be said about the display? Let’s see: it’s 6.7 inches tall. It comes with a 1080p screen resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate. The screen technology used is Dynamic AMOLED.
It just means that the display looks really really good. The colors come out with good brightness, sharp, accurate, and smooth scrolling between views. The screen specs are the same when you compare it to the S21. Expect the same great quality views from both models. The only difference is the size of the screen, which is 6.2 inches for the S21, and 6.7 inches for the S21 plus. Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus smartphone has a great display, taller than the S21, but comes with the same quality views.
Design
Next is the design. On the screen, there’s a single tear-drop sensor for taking selfies and video calls. Hunched at the back there are three camera sensors. On the left side, there’s the standard volume key and the side key. On top, there’s one speaker, and at the bottom the USB-type C connector and the other stereo speaker. No earphone jack and no micro SD slot.
The casing is made of a combination of glass and aluminum frames. It also comes with water and dust resistance making it a durable smartphone to have. The choices of colors include violet, silver, or black with the ‘Phantom’ prefix added. Again, not much difference here as the S21 plus looks exactly the same as the S21. The only differences are the weight gain, and the use of premium materials. To sum up, the overall design of the S21 Plus looks great. It comes with a good choice of colors, and good durability, and is made of premium materials.
Performance
Let’s look at the specs. There’s the 8-core Snapdragon 888 processor chip for the US and the Chinese market, then there’s the Exynos 2100 for everybody else. And with storage, you’re looking at choosing between 128GB and 256GB. Note that the hardware specs on the S21 and the S21 Plus models are the same (which means similar performance). The top-range Samsung S21 Ultra also has similar but comes with more storage and more system memory.
For normal use, the Samsung S21 Plus performs really well. You will notice how smooth the Android OS responds to your touch and the fast loading of apps. For gaming use, the graphics look great and the gameplay behaves smoothly with no signs of lag. Overall, the performance of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus smartphone is great. It’s great for normal use and even better for gaming. Although it does have a similar hardware spec compared to the S21, they both perform well enough to serve all your needs.
Camera
Moving on to the camera functions of the S21 Plus. The main camera comes with a triple-lens sensor: 12MP (wide); 64MP (telephoto); and a 12MP (ultrawide) sensor.
Taking pictures does take a while to get used to if you are interested in understanding the overall software, especially the Pro model. There are many modes to play around with here, but once you start taking pictures, you’ll be amazed.
Day pictures are stunning, especially with wide and ultrawide modes. It takes in all the details and colors into one great picture. At low light, pictures do come out stunning as well. Using the night mode option really brightens the image.
If you like taking videos, then the S21 Plus is the phone for you. The video quality looks great. The S21 Plus produces good-quality videos. You can record up to 8K quality videos. There’s a pro mode to help you achieve professional-looking videos. There’s also a video stabilizer, and much more to play with. To sum up, both video and picture quality is great.
Other features
Battery
The S21 Plus is powered by a 4800 mAh non-removable battery that supports fast charging, wireless, and reverse wireless charging. The battery life is excellent. You get 30 hours of talk time, 14 hours of web browsing, and close to 19 hours of video playback. And charge speed? With a 25-watt adapter, you can get more than 50% in 30 minutes and less than 70 minutes full charge. No charging adapter is included in the box.
Sound
The phone comes with a two-stereo speaker system: one on the earpiece, and the other at the bottom. The sound quality is surprisingly good. It’s not as good as a powerful Bluetooth speaker system but it delivers.
Software
There are a lot of apps installed on this phone. A lot. The AR Zone is one of my favorite apps. It lets you create your own humanoid sprite and use it in all sorts of augmenting reality functions with the camera. There are a lot of customization options, and they work. It’s crazy what you can do with the phone. In summary, the S21 Plus is more than just a smartphone. Either than the great battery life and great sound quality, there are fun apps to explore.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus is really a great smartphone to use. It has many software features to play around with, and a good hardware spec to optimize performance. The Plus features are mostly the bigger battery, the larger screen, the premium materials, and the added weight. Most of the other specs like the hardware, camera, display tech, and other features are similar to the S21 smartphone. So if you can’t afford the S21 Plus, don’t fret. Get the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G instead. You won’t be missing anything out really.
Recommendations
Here are reasons to buy:
Here are reasons not to buy:
So if you have the extra money, and want a little more than what the Samsung S21 offers, then get yourself the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus.
Closing Off
Thanks for checking out my review of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus. If you have any questions or comments, you are welcome to leave them here below. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Feel free to explore the rest of the website to your heart’s content. There are many more reviews, and articles to sink your teeth into. Otherwise, be safe. Stay safe. Take care until next time. 😀
LGMadyibi 
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