Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
The Good Stuff
- Bigger display
- Even bigger battery life
- Takes excellent pictures and 4K videos
- Good quality sound
- Fast performing chipset
- Standard top-range features
- Stylus support
The Bad Stuff
- Same design as the other S21 phones
- No SD card slot
- No charger and no earphones in the box
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Review: The Best & Fearsome Smartphone
If you want the best of the best phone, with all the nice perks, then look no further than the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G.
Samsung has put all the best features like more power, more display, more camera features, more performance, making it one of the best smartphones in the S21 series.
With the S21 Ultra, will it be good enough to stand tall against other top-flagship smartphones? Let’s find out from the review of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
DISPLAY: 6.8-inch, Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz, 1440 x 3200 resolution | STORAGE MEMORY: 128GB 12GB, 256GB 12GB, 512GB 16GB | CHIPSET (USA/China): Snapdragon 888 (5nm), (GLOBAL): Exynos 2100 (5nm) | SOFTWARE: Android 11, One UI 3.1 | MAIN CAMERA: Quad sensors, 108MP (wide) + 12MP (ultrawide) + 10MP (telephoto) with 3x optical zoom + 10MP (telephoto) with 10x optical zoom | SELFIE CAMERA: 40MP (wide) | BATTERY PACK: 5000mAh, 25W fast charge, 15W wireless charge, reverse charge | WEIGHT: 227g
Overview
The S21 Ultra is the top-range smartphone in the S21 series. It’s bigger, has more cool features, more battery power, and better performance. With it being the top-range smartphone it will cost you more money, but you get what you pay for.
Display
The S21 Ultra comes with a bigger 6.8-inch display. This comes with a dynamic AMOLED technology, with a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 1440p screen resolution.
You just need to understand that the screen looks amazing. The HD images, clips, and the overall user interface look clear and crisp, with sharp and accurate colors.
The screen technology is no different from the other two smartphones in the series. It just has a larger size screen and a higher screen resolution. Overall, the display of the S21 Ultra is gorgeous. It can display high-quality images and videos in great detail.
Design
Moving on to the design. It’s got the same design as the other three smartphones in the series but with a few modifications.
Firstly, the phone comes with four camera sensors at the back. Secondly, it’s covered by a glass front, and a glass back, and encased with an aluminium frame. Thirdly, it’s water and dust-resistant, and lastly, it comes with stylus support.
You can choose from five different colour designs like Phantom Black and Phantom Silver. I personally like the Phantom Black because it makes it look so dark and slick.
Compared to the S21 Plus, the overall design is pretty much the same. It does weigh a little more at 227g though, but overall the design is not something to go ‘wow’ about. But it sure is an attractive design and comes with a great choice of colours with a few extras.
Performance
If you get the US or China version you will most likely get the Snapdragon chip. The rest of the world will get the Exynos chipset.
They do perform equally but experts say that the Snapdragon performs a little faster. I honestly don’t see the difference really.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G smartphone comes with three model variations according to storage and memory (RAM): 128GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, and 512GB 16GB RAM.
With these specs, the S21 Ultra can perform tasks with ease. You will notice the overall system performance as you browse through the Android interface, using common apps, browsing online, or on social media, and when you play gaming apps.
Speaking of which the S21 Ultra can support gaming apps. The graphics look great and the gameplay flows smoothly. It’s not a gaming smartphone though but it’s good to know you can play games on it just to kill time.
if you compare specs like the S21 Plus, the only difference is the high memory (RAM), meaning it can store more apps on standby and you can access them in no time. Everything else is the same.
Overall, the S21 Ultra is a great performance smartphone. It has great memory options and high storage, it comes with a great performance chipset for daily use and gaming.
There’s no micro SD slot to expand storage, so I suggest you get the 256GB 12GB RAM model. If you want more though, just know it will cost you extra.
Camera
Let’s move on to the camera features. Firstly, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G includes a quad-camera sensor at the back and a teardrop single selfie camera sensor on top of the screen.
Secondly, the quad-camera includes a 108MP wide camera, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and two telephoto camera sensors that feature 3x to 10x optical zoom. You can record up to 8K screen resolution videos using the main camera.
Thirdly, the single selfie camera includes a 40MP wide sensor that lets you record up to 4K resolution videos.
Pictures from the main camera are well-detailed. The colours are bright and accurate. Same with the ultrawide cam. The pictures look equally stunning. There is a loss in detail but it’s barely visible.
Overall, you can expect this phone to take some great-quality pictures and videos here.
Other Features
Let’s start with the battery life. The S21 Ultra includes a 5000mAh battery that supports fast charging, reverse charging, and wireless charging. The overall battery life daily, you are looking at 22 hours per day on a full charge.
Sadly, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G does not come with a charger. If you can get your hands on a 25W charger, it can charge up the S21 Ultra to 50% in 30 minutes, and to full charge in 70 minutes.
Moving on to the sound output. The S21 Ultra includes stereo speakers: one at the bottom and the other serves as the earpiece on top. The sound output is really good. It’s not as good a normal A-class speakers but they manage to produce great sounds.
If you got a stylus, then take it out as the S21 Ultra supports it. It’s very responsive and good to touch The phone does not come with a stylus pen though.
There are funs apps available like ‘AR Zone’ that lets you create an avatar or sprite of yourself, and then use it in various ways with the S21 Ultra.
Overall, the smartphone comes with so many more features that you need to discover. There are plenty of helpful hints online to get you started, but with everything else, this is one of the best phones to get right now.
Verdict
To summarize, with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, you get a great smartphone with a larger display, more camera features, a bigger battery, and better overall smartphone performance.
If the price is not in your budget, you can get one of the other two S21 smartphones in the series.
The majority of the design is the same in the series, as well as other minor specs. But the S21 Ultra was made to be different and unique.
If you have the budget for it, then I highly suggest you get it, if you’re an Android user. There are other smartphones out there such as the iPhone 12 Pro or the iPhone 12 Pro Max to consider for Apple users.
Close Off
Thank you for taking the time to go through my review of the S21 Ultra. If you have any suggestions, comments, or review requests, please leave them here at the bottom. If you want to find out more or you wish to make a purchase, click on the links provided.
That’s all from me for now. Take care. Stay safe until next time.