Samsung’s second-ever virtual Galaxy Unpacked event held yesterday, along with a simultaneous PR launch in Lagos. As usual, the smartphone giants unveiled its latest flagship devices – the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
The company also announced popular award-winning media personality, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu as the Brand Ambassador for the S-series in Nigeria.
However, that was not all, the smartphone maker also unveiled other devices like the smart tracker – Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag and a new set of buds – Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro to rival Apple’s.
After a brief feel of the new flagship smartphones at the exhibition, it was obvious that the devices share a new design language different from the series that preceded it.
They also packed improved and enhanced internal changes from last year’s S20 lineup. The series is divided into two categories: the wallet-friendly S21 and S21 Plus and the S21 Ultra which is Samsung’s ultimate smartphone at a premium price.
GALAXY S21 AND S21 PLUS
Barring the obvious differences in screen size, the S21 and S21 Plus are almost identical devices. The Galaxy S21 has a 6.2-inch display, the S21 Plus has a 6.7-inch display, and the S20 Ultra has a 6.9-inch display.
Both devices pack the latest Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 chipset, comprehensive 5G integration and an upgraded fingerprint sensor which promises big improvements in overall performance.
Their batteries are also big and promise a good life. The S21 offers 4,000mAh battery the same as S20, but the S21 Plus has been upgraded to an even larger 4,800mAh.
As I mentioned earlier, the design of this years S-series is uniquely different, Samsung has ditched the glass-slab camera housing for a slick bump that merges with the phone casing.
Both devices have a 10-megapixel selfie camera along with a main 12-megapixel sensor, a 12-megapixel ultrawide, and a zoom camera that uses just a single 64-megapixel sensor. S21 can, however, go all the way up to 30X hybrid zoom.
The most important change this year isn’t actually the hardware because with the S21 and S21 Plus Samsung took a more wallet-friendly approach starting the price at $799 and $999, respectively. This makes them some of the least expensive flagship phones that Samsung has made in years, a full $200 less than last year’s models.
In Nigeria, the S21 Plus 256GB cost N470,000 while S21 256GB Cost N401,000. Both devices will be available from January 29.
However, the higher affordability caused the RAM to drop from 12GB in last year’s models to 8GB. The screen resolution also reduced from the 3200 x 1440 panels to a modest 2400 x 1080 resolution with 120Hz refresh rate.
GALAXY S21 ULTRA
If the specs on S21 and S21 Plus are enough, then the S21 Ultra has so much more. The device is the ultimate smartphone that embodies the best hardware and Software Samsung has to offer.
Starting with the screen, the S21 Ultra has a 6.8-inch OLED screen with a 3200 x 1440 OLED display at refresh rates of up to 120Hz. The RAM and Battery were maxed at 12GB and 5,000mAh respectively.
Similar to S21, the Ultra is packed with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 888 processor but the size of its storage goes up to to 512GB. Also, the Ultra will be the first Galaxy S phone to support Samsung’s S Pen stylus.
Samsung has released the S Pen and S Pen Pro to be used with the S21 Ultra
In terms of design, the S21 Ultra is more refined with some of the sharp edges of the S20 series smoothed out for a better experience.
The S21 camera is a major upgrade from the S20 Ultra’s camera. It is a prograde camera with its 108-megapixel sensor and 100x zoom mode. It has an additional three rear camera – a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera and two separate 10-megapixel telephoto cameras with 3X zoom and 10X zoom.
The S21 Ultra sells at a starting price of $1,199 and doesn’t include any extras like an S Pen stylus or a case. The extras will cost an additional $40, or $70.
In Nigeria, the S21 Ultra 256GB costs N580,000 and S21 Ultra 512GB costs N629,000. They will be available from January 29.
Galaxy SmartTag
TO add to the list of devices, Samsung also unveiled a Bluetooth locator – the Galaxy SmartTag. The device is designed like a square box you can attach to items like a backpack or a key ring you may wish to track.
The device can be tracked on the SmartThings Find app using Bluetooth. The S21+ or S21 Ultra can utilize the ultra-wideband capability of the SmartTag to track your wayward object with more precision.
The SmartTags cost $30 each. However, you can get one for free if you preorder one of the new Galaxy phones.
Galaxy Buds Pro
Samsung’s newest earbuds – the Galaxy Buds Pro features a smaller, more compact design that should fit easily in most people’s ears. The buds have about five hours of playtime with noise-cancelling switched on.
They also come with beamforming mics that capture your voice more clearly for calls. The company also upgraded its buds from the common single driver that handles all frequencies to a more unique dual-driver design (a woofer and tweeter) for better detail across the spectrum.
The most interesting addition to the buds is the intelligent AI which can detect when you are having a conversation and reduce the volume of music without having to tap the buds to pause the music.
The buds are IPX7 water-resistant and are available at the price of $200.
Summary
Finally, The S21 lineup presents the best phone for the different needs of different customers, rather than simply the most excessive phone. The creations of wide array prices might be the right strategy due to the drop in economic power across the world.
However, Samsung is following in Apple’s footsteps by no longer including a charging brick or headphones in the packaging box, justifying it with similar environmental reasons.
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