We take a deep dive with the Samsung Galaxy S21

Great look; Fast and snappy performance; Full of features to explore; Good camera quality; Speakers are improved over last gen

Plastic back is a no-no at $800; The plethora of features can be overwhelming; take it slow; The UI looks a bit flat and tacky; Bye; bye; microSD card slot

The Galaxy S21 is a superb compact flagship phone with a brilliant 120Hz refresh rate Super AMOLED display, a great rear camera array capable of 8K video and excellent overall performance. If you want the ultimate uber phone, the Galaxy S21 Ultra awaits.

Surprisingly beautiful faux metal finish; Excellent build quality; Stereo speakers; Powerful performance; Good cameras; Great battery life

No expandable storage; No charger or earbuds in the box; No 3.5mm audio jack

The Galaxy S21 lineup is now available. Before you buy one, the biggest takeaway you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G, along with the Galaxy S21 Plus 5G and Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, is that Samsung cut the US price of each by $200 (the savings are less in other countries). Clearly this wasn't done out of generosity and Samsung's made trade-offs to hit that lower price on the Galaxy S21: The wall charger and headphones don't come in the box, the phone doesn't have a microSD card slot for expanded storage and it has 4GB of RAM less than the S20. Samsung also removed half of the pixels from the screen and replaced the Gorilla Glass from the back with polycarbonate, which is a nice way of saying plastic.

Samsung's made some wise choices to get the price down on the Galaxy S21. Here's what we think of the new 5G phone.

Lower price; Design; Android 11/OneUI 3.1; High refresh rate screen;

Less RAM; Display is only HD; Gets warm when using it; Lacks a microSD slot;

This is the Exynos model, as well as the International model of the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G. It is the direct successor to the Exynos model of S20 of last year, and come in a 6.2-inches display with Full-HD+ resolution. The screen panel is Dynamic AMOLED 2X with upto 120Hz refresh rate.

The Samsung Galaxy series is one of the best-selling flagship phone series’ out there, thanks to its excellent performance and modern design. For the Galaxy S21 series, Samsung went all out, bringing down the price of the entry-level model, and making the top-tier “Ultra” model better than eve...

The Samsung Galaxy S21 is the phone we recommend if you’re looking for a high-end Samsung smartphone in 2021, offering significantly more value than the Galaxy S21+ and the Ultra.

Display, Design, Performance, Cameras

UI Design, Annoying ads, Battery isn’t great

I use my smartphones as work tools so I personally focus my attention on the high-end flagships. This year Samsung is making a competitive pitch to also consider the entry level flagship Galaxy S21 5G with a starting price $200 less than last years Galaxy S20.

Small size in a sea of large slabs; Lovely design with matte finish back; 5G support for all bands; Highly capable rear cameras; Competitive pricing; High-end internal specifications

No charger in the box

The S21 gives here and takes there, but ultimately strengthens the Galaxy reputation

Rich; smooth display; Solid battery life; Superb all-round camera

No microSD slot; earbuds or charger; Sony rival sounds better

samsung galaxy s21: It’s cheaper than last year, but is the Galaxy S21 worth the upgrade?

Intriguing design; Substantial performance uplift; Cameras continue to impress

No microSD expansion; Charger sold separately

Take fantastic photos and nice and big lay out to read