If you're undecided between the Samsung Galaxy S21 or S21 Ultra, perhaps the Galaxy S21 Plus is the better fit?...

Powerful 5nm processor Eye-catching new design Excellent battery life

Lack of in-box charger No expandable storage Charging is a bit slow

Samsung's Galaxy S21+ strikes the perfect balance between size, features, and price. But just how good is it?

Excellent performance; Great battery life; Versatile camera modes and features; Great image quality; Smooth and vivid display

No charger in the box; Slippery design; A bit too heavy; Gets hot under heavier load

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus is likely all the 2021 flagship you'll need, offering great performance, improved battery life and a premium design, but with a downgrade in the display department and minor camera upgrades, S20 Plus owners may want to stay away.

Premium design; Huge improvements to Exynos performance; Lower starting price

Very similar to the Galaxy S21; Some downgrades compared to S20 Plus; No charger in the box

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus has everything most people will need. The stunning design, powerful performance, and excellent camera system make this a great smartphone. If you can't quite convince yourself to spend big on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, you should definitely consider the Samsung Galaxy...

Better value than the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra; Impressive camera with loads of features; Long-lasting 4,800mAh battery

No MicroSD card slot; There's no charger included in the box; Lower screen resolution than its predecessor

A s a "middle" model w ithin the Galaxy S21 lineup, the Galaxy S21+ sits between two chairs. While the flagship smartphone shares all the features with the Galaxy S21 , it also has some common characteristics with the Galaxy S21 Ultra top model.

bright AMOLED display with 120 Hz; fast Exynos SoC; very good camera; 5G; Dual-SIM and eSIM; WiFi 6E; Bluetooth 5.0; NFC; ultra-wide band chip (UWB)

only FHD+ despite the 6.7-inch display; charger not included; storage cannot be expanded; throttling under load

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus is a great all-around smartphone, but at around $1000 / £949, it isn’t much cheaper than the S21 Ultra and loses out on almost all its bells and whistles. In day-to-day use, it’s performance is on-point, so if you find it at the right price, it won’t disappoint.

Good looking; slender smartphone; Big; bright; smooth screen; Flagship power and smooth UI

2020 camera hardware; No optical zoom; No expandable storage

“The Galaxy S21+ 5G is a classier, bigger version of the S21, and while it has excellent quality, it doesn't drastically improve on the S20+, or reach the heights of the S21 Ultra.”

Classy metal-and-glass body; Stunning screen performance; Capable camera

Lacks a 2021 flagship camera; S21 Ultra is substantially better in many ways

With just a bigger battery and a larger screen, the Galaxy S21 Plus isn’t really worth the added cost

Better battery life than S21; Bigger screen than S21; Cameras are excellent

S21 is better value; No charger in box; No microSD slot

This Galaxy sits in a middle position in the S21 range, looking fairly costly for a device that's not Samsung's top offering. There's plenty on offer here, however, and it will make a great phone for many - but, that said, it has plenty of close rivals to consider too.

Great display, Plenty of power, Good battery life, Great quality finish, Refined software experience, Good speakers

Camera is not Samsung's top offering, Closely rivalled by other Samsung devices, No microSD expansion any more

For the last several years, Samsung's flagship Galaxy S phones have been split into three variants: a kitchen sink smartphone at the high-end, an entry-level device, and that phone in the middle you probably don't think about.

Flat display A flat OLED is more comfortable to use than a curved one, and this is a very good panel; Thin and light The S21+ is substantially thinner and lighter than the S21 Ultra.

No microSD You'll have to make do with the included storage on Samsung's latest phones; Software Samsung's One UI has improved a lot, but there are still more ads and bloatware than there ought to be on a $1,000 phone; No real telephoto camera Samsung's fancy "hybrid" zoom is digital, not optical.