Home Samsung Samsung Galaxy Technology In Depth Review: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
Home Samsung Samsung Galaxy Technology In Depth Review: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G

In Depth Review: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G

There are only two reasons why you are here. First, you are considering to buy the new Samsung S21 Ultra and now looking for an explanation on why you should buy it. Second, you already have the S21 Ultra and want to find out more about what makes S21 Ultra the best investment that you make for your smartphone gadget this year. Well, you are lucky as we will be sharing our experience after using the S21 Ultra for several weeks now. But, in case you missed out our unboxing article earlier this year, please read it here to find out what you get when you purchase S21 Ultra.



SAMSUNG S21 ULTRA 5G – BODY
S21 Ultra has the perfect dimensions for us. We can easily access both buttons on the right, and we can even use the keyboard only by using one. With the size being 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9 mm, S21 Ultra 5G is the largest than other variants under the S21 Series.



The weight of the device is only 227 grams, which is surprisingly lighter than we expected. As looking at their virtual launching event earlier this year, we are assuming the device to be at least slightly heavier than standard device as it comes with a lot of unique features. The Galaxy S21 Ultra dimensions are large, but the width of 75.6 mm keeps this phone comfortable in our hands. But those with small hands might have a hard time grasping them.

With the aluminium frame, the Galaxy S21 Ultra also has two Exclusive Colorways - Phantom Black and Silver and offers better durability with Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus ™, the toughest Gorilla Glass yet. According to Corning statement in July 2020, Samsung is the first one to adopt Gorilla Glass Victus in their device. In their statement also, Corning claimed that their Gorilla Glass Victus significantly improves both drop and scratch performance for the first time in the Gorilla Glass family, addressing consumer demand for improved durability.



Same as previous S20 Series, Samsung S21 Ultra 5G are also rated with IP68 dust and water-resistant (up to 1.5 meters for 30 mins). On top of that, Samsung S21 Ultra 5G supports the everyone favourite function, 'S Pen' for the first time in the Galaxy S Series. The S Pen, which used on the previous Galaxy Note or Tab, can also be used on S21 Ultra 5G to write, draw and edit photos. However, you will need to purchase it separately, and there is no compartment to insert your S Pen on this device, but you may buy the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Silicone Cover with S-Pen compartment here.



Samsung released two versions of the S Pen specifically for the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, namely the standard S Pen and S Pen Pro. Currently, only available standard S Pen sold as a package with a special casing Smart Clear View Cover and Silicone Cover. In the future, Samsung will present the S Pen Pro, which will be much bigger and supported by Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology to use the Air Actions feature like the Galaxy Note20 Series.



Moving on its unique and bold camera design, Samsung called it a Contour Cut camera. The rear camera module perfectly blends the left frame to the smartphone body, allowing you to feel a new sense. With this design, the rear quad camera looks unique, sleek, yet striking. The likes and dislikes may differ depending on the user. We love it as it makes the smartphone and the camera itself looks more bold and brave. The front screen has an Infinity-O Display design, where the front camera is in the form of a punch-hole in the middle with a resolution of 40MP.



Speaking of Samsung, it uses an edge display with curved sides, but the lower model has a flat display, and this Galaxy S21 Ultra is not as too curvy as the previous model, it is only slightly curved. Due to its wide width (75.6 mm), edge displays are more comfortable to grip than flat displays. The curve on the side of the backside has a more rounded shape, making it easier to fit in the palm of your hand.

The S21 Ultra has a 1.7x larger on-screen fingerprint sensor than the S20 Ultra and is much faster. It's not often talked about, but this is an excellent featured to be mention. Today, when face recognition no longer can be used effectively as you sometimes will be wearing a face mask, having a fingerprint sensor for us is very helpful. Every time we go out, we are so glad we had these features.

SAMSUNG S21 ULTRA 5G – DISPLAY
In terms of display, we don't find any problem using the device under bright daylight. Thanks to its Dynamic AMOLED 2X. It automatically amps up to a super-bright 1,500 nits when necessary, thanks to its Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. It means that you no longer have to cover your screen with your palm when showing your photos or video with other people outdoors under bright sunlight.

On Samsung S21 Ultra, you no longer have to decide between the smoothness of a 120Hz refresh rate and a Quad HD+ display as you can choose both. The S21 Ultra display size is the largest among the other S21 Series, 6.8 inches with 1440 x 3200 pixels. When watching a video, it fits perfectly with each video's frame rate, and when playing a game, you can play at 120Hz.



Given that crispness and responsiveness are the best display requirements, we can't think of a smartphone that can beat the image quality and refresh rate of the S21 Ultra. The 120Hz screen is already commonplace for high-end models, and without it, it won't be a match.

Eye Comfort Shield is a nice feature. It adjusts the screen's colour temperature according to the time of day and how you use it. If you've used the nightshift feature or something similar, you know what it is. This function slowly shifts the screen's white balance toward the yellow direction, reducing blue light and preventing the body clock from being disturbed. This feature is turned off by default, so you'll need to change the setting.

SAMSUNG S21 ULTRA 5G – CAMERA
It’s definitely not a new and better smartphone if it’s not with a better camera upgrade. One of the highlights of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G camera is a 108 MP f / 1.8 (Wide) primary camera sensor rarely found in other flagship smartphones. Samsung has also brought technology improvements to this 108 MP camera. S21 Ultra camera sensor packs the Super PD Autofocus Plus feature for more accurate autofocus. The Super PD Autofocus Plus feature can help improve photos of fast-moving objects in low light situations. The camera sensor can capture a sharper, more vivid image in ultra-high resolution with faster autofocus.



The second significant improvement to the 108 MP camera sensor on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G is the Smart ISO Pro technology which simultaneously captures photo frames in high and low ISO, then combines them into one image in 12-bit colour depth and with noise reduction.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G 108 MP camera also has 100x zoom capability, which improves than the previous generation. There is a Zoom Lock feature with artificial intelligence (AI) technology that can lock the frame and stabilize photos and videos. The new sensor design has also optimized energy consumption, offering additional power efficiency to the overall Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G device. 

Original Image File [Click Here]

One surprise factor of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G camera is the presence of 2 telephoto cameras, 10 MP f / 4.9 (periscope telephoto) and 10 MP f / 2.4 (Telephoto). This is the first time that Samsung has applied dual Tele-Lens to smartphones. Both have Dual-Pixel technology capabilities and support 3x and 10x optical zoom features. Both Telephoto lenses from Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G supported by Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) technology help overcome stability problems when shooting or recording video.

The fourth camera of Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, 12 MP f / 2.2 (Ultra-Wide) also features dual-pixel PDAF technology and Super Steady video features. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G users can record video with an Ultra-Wide lens that can run the Super Steady feature so that the captured image remains stable.

Samsung also supplies the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G with a larger 40 MP f / 2.2 (Wide) selfie camera compared to the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G and Samsung Galaxy S21 + 5G resolution of 10 MP. This Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G selfie camera features Dual video call support, Auto-HDR and 4K @ 30 / 60fps and 1080p @ 30fps video recording.

Another camera feature of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G that users can use, among others, is Director's View which allows the user to view the video recording results from each lens, then change the camera used without stopping the recording process. You can also use the Vlogger View feature to capture every moment using the rear camera and record the reaction's expression from that moment using the front camera simultaneously.



One of the camera's features that we love so much is their Single Take mode. Users can take multiple styles and versions of photos simultaneously with one click. To use this feature, users only need to spend about 10 seconds to take a picture. If the user cannot decide which version of the photo they may like, the artificial intelligence in the Galaxy S21 Series 5G will choose the image it thinks is the best for you.

Not only photos, but Single Take can also produce three kinds of video styles in addition to the original video, which consists of the best image curation videos, time-lapse, and boomerang. For Single Take featured on the Galaxy S21 Series 5G, Samsung has equipped it with pro mode features such as Dynamic Slow-Mo and Highlight Video, increasing the variety of image content produced simultaneously.



On top of that, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Portrait Mode makes it easier for Galaxy S21 Series 5G users to photograph an object. Thanks to enhanced artificial intelligence technology, users now don't have to bother with focus and light for maximum portrait results. Artificial intelligence (AI) makes the device automatically separate objects from the background, so users can easily remove or whiten the background, including creating a bokeh effect where the background becomes blurred. It is suitable for users who want to capture their pets in epic portraits.

In addition to 8K shooting for video from the primary camera, S21 Ultra 5G is also supported 4K / 60fps shooting. Colourful night mode photography is also possible.

SAMSUNG S21 ULTRA 5G – SPEAKER
S21 Ultra 5G is equipped with stereo speakers. AKG, a Harman International Industries brand, an audio equipment manufacturer under Samsung's umbrella, was in charge of sound tuning. It also supports the 3D sound technology "Dolby Atmos", which is well known in the video industry. You can enjoy three-dimensional and realistic surround sound with earphones/headphones or speakers.

SAMSUNG S21 ULTRA 5G – PLATFORM, CONNECTIVITY AND OTHERS
On top of being 5G ready, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G is one of the world's first phones to support Wi-Fi 6E with more bandwidth and four times faster internet connection so that you can stream and share content in the blink of an eye. S21 Ultra 5G built to provide quick video downloading, smooth video conferencing and streaming for your comfort.

Apart from the camera features, two things could be the decision-making factor for smartphone buyers: the brand-new chipsets and the OneUI 3.0 interface tied into Android 11.

As of you might know, one of the keys to the superiority of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra in the processor, namely the Exynos 2100. This latest chipset made by Samsung claimed to beat the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor. The Exynos 2100 on the Galaxy S21 Series brings many improvements; for example, the chip is 5 nanometers (nm) smaller than the previous 7 nm generation.



Apart from making the transistor space wider, this new 5 nm chip can also make the device much more efficient in power consumption. The increase from the previous generation for CPU (central processing unit) reached 20 per cent, GPU (graphics processing unit) 20 per cent, and NPU (neural processing unit) twice as fast. Then, the Exynos 2100 also carries a 5G mm-Wave (millimetre wave) modem with a speed of 7.35 Gbps, which is available in S21 Ultra, but to all range in S21 Series.

They also have upgraded their RAM technology that now uses LPDDR5 which can read data up to 51.2 GB / s. This chipset is also the first in the industry to support the AV1 Decoder for 8K. The Galaxy S21 Ultra is equipped with a 108 MP camera to display more precise and more detailed images.



One of the often annoying things when running multiple tasks simultaneously on a cellphone is that the RAM capacity is almost full. As a result, we are forced to close some applications so that their performance is more stable. Problems like that are no longer a problem on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G as it comes with two RAM and internal memory options which is 256 GB with 12 GB RAM and 512 GB with 16 GB RAM.

This massive RAM and internal storage will undoubtedly support productivity ability to operate various applications. The large internal memory will also be handy for those who like to store lots of photos, applications or games with heavy capacity. However, you won't be able to expend the storage capacity as there is no MicroSD slot for the Galaxy S21 series.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra are also compatible with UWB (Ultra Wideband Wireless System), which makes it possible to use smartphones instead of smart keys for your automobiles. It seems that it can be used for automobiles such as BMW and Audi. Details of compatible models will be announced at a later date, and it is expected that more cars will support UWB in the future.

In terms of security, all S21 series models are equipped with the original security platform "Samsung Knox Vault". A special layer of protection is provided by adding secure memory to the secure processor. In addition, a dedicated tool that protects privacy has been introduced, and it also has a function to delete metadata before sharing photos. With the privacy sharing function, it is possible to control the users who can access the content and the publication period of the content. 

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra gives you dual sim, there’s no need for you to think about choosing one data plan when you have the power to choose two. And what’s interesting about Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra dual sim? The other sims are using e-sim where no physical sim is needed. Check with your telco provider for more information on e-sim.

SAMSUNG S21 ULTRA 5G – BATTERY
As a smartphone user, consumers nowadays are looking forward to having a device that can be used whenever they need it to create content. Battery power can be a problem in itself if your cellphone suddenly lowers when the content idea appears. To solve this problem, Samsung provides a jumbo 5,000 mAh battery in the Galaxy S21 Series 5G.



Samsung claims all three variant under S21 Series has "all-day battery life" which mean your device now can accompany you all day long without the problem of running out of battery. And if we look back at the Samsung Galaxy S21 Series 5G processors in terms of how they can save power consumption, you don't need to worry anymore about the battery being wasteful when used daily.

It also supports wireless charging that complies with the Qi standard. It also has a function "Wireless PowerShare" that can supply power to other devices that support wireless charging. Fast charging is available for both wired and wireless charging. Charging time can be shortened by using compatible charging devices.

SUMMARY
For us at ZulYusmar.com, choosing a smartphone is an investment that you need to consider carefully. Each one of us has a specific specification when it comes to buying a smartphone. Some may buy from a brand that he or she are used to. Some may buy because of camera performance. And some might buy the smartphone just because it looks fantastic and premium.

Whatever your reason is, if you look for a smartphone with impressive camera features, long-lasting battery life, and a whole load of great smart features while maintaining your device's premium look, you should consider investing in Samsung S21 Ultra 5G.

You May Also Like