Samsung Galaxy S21 Series – Detailed Specifications, Initial Impressions, and Price in India.

So folks, finally the Galaxy S21 series is here, just like previous years S20 Series, the S21 series also has Three Flagships, the vanilla S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra, now the S21 and S21+ are very similar, similar to the point that the only differences between them are the Screen size, Battery capacity, and different back panel.

So due to the S21 and S21+ being so similar, this post will concentrate on the S21 and S21+, and there will be a separate post for the S21 Ultra, because it’s really different from the other S21’s, and is also much better.

So here is a Detailed specification overview and initial impression with price in India for the Samsung Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+.

Samsung Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ Quick Specs

Specifications	Galaxy S21	Galaxy S21+
Display	6.2” Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Display FHD+(1080 x 2400 pixels) 20:9 Aspect Ratio 421 PPI HDR10+ certified 120Hz refresh rate support Corning Gorilla Glass Victus	6.7” Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Display FHD+(1080 x 2400 pixels) 20:9 Aspect Ratio 394 PPI HDR10+ certified 120Hz refresh rate support Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
CPU	Samsung Exynos 2100 Octa-core (1×2.9 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3×2.80 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4×2.2 GHz Cortex-A55) OR Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 680)	Samsung Exynos 2100 Octa-core (1×2.9 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3×2.80 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4×2.2 GHz Cortex-A55) OR Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 680)
GPU	Mali-G78 MP14 or Adreno 660	Mali-G78 MP14 or Adreno 660
Memory	8GB LPDDR5 RAM	8GB LPDDR5 RAM
Storage	128/256GB UFS3.1 Storage	128/256GB UFS3.1 Storage
Camera	12 MP, f/1.8, (Wide Lens) Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 64 MP, f/2.0 (Telephoto Lens), PDAF, OIS, 1.1x optical zoom, 3x hybrid zoom 12 MP, f/2.2(Ultrawide Lens)	12 MP, f/1.8, (Wide Lens) Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 64 MP, f/2.0 (Telephoto Lens), PDAF, OIS, 1.1x optical zoom, 3x hybrid zoom 12 MP, f/2.2(Ultrawide Lens)
Front Camera	10MP Selfie Camera F/2.2	10MP Selfie Camera F/2.2
Video Recording	[email protected]24fps [email protected]/60fps  [email protected]/60/240fps [email protected]	[email protected] [email protected]/60fps  [email protected]/60/240fps [email protected]
Battery	4000mAh 25-W Fast Charging 15-W Wireless Charging	4800mAh 25-W Fast Charging 15-W Wireless Charging
Connectivity	Wifi 6 Bluetooth 5.0	Wifi 6 Bluetooth 5.0
Extra	NFC, Samsung Pay	NFC, Samsung Pay
Headphone Jack	No	No

Specification Details
https://www.samsung.com/in/smartphones/galaxy-s21-ultra-5g/models/

Design and Build Quality

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Build Quality is probably the biggest difference between the S21 and S21+

Galaxy S21

The Galaxy S21 has a Plastic Back, with a matte finish, the frame is made of aluminum, and the front is protected by corning gorilla glass victus
On the back, we have the vertical rectangular camera module housing the triple camera setup, on the top left corner, the camera bump is huge on the S21 series, you get the Samsung branding at the bottom center, on the front we have the punch-hole display, with the punch-hole located at the top center, honestly not an excellent position for the Punch-hole.

Galaxy S21+

Same as the S21+, but it has a Corning Gorilla Glass Back.

Display

Both the smartphones have the same type of display, the only difference is the Screen Size and Pixel Density.

The S21+ has a 6.2” Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Display with a native resolution of FHD+(1080 x 2400 pixels), a 20:9 Aspect Ratio, with a pixel density of 421 PPI, and is HDR10+ certified with 120Hz refresh rate support, and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus

The S21+ is also the same, it a 6.7″ inch Display, and has a pixel density of 395PPI

Processor/SoC

Just like previous year we get two options with for SoC.

Samsung Exynos 2100, its an Octa-core SoC with 1×2.9 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3×2.80 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4×2.2 GHz Cortex-A55 cores and is coupled with Mali-G78 MP14 GPU.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, its also an Octa-core SoC with 1×2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 680 cores and is coupled with Adreno 660 GPU.

Unlike previous years this time the Cores are the same in both the Exynos and Snapdragon, the 1X Cortex-X1, 3X Cortex-A78, and 4X Cortex-A55.

Memory and Storage

There is only one memory option, 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and two storage options 128/256GB of UFS3.1 storage.

Camera/Optics

Both the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ have the same camera setup.

They both have a Triple Camera setup.
12 MP, f/1.8, (Wide Lens) Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS
64 MP, f/2.0 (Telephoto Lens), PDAF, OIS, 1.1x optical zoom, 3x hybrid zoom
12 MP, f/2.2(Ultrawide Lens)

Video Recording options include
[email protected]
[email protected]/60fps 
[email protected]/60/240fps
[email protected]

For Selfies both of them have a 10MP F/2.2 shooter

Battery

Galaxy S21

S21 has a 4000mAh battery with 25-W wired fast charging, and 15-W wireless charging, and it can also reverse wireless charge at 4.5 Watts.

Galaxy S21+

S21+ has a 20% bigger battery at 4800mAh battery, with 25-W wired fast charging, and 15-W wireless charging, and it can also reverse wireless charge at 4.5 Watts.

Audio

Both of them have an excellent stereo speaker setup.

Security

Both of them have an Under-Display fingerprint sensor, it’s the new sensor from Qualcomm, and is said to be much secure and faster as compared to the previous generation.

Connectivity

There is WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, Samsung Pay, and Dual 5G(Both NSA and Sub-6GHz bands) options

User-Interface

OneUI3.1 running on top of Android 11

Extra

IP-68 Rated.

Samsung Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ Price in India and where to buy

Galaxy S21 Price in India

8GB+128GB: ₹69,999
8GB+256GB: ₹73,999

Galaxy S21+ Price in India

8GB+128GB: ₹81,999
8GB+256GB: ₹85,999

Conclusion

The vanilla S21 seems a better option, at around ₹70,000, its got an excellent SoC, Excellent Camera Setup, Good and New Design, good build quality(Plastic but, top Grade plastic), fast RAM and storage, great battery life, and good pricing for a Samsung device.
And if compared that to the S21+, you will be paying ₹12,000 extra just for a bigger display, glass back and a 20% bigger battery, and according to me that’s not a good deal, if the S21+ was price around ₹75K, then it would have been amazing.

Early Verdict

Samsung Galaxy S21

• One of the Best CPU/GPU out there(Best for Android)
• Excellent Camera Setup for the Price
• Excellent Selfie Camera
• Very Good Build Quality(For Plastic) and Design
• Great Display(FHD+, 120Hz))
• Excellent Battery life
• UFS 3.1 Storage
• LPDDR5 RAM
• WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, Samsung Pay, NFC Support, Dual 5G
• Great Pricing for a Samsung device
• IP68 Rated

Samsung Galaxy S21+

• One of the Best CPU/GPU out there(Best for Android)
• Excellent Camera Setup for the Price
• Excellent Selfie Camera
• Very Good Build Quality and Design
• Great Display(FHD+, 120Hz))
• Excellent Battery life
• UFS 3.1 Storage
• LPDDR5 RAM
• WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, Samsung Pay, NFC Support, Dual 5G
• IP68 Rated
• A Bit OverPriced when compared to the Vanilla S21

Visual Image Credits
https://www.samsung.com/in/smartphones/galaxy-s21-5g/