Samsung’s shift to an earlier launch date matches the tempo of the Galaxy S21 leaks we’ve been seeing almost daily. There’s almost nothing left for Samsung to reveal.
We’re expecting Samsung to deliver phones in three screen sizes – 6.2, 6.7 and 6.9 inches – all with 120Hz adaptive displays and a smaller bottom bezel (goodbye chin). Inside, rumors point to either the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 (US) or Exynos 2100 chipsets (everywhere else) and at least 8GB of RAM. We’re still waiting to hear if it’ll have expandable storage via a microSD card slot.
The Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus rear cameras seem to be getting special treatment, according to several renders of the refined camera modules. All with three lenses – expected to be a 12MP main, 12MP ultra-wide and 64MP telephoto – appear flatter with a slightly less pronounced camera bump.
Samsung’s Galaxy S12 Ultra is thought to have slightly a different rear camera, with the 108MP main camera making a return along with either a 5x or 10x optical zoom, depending on which rumors you want to believe. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 really impressed us with the 5x optical zoom, so you should be happy either way.
A twist or two
In a twist, the Galaxy S21 Ultra may also include an S Pen, the stylus that’s previously been exclusive to Samsung’s Galaxy Note series. If true, that would be a big reason to buy the most expensive version of the phone. You might not have to wait until August 2021 to wrap your hands around a new S Pen.
This weekend we also got insight into a novel accessory that Samsung may launch on January 14: a Tile-like Bluetooth tracker called Samsung Galaxy SmartTag. It may be helpful for finding items like keys, backpacks and luggage that goes MIA. If the SmartTag tracker does get announced, Samsung will beat the yet-to-be-revealed Apple AirTag tracker that’s been rumored for more than a year.
We’ll have a Samsung Galaxy S21 live blog during the January 14 announcement and point you to the official Samsung Unpacked 2021 live stream. Until then, we’re sure there are a half-dozen more S21 leaks between now and the launch date.
