With an elegant design, lower price and S Pen support, Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra phone is pretty badass.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, unveiled alongside Samsung’s Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus phones, proves that sometimes you have to do something twice to get it right. While just as bold as last year’s Galaxy S20 Ultra, the S21 Ultra is a refined second take on the Ultra concept. There’s still the 100x Space Zoom, but it’s easier to use. There is still the “big for sake of being big” design, but it looks much more appealing. And there’s still a high price, but at $1,200 (£1,149, AU$1,849) it costs $200 less than the S20 Ultra in the US.
If you want the absolute best specs and features, the S21 Ultra will undoubtedly seem appealing. The phone will also attract camera nerds, thanks to the improvements Samsung made to the cameras. And with the addition of S-Pen support — it’s the first Galaxy S phone to use the stylus — the S21 Ultra will likely catch the eye of Galaxy Note users looking for a different option.
Last year’s Ultra model, on the other hand, seemed like it came out of nowhere. It was a phone all about excess that, by sheer fate, was launched at the beginning of a global pandemic and recession. Its bold, behemoth take on the Galaxy S line was undercut by its $1,400 (£1,199, AU$1,999) price and issues with its nearly domino-sized camera system.
Overall, the S21 Ultra is a major update both in terms of hardware and software features over the S20 Ultra. And when you factor in a lower price, it all kind of makes sense.
