Once again the first flagship smartphone series of the new year will be the Samsung Galaxy S Series. According to AppleInsider, we could see the three new phones unveiled on January 14th with the release taking place in February. The entry-level Galaxy S21 could be equipped with a 6.2-inch screen. The Galaxy S21+, the middle phone in the set of three, is said to feature a 6.7-inch display, and the top-of-the-line Galaxy S21 Ultra will come with a slightly larger 6.8-inch screen.
Rumored specs surface for the Samsung Galaxy S21 line
The resolution on the Galaxy S21 and the Galaxy S21+ is rumored to be 1080 x 2220 (FHD+) with an aspect ratio of 18.5:9 on both phones. The Galaxy S21 Ultra's display will reportedly weigh in at 1440 x 2960 (WQHD+). That gives the device an aspect ratio of 18.5:9 matching the other two models. The two FHD+ units could feature a 120Hz refresh rate that updates the screen 120 times each second; while that is certainly a battery drainer, the Galaxy 21 Ultra might sport a version of the 120Hz refresh rate that varies depending on the content being shown on the screen. While video games, scrolling, animation and other content can be enhanced with a rapid refresh rate, using the feature with more static fare does nothing but reduce the battery life of the device being used. Having a dynamic refresh rate will be a battery saver for the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Latest rumored specs surface for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S21 flagship line
Once again Samsung is expected to equip its first half flagships with a front-facing punch-hole camera. The Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ selfie snappers should weigh in at 10MP each while the pricier Galaxy S21 Ultra's front camera could use a 40MP sensor. Based on renders, it would appear that Sammy is incorporating the camera bump into the phone's body in the upper left corner on the back. If this does come to fruition, it is a smart move by the manufacturer. For the Galaxy S21+ the wide and ultra-wide sensors are both said to be 12MP while the Telephoto camera uses 64MP. A Time of Flight depth sensor that graced the Galaxy S20+ will seemingly be missing on the Galaxy S21+.
Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra
- get the S21 series with up to $700 trade-in, accessory credits, half-price financing, and exclusive colors.
As for the Galaxy S21 Ultra, it looks as though the main sensor will be 108MP which will use 9:1 binning in an attempt to deliver sharp, bright 12MP images. To improve the telephoto capabilities of the top-of-the-line Galaxy S21 Ultra, Samsung is putting a second man on the job. And by man, we mean a camera. Two 10MP snappers are expected to handle the telephoto tasks for the handset; one will include optical zoom up to 3x while the other provides optical zoom up to 10x.
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There is speculation that Samsung will configure the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ with storage options of 128GB and 256GB. The Galaxy S21 Ultra will supposedly feature those two options along with a 512GB variety. And thus far, leaked specs have revealed the lack of a microSD slot which would indicate that there might not be any expandable storage option for the Galaxy S line this year.
We can't discuss Samsung's upcoming flagships without putting in a word for the S Pen. From what we've seen so far, S Pen support is coming to the Galaxy S21 Ultra. When we mention support, we mean that the digital pen can be used on the display. However, there is no "home" to store the accessory like there is on the Galaxy Note models.
As for 5G, the trio of new phones should support both low band (sub-6GHz) and high-band (mmWave) signals. In the states, this means that the phones will work on the major carrier's coast-to-coast networks which offer 5G signals with not much improvement over 4G LTE data speeds. And they will also deliver the much faster high-band 5G signals available in only limited areas of the country at this stage.
And speaking of a battery hog like 5G, the rumored battery capacities for the new flagships are 4000mAh, 4800mAh, and 5000mAh for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra respectively. Depending on where the phones are purchased from, they will be powered by either the home-grown Exynos 2100 or the Snapdragon 888 chipset.
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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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