Samsung launches three models of its Galaxy series in India

Samsung lhas aunched three models of the Galaxy S21 series namely S21 Ultra (replacing the Galaxy S20 Ultra), Galaxy S21+ (replacing the Galaxy S20+), and ‘vanilla’ Galaxy S21 (replacing the Galaxy S20) yesterday. All the three models were launched at its virtual Galaxy Unpacked 2021 event.

Almost everything about these phones has been circulating in the public domain for a while now. Specs, features, ‘value’ additions and the lack thereof, all of it has been leaked to death. And believe it or not, much of it was true.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra represents the latest and greatest technology that Samsung can offer today on a ‘conventional’ form factor. The Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 bring some of those technologies to a slightly more affordable price point.

All the three phones have the same design, which is a slight update to what we saw in their predecessors. For some context, the Galaxy S21 series is closer to the Galaxy Note 20 series in terms of look and feel (as well as some of the choices that Samsung has made in terms of build materials). Only the Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy S21+ have a glass back. This is Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. The Galaxy S21 uses ‘glastic’ which is how Samsung usually describes its plastic phones now. The finish is same across the board though which means all the three phones have a smooth matte finish on the back, sort of like the Note 20 series phones

The Galaxy S21 Ultra comes with up to 16GB RAM while the Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 max out at 8GB. The Galaxy S21 Ultra further comes with up to 512GB storage while the Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 max out at 256GB. For some reason, none of the Galaxy S21 series phones support expandable storage.

Softwares inside all the three phones is Android 11-based One UI 3.0.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra comes with four cameras on the back. The main and ultra-wide-angle are same as last year—108MP+12MP. Rounding off the package are two 10MP cameras (3x, 10x zoom capable), one of which is periscope-style, plus a time-of-flight sensor for 3D depth sensing (like the one on the Galaxy S20 Ultra). A key difference this time round is that all the four cameras in the Galaxy S21 Ultra have OIS. The front camera is again same as the Galaxy S20 Ultra. This is 40MP.

The Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 have the same rear and front cameras. This is a combination of 12MP wide+12MP ultra-wide angle+64MP telephoto rear and 10MP front cameras.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra comes with up to 16GB RAM while the Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 max out at 8GB. The Galaxy S21 Ultra further comes with up to 512GB storage while the Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 max out at 256GB. For some reason, none of the Galaxy S21 series phones support expandable storage.