Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is Samsung's most ambitious phone ever. The Korean brand has put all its innovations into it and covered them with an attractive design. Here are the super guns of this phone: five cameras led by a 108MP sensor, two cameras, 100x zoom and 40MP selfies, plus 5G, all-day battery life and up to 16GB of RAM, all packed into - a single Android phone with a 6.8-inch screen, 120Hz Quad HD display and an improved fingerprint sensor that has 1.7 times the surface area of last year's phone. Without a doubt, these are absolutely top-notch specs.
The S21 Ultra is the star of Samsung's phone range, but it aspires to be so much more: the best Android smartphone on the market. The screen of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra measures 6.8 inches diagonally, which is already the territory of mini tablets.
Despite its size, it is a very easy to handle phone and can be carried in your pocket without any problems, unless you have skinny pants. The main change in the design of this Samsung phone is to combine the metal edges on the sides with the rear camera matrix. Mounted on this piece are five large holes (four for the cameras, one for the laser focus system) that draw attention but look good.
The design of the phone is simply beautiful. It looks like a luxury item, especially the gloss black version, but it's still sturdy. It's like a high-end Mercedes-Benz sedan, but a mobile version.
Most importantly, the screen. It's the first from Samsung capable of running at a smooth 120Hz refresh rate with Quad HD resolution. The entire S20 series and Note 20 Ultra force a choice between 120Hz / 60Hz and Quad HD / Full HD, while the newer S21 and S21 Plus are locked to Full HD +, with 120Hz enabled by default.
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This is the best display made by Samsung for mobile phones. For example, due to its ergonomics: 6.8 inches are very easy to hold due to the design of the curved screen and its overall size. The curved edges are subtle on the S21 Ultra and not as pronounced as on previous Samsung devices.
Its brightness is sensational. Outdoors, it steps up to 1,500 super-bright nits when needed, such as in direct sunlight. Other phones with AMOLED displays, including the S21 and S21 Plus, go up to 1200 nits. Its brightness and quality make consuming multimedia content such as series or movies an absolute joy.
Under the screen is a fingerprint reader up to 1.7 times larger than other phones using this technology. This means it's much more comfortable (and faster) to unlock your device.
Photos look sharp, dynamic range is impressive, and Samsung's tripod lock software feature stabilizes the 30x and 100x zoom levels. Now it's much easier to get 100x "Spatial Zoom", although pressing 100x allows you to see something that is far away on the phone screen, but not to get quality photos. However, the 30x zoom is more than acceptable in the right light.
The S21 Ultra's 10x and 3x optical zoom levels get the shots you want every time, more than any other smartphone telephoto lens. Samsung's night mode has been greatly improved.
The 108MP main camera can capture 12-bit HDR photos with up to 64 times richer color data and more than three times the dynamic range of the S20 Ultra. Additionally, there is a 12-bit RAW file option in Pro mode. Samsung has also improved Portrait mode on the S21, taking advantage of AI to better separate the subject from the background. The S21 Ultra offers excellent bokeh.
All Samsung phones in the Galaxy S21 series now record 4K video at 60 fps from all cameras, and 8K returns to 24 fps.
Verdict?
The Galaxy S21 Ultra's camera system is the best ever found on any Android phone. Focusing is fast and accurate, the focal plane seems larger, there's no noticeable shutter lag, and above all, images look spectacular no matter the situation.