The camera hardware on the S21 is exactly the same found on the S20 and that's not a bad thing. When it comes to battery life, this is a one-day phone. The whole system stands up pretty well to the iPhone 12. As the lowest cost option of Samsung's new flagship trio, the Galaxy S21 5G has a few of its features scaled back, like its smaller 6.2-inch display and less capacious 4000 mAh battery. One time while running the benchmark test 3D Mark the phone heated up. Your subscription has been confirmed. Write your own reviews on the official Samsung website. The hole-punch screen, which Samsung calls the Infinity-O display, is my current favorite workaround for avoiding a notch or big bezels. 10 Ways to Boost Your Wi-Fi Signal, New Pokemon Snap for Nintendo Switch Review: A fun photo safari Review, Master Google Meet With Our 10 Simple Tips, Lose Your Job During COVID? But I should note, there are people who like to have the option. The S21 experience starts with a bright, colorful, flat 6.2-inch 1080p AMOLED screen at 120Hz. It's also worth pointing out that the unlocked S21 supports millimeter-wave 5G on all networks. Samsung got basic call quality down years ago; the only issue is the lack of a headphone jack in the phone or a USB-C wired headset in the box. At 5.97 by 2.80 by 0.31 inches (HWD), it's slightly wider than the S20's 2.72 inches, but narrower than both the iPhone 12 (2.82 inches) and the S20 FE (2.93 inches). Read more: Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. S21 Plus vs. S21 Ultra: Specs comparison chart. The S21 comes with Android 11 topped with Samsung's OneUI 3.1 interface. The S21 also supports 15W wireless charging, so you can always opt for a Qi-compatible wireless charging pad. Samsung made the camera bump bigger and more industrial-looking. I turned Enhanced Performance off and ran 3D Mark again and the phone didn't get hot. In … I still have several more battery tests to run and will add the results to this review soon. Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology. There are more ways to default to Google services, such as using Google Pay instead of Samsung Pay, or adding the Google Discover News feed to the home screen instead of the Samsung version. But the company found a good balance in terms of price, features and design for the S21. This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. About this Samsung Galaxy S21 review: I used the Samsung Galaxy S21 over a period of six days. AT&T and T-Mobile haven't made much noise about their millimeter-wave networks or plans over the past year, but they do exist, and if you want to have the potential to get onto those high-speed networks if they expand, then the unlocked S21 is a better bet than last year's phones. The plastic back has a matte finish and feels great. I tried Single Shot mode on this adorable dog. CNET editors pick the products and services we write about. Powering the S21 is the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip along with 8GB of RAM. The new C-band airwaves will be wide enough for Verizon to provide standalone 5G in many cities; T-Mobile will also clear out enough of its mid-band airwaves that standalone will become more common on that carrier, too. The new Snapdragon 888 processor unlocks other camera capabilities, most notably the Director's View multi-cam video mode and the improved Single Take mode, which takes a 10-second video and turns it into a bunch of stills, GIFs, and short videos. Again, these are described more fully in the S21 Ultra review. I'm very happy that the unlocked S21 supports Wi-Fi calling on all three major carriers; earlier unlocked models didn't support it on AT&T. I also like in video mode having an onscreen button at the top to toggle between different resolutions and frames per second. Samsung Galaxy S21 specs vs. Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 FE, OnePlus 8T, Falcon and Winter Soldier making-of documentary, wall charger and headphones don't come in the box, each phone in the S21 lineup has more to distinguish it from one another, Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. S21 Plus vs. S21 Ultra: Specs comparison chart. © 1996-2021 Ziff Davis, LLC. That's exactly an hour less, in both scenarios, than the S21 Ultra, and it falls well short of the S20 FE's Wi-Fi streaming time of 12 hours, 30 minutes. Well, kind of. PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. I'm happy to say that the second-generation Qualcomm ultrasonic fingerprint sensor works more quickly and accurately than last year's. The Samsung Galaxy S21 is a midrange phone with a flagship name. The US model is a single-SIM phone, with eSIM support disabled, that works on both sub-6 and millimeter-wave networks for all three US carriers.