Which of Samsung’s New Phones Is Best For You?

On the last day of the 2021 Consumer Electronics show, Samsung introduced their new line of phones. Three different Samsung Galaxy S21 phones were revealed. All three phones have features that will fit most people’s lifestyles and day-to-day phone needs. So how do you know which one to pick? Here’s some info that might be helpful when you’re trying to decide between the S21, the S21 Plus, and the S21 Ultra.

The Samsung Galaxy S21

Summary: If you want a phone that isn’t too large and has the most colour options, the S21 is probably great for you.

Read On: This phone will be great for most people’s everyday uses. It has the smallest screen of the three phones announced, but at 6.2 inches, that’s still very large for the things you do most often (texting, browsing, scrolling, or even watching a show during some downtime). Besides, not everyone wants a giant screen taking up space in their pocket or purse.

The cameras (one in the front ,three in the back) cover the photo needs for most everyday scenarios. There are two different types of wide angle lenses for group photos and another that will work well for taking pictures of things in the distance. 

Plus, all of the latest Samsung phones have some really cool software at work that will make your photos look really good, and can make it easier to edit out people or objects you don’t want to see.

This one has a smaller battery than the S21 Plus, but with the smaller screen it won’t need as much juice as the larger screen version. Either way, you should be able to get through your full day on the S21 battery.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus

Summary: If you use your phone a lot for watching videos you may appreciate having the larger screen available in the S21 Plus. 

Read On: The main difference between the S21 and the S21 Plus is the size. So if you like having a big screen then this phone is probably better for you than the S21. 

This phone has the same cameras as the S21 and will also have great AI image processing to make your photos look awesome in day or night and in most scenarios you encounter.

This phone has a larger battery than the S21, which makes sense to keep the large screen powered all day. This one has a “better” type of connectivity (Ultra Wide Band) that the S21 doesn’t. But for the way most people use their phones, this isn’t a make-or-break feature if you’re waffling between the plus or the regular S21.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

Summary: This phone is a big step up from the other two, but maybe a larger step than most people need. If you’re making videos or taking photos for professional purposes as part of your job, or you REALLY want to be able to use the S Pen stylus, then you may want to consider the upgrade in cost for the upgraded features available in the S21 Ultra.

Read On: The S21 and S21 Plus are very powerful and capable phones. But this S21 Ultra is extremely powerful for high-end photo and video work, all done right on the phone. The screen is 6.8 inches diagonal, which makes it even larger than the 6.7 inch S21 Plus. 

All three phones have “adaptive refresh rates” on the screens (basically your phone figures out the best way to use your display depending on what you’re doing), but the one on the Ultra is the most powerful.

Fans of the Galaxy Note line like the fact that those phones come with a stylus called the S Pen. The Ultra is the only phone in the S21 lineup that will support the use of the S Pen (there are two kinds available, a basic one available right away, and a fancy one that will come out later this year). You can use the S Pen for taking notes, but also to remotely control your phone (snap a photo, move through a presentation, stuff like that). 

All three phones have a lot of memory (128 or 256 GBs) which should be good for most usage scenarios. But if you ARE buying the S21 Ultra, you’re probably buying it to take high quality photos and videos, which use more space, so that large amount of storage is going to be very handy. This one also has twice the RAM of the S21 and S21 Plus so you can do more, faster. Basically the guts support the really high-end work being done on your phone.

Aside from the Phantom Black colour (that Samsung was VERY proud of during the launch video) the Ultra has a camera setup that the other S21 phones don’t have. All three phones have a wide, ultra wide, and telephoto lens on the back, but the Ultra has an additional, VERY powerful telephoto lens. It’s an optical 10x telephoto lens (which means there are physical camera parts that move inside the phone) and is a pretty incredible accomplishment for such a thin phone. This means great photos if you’re sitting far away at a concert or hockey game or trying to snap some cool nature pics or videos.

My best advice

Phone preferences are pretty personal, and any of these three phones is going to make you happy. In general, I always am tempted by the fanciest, most feature-packed model of each phone. But considering how great the S21 and the 21 Plus are, I think for most people the non-Ultra phones are the best bet. If you do a LOT of video or photo production work at a professional level, then go with the Ultra. If you don’t, then it’s a matter of wanting a big screen (the S21 Plus) or the newest phone in the smallest form (the S21).