Samsung S21 series announcement & owners' thread

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mrgsm021

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#280747 7-Jan-2021 18:59

Happy 2021 everyone!

It's that time of the year again, albeit well over a month or so earlier than usual, with just over a week to go (NZ time 15 January announcement) before the unpacked event.

With all the leaks so far, is everyone looking forward to it? Thoughts?

Personally, I'm not liking the chance of the CFO letting me get the S21 this year :-(

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#2634778 13-Jan-2021 11:50

The Exynos 2100 SoC launch event took place early this morning.

https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-sets-new-standard-for-flagship-mobile-processors-with-exynos-2100

https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/exynos/products/mobileprocessor/exynos-2100/

I'm looking forward to picking up the S21 Ultra with this SoC after the disappointment that was the 990.

I have been eligible for a replacement company phone since last year but chose to hold off getting the S20 due to the poor performance and efficiency of the 990 vs the Snapdragon offering available in other markets. Some of the Chinese phones coming through last year were looking quite good but can't always be used with the work we're involved in.

heavenlywild

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#2634787 13-Jan-2021 12:25

Exynos could be the SoC people will be after in 2021 - how funny would that be if it became reality!

All the numbers are looking promising vs Snapdragon. Let's see how it performs in real life, and how much more efficient it is on the battery. Either way, it appears the gap with SD has dramatically reduced with the 2100.

mrgsm021

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#2634871 13-Jan-2021 15:22

heavenlywild:
Exynos could be the SoC people will be after in 2021 - how funny would that be if it became reality!

All the numbers are looking promising vs Snapdragon. Let's see how it performs in real life, and how much more efficient it is on the battery. Either way, it appears the gap with SD has dramatically reduced with the 2100.

Agreed.

Only thing is its GPU, which is still Mali based, its ashamed the rumored AMD GPU isn't ready for prime time just yet.

heavenlywild

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#2634880 13-Jan-2021 15:56

mrgsm021:
heavenlywild:

Exynos could be the SoC people will be after in 2021 - how funny would that be if it became reality!

All the numbers are looking promising vs Snapdragon. Let's see how it performs in real life, and how much more efficient it is on the battery. Either way, it appears the gap with SD has dramatically reduced with the 2100.

Agreed.

Only thing is its GPU, which is still Mali based, its ashamed the rumored AMD GPU isn't ready for prime time just yet.

Yeah, I am not too familiar with the GPU slide of things and not too fussed personally as all the games I play still run well on my trusty Note 9.

To me we are close to reaching "peak technology" so what matters now to me at least is being able to use a device without worrying about battery life 😅

There is plenty of talk about the S21 series not including ear phones or a charger. What's the legal requirement for NZ devices, if any, when it comes to providing a charger? Is there such a requirement?

mrgsm021

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#2634921 13-Jan-2021 17:19

Not too worried about not having a charger or earphone included in the box, never touched them anyways for several years now, plus I already have couple of third-party GaN chargers and power banks that are compatible with Sammy's 25W/45W PPS charging protocol.

There doesn't appear to be any legal requirement in NZ to provide a charger in the box since no issues with fruit brand's latest phone launch few months back.

heavenlywild

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#2635722 14-Jan-2021 22:50

Oh man, I know this isn't official but the hands on leaks are out on Twitter and there's no micro SD card support across the range, including the S21 Ultra.

If this turns out to be true and I suspect it will be based on the compelling evidence then I'm out. Maybe the Note 20 Ultra for me.

Not long to go!

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tanivula

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#2635745 15-Jan-2021 07:59

yeah, it's an interesting evolution? hopefully it means a lower entry start price for the S21.

I see spark's device offering has gone live. $1399 for the base model S21

IronH

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#2635748 15-Jan-2021 08:06

Ive had almost every galaxy s phone since the s2, but personally this s21 feels underwhelming, might give iphone another shot this year, or maybe just keep the s20 as it still does everything i need. Although if there are any good pre order bundles it may sway me lol.

Samsungs website has them bundled with buds live (s20 & 20+) or buds pro (ultra), but usually noelleeming and pbtech etc come out with some extra freebie offerings

LostBoyNZ

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#2635751 15-Jan-2021 08:08

Hmm, is NZ pricing a bit off?

In the US for example, every model is US$ 200 (NZ$ 276) cheaper than the equivalent S20 model was at launch. But here only the S20 and S20+ are just $100 less, and the S21 Ultra is the same price.

IronH

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#2635753 15-Jan-2021 08:17

LostBoyNZ:

Hmm, is NZ pricing a bit off?

In the US for example, every model is US$ 200 (NZ$ 276) cheaper than the equivalent S20 model was at launch. But here only the S20 and S20+ are just $100 less, and the S21 Ultra is the same price.

But you have to take into account that Last year our base exynos model was cheaper than the US snapdragon model because it had 8gb ram vs 12gb in US model, and also lacked 5g. In US dollars our base model retail price was actually $100 less than the US base model.

dafman

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#2635761 15-Jan-2021 08:33

heavenlywild: Oh man, I know this isn't official but the hands on leaks are out on Twitter and there's no micro SD card support across the range, including the S21 Ultra.

If this turns out to be true and I suspect it will be based on the compelling evidence then I'm out. Maybe the Note 20 Ultra for me.

Not long to go!

Two things that historically kept me firmly in Samsung's camp and stopped me from considering an iPhone was Apple's removal of headphone jack and no micro SD card support.

But time moves on.

My last Galaxy, a S10e, had 128 GB storage, plus I popped in a 128 GB for podcasts, music, video etc. However, after two years of use, my combined had never exceeded 128 GB in total, so why did I need SD card capability going forward? It was a safety blanket (the ability to increase storage at will) that my real life usage was no longer required. I also realised that, as much as i coveted the 3.5mm headphone jack, in actuality I rarely used it. After realising my need for micro SD cards and headphone jacks had passed, I have happily moved to an iPhone 12 (with a $19 headphone adapter in the rare case I ever need it).

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LostBoyNZ

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#2635762 15-Jan-2021 08:33

IronH:

LostBoyNZ:

Hmm, is NZ pricing a bit off?

In the US for example, every model is US$ 200 (NZ$ 276) cheaper than the equivalent S20 model was at launch. But here only the S20 and S20+ are just $100 less, and the S21 Ultra is the same price.

But you have to take into account that Last year our base exynos model was cheaper than the US snapdragon model because it had 8gb ram vs 12gb in US model, and also lacked 5g. In US dollars our base model retail price was actually $100 less than the US base model.

Thanks, yeah that makes more sense now. It's still disappointing about the Ultra, but usually there's some good specials after a few months.

gehenna

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#2635766 15-Jan-2021 08:44

Ordered the Ultra.

freitasm

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#2635769 15-Jan-2021 08:53

I attended a pre-event call last night. The Ultra is a real beast - and now with support for S Pen (which you have to buy separately).

All models come without a charger. If you want a fast charger (in case your existing one is not adequate), that will be $35. I was told that despite all changes the new models are still $ 100 cheaper than equivalent previous models, at launch.

Pre-orders include the Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Buds Pro (Ultra).

Batteries are large for the bigger model (5000 mAh for the S21 Ultra) and average for the other models (4000 mAh for Galaxy S21 Base and 4800 mAh for Galaxy S21+).

The new Galaxy tracker thingy will not be available in New Zealand (at leat not now).

The Galaxy S21 and S21+have 8 GB/256 GB and the S21 Ultra have two options at 12 GB / 256 GB or 16 GB / 512 GB. They don't have microSD slots now.

All models are IP68.

The whole series runs on Android 11.

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#2635773 15-Jan-2021 09:01

Ditching the SD card slot and maxxing storage out at 512 is a real backwards step IMHO and means the only current reason I could be persuaded back from iPhone to Samsung is now gone.

If I can't take my lossless music library on the go, then I might as well stick with the Apple ecosystem for my needs.

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