Samsung’s new lineup includes (from left) the $800 Galaxy S21, $1,000 Galaxy S21 Plus and $1,200 Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Drew Evans/CNET
Samsung’s trio of S21 phones are here — and the lineup starts at a cool $200 less than its predecessor. The Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra, unveiled in a virtual Unpacked event on Thursday, are all available to preorder and will ship on Jan. 29.While the price cut is a welcome change, the smartphone industry is notoriously cut-throat, and (as always) you can bet the S21 will face stiff competition from the iPhone 12 series. So let’s see how the S21 stacks up against its long-time rival.
In a nutshell: The $800 S21 appears to be a better deal for the features you get, on paper at least. Although the iPhone 12 line starts at $829 (£799, AU$1,349) you’ll have to pony up $879 (£849, AU$1,429) for the 128GB version, which is the same amount of storage you get for the entry-level S21.The S21 also has an extra telephoto lens, and the highest-end S21 Ultra has support for Samsung’s S Pen stylus, which is sold separately.
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One thing you get in the iPhone 12 that’s absent on the S21, however, is MagSafe. That’s Apple’s proprietary magnetically enabled system that lets you charge your iPhone wirelessly and attach all kinds of accessories to the back of the device. The Pro models also have lidar, which is a depth sensor that’s useful for auto-focusing in low light for taking photos, videos and slow-motion footage, among other things. For more details on how the phones stack up against each other, check out our specs chart below.
Galaxy S21 line vs. iPhone 12
Galaxy S21
Galaxy S21 Plus
Galaxy S21 Ultra
Apple iPhone 12
Display size, resolution
6.2-inch Flat FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Display (2,400×1,080 pixels),
6.7-inch Flat FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X (2,400×1,080 pixels)
6.8-inch Edge WQHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X (3,200×1,440 pixels),
6.1-inch OLED; 2,532×1,170 pixels
Pixel density
421 ppi
394 ppi
515 ppi
460ppi
Dimensions (Inches)
2.80×5.97×0.31 in
2.97×6.35×0.30 in
2.97×6.50×0.35 in
5.78×2.82×0.29 in
Dimensions (Millimeters)
71.2×151.7×7.9 mm
75.6×161.5×7.8 mm
75.6×165.1×8.9 mm
146.7×71.5×7.4 mm
Weight (Ounces, Grams)
6.03 oz; 171g
7.12 oz; 202g
8.07 oz; 229 g
5.78oz; 164g
Mobile software
Android 11
Android 11
Android 11
iOS 14
Camera
64-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide)
64-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide)
108-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 10-megapixel (telephoto), 10-megapixel (telephoto)
12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide)
Front-facing camera
10-megapixel
10-megapixel
40-megapixel
12-megapixel
Video capture
8K
8K
8K
4K
Processor
Snapdragon 888 or 64-bit Octa-Core Processor 2.8GHz (Max 2.4GHz +1.8GHz)
Snapdragon 888 or 64-bit Octa-Core Processor 2.8GHz (Max 2.4GHz +1.8GHz)
Snapdragon 888 or 64-bit Octa-Core Processor 2.8GHz (Max 2.4GHz +1.8GHz)
Apple Bionic 14
Storage
128GB/256GB
128GB/256GB
128GB/256GB, 512GB
64GB, 128GB, 256GB
RAM
8GB
8GB
12GB, 16GB
Undisclosed
Expandable storage
No
No
No
No
Battery
4,000 mAh
4,800 mAh
5,000 mAh
Undisclosed; Apple lists 15 hours of video playback
Fingerprint sensor
In-screen
In-screen
In-screen
No (Face ID)
Headphone jack
No
No
No
Lightning
Special features
IP68 rating, 5G-enabled, 30X Space Zoom, 10W wireless charging,
IP68 rating, 5G-enabled, 30X Space Zoom, 10W wireless charging,
IP68 rating, 5G-enabled, 100X Space Zoom, 10W wireless charging, 10x optical zoom; S Pen support
5G enabled; MagSafe; water resistant (IP68); wireless charging; dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM)
Price off-contract (USD)
$800 (128GB)
$1,000 (128 GB)
$1,200 (128 GB)
$829 (64GB), $879 (128GB), $979 (256GB)
Price (GBP)
£769
£949
£1,329
£799 (64GB), £849 (128GB), £949 (256GB)
Price (AUD)
AU$1,249
AU$1,549
AU$1,849
AU$1,349 (64GB), AU$1,429 (128GB), AU$1,599 (256GB)
Correction, Jan. 14: A previous version of this story indicated the Galaxy S21 has expandable storage, which is not the case.
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