The Galaxy S21 and S21+ Are Samsung's New, More Affordable Flagships (engadget.com) 77
An anonymous reader shares a report: 2020 was the year Samsung was forced to rethink its smartphone strategy. A pandemic-fueled global decline in sales and a frosty reception to its S20 lineup and the Galaxy Note 20, left Samsung looking up to another company for the first time in years. However, out of that moment came its most practical phone in recent memory, the Galaxy S20 Fan Edition. Where devices like the S20 Ultra and Note 20 Ultra showed Samsung at its most indulgent, the S20 FE proved the South Korean firm could still make a phone for the rest of us. And it's that phone that Samsung's new 2021 flagships, the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+, announced today at the company's first Unpacked event of 2021, have the most in common. The price might be the most compelling part of these two devices.
When they go on sale on January 29th, the S21 and S21+ will start at $800 and $1,000. In other words, they'll both cost $200 less at launch than the Galaxy S20 and S20+ did when they come out partway through last year. That says a lot about what you need to know about the S21 and S21+. If you were expecting a flashy and expensive update to last year's models, that's not what these new phones are about. Instead, they make smart tradeoffs to make Samsung's flagship experience more attainable than at any point in the last couple of years. Let's start with the upgrades. In the US, both phones come with the Snapdragon 888 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage to start. Not only can you expect Qualcomm's first 5nm chip to make the S21 and S21+ faster than Samsung's 2020 flagships, but it also comes with other improvements. One of the big ones is that the Snapdragon 888 includes an integrated 5G modem. That's a design feature that almost always leads to battery life improvements. It also won't hurt that the S21+ has a slightly higher-capacity 4,800mAh battery than its 2020 counterpart. From a connectivity standpoint, the new processor also has support for WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. And speaking of Bluetooth, both phones work with the new Galaxy SmartTag Samsung announced today.
When they go on sale on January 29th, the S21 and S21+ will start at $800 and $1,000. In other words, they'll both cost $200 less at launch than the Galaxy S20 and S20+ did when they come out partway through last year. That says a lot about what you need to know about the S21 and S21+. If you were expecting a flashy and expensive update to last year's models, that's not what these new phones are about. Instead, they make smart tradeoffs to make Samsung's flagship experience more attainable than at any point in the last couple of years. Let's start with the upgrades. In the US, both phones come with the Snapdragon 888 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage to start. Not only can you expect Qualcomm's first 5nm chip to make the S21 and S21+ faster than Samsung's 2020 flagships, but it also comes with other improvements. One of the big ones is that the Snapdragon 888 includes an integrated 5G modem. That's a design feature that almost always leads to battery life improvements. It also won't hurt that the S21+ has a slightly higher-capacity 4,800mAh battery than its 2020 counterpart. From a connectivity standpoint, the new processor also has support for WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. And speaking of Bluetooth, both phones work with the new Galaxy SmartTag Samsung announced today.
$1000 for a phone... (Score:4, Insightful)
...I think I'll pass on that. My existing phone still does everything I want a phone to do....
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Meanwhile iPhone 6s are still getting updates.
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Meanwhile iPhone 6s are still getting updates.
Yeah, and if you're lucky, you might have room for a text message or two after it's patched. Maybe even a picture.
This is one of those times where Apple needs to grasp the difference between supported and functional.
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Meanwhile iPhone 6s are still getting updates.
Well, they will if their batteries can keep the phone alive long enough to download and apply the updates. That's what motivated my wife to get a new phone.
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My battery was at 85% after retiring the phone last month.
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My S8+ is still getting security updates on a regular basis. The other day, I pulled my old S6+ out of the drawer, charged it up, and turned it on; it got a security update right away. That phone is five years old now. And it still holds a pretty decent charge as well. The only reason I got the S8+ was the lack of SD support in the S6 line, and I ran out of space.
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So you're saying we should find it acceptable that perfectly functional hardware is made obsolete because the vendors won't properly support it?
We need laws requiring software support and network support for something like eight years after last units are sold.
Re: $1000 for a phone... (Score:2)
Re: $1000 for a phone... (Score:2)
That's blackmailing.
Have fun telling it to legislators or their kids.
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...I think I'll pass on that. My existing phone still does everything I want a phone to do....
Exactly. That's more expensive than my desktop computer. I have a very nice Xiaomi phone that does everything I need and more. It has 128GB memory, which is amazing. 6GB RAM, which is plenty. And it isnt even last gen. It is a Redmi Note 8 Pro.
Ridiculous paying $1000 for a phone.
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I mean, if I"m looking at decent phone I like at $1K, and the one with full bells and whistles is only $1200, then it's a no brainer to me I get the $1200 one.
I don't tend to buy phones but once ever 5-6 years or so, so I tend to get the best possible so that it lasts me.
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Yeah, "more affordable", huh. I decided long ago that my current phone, a first gen Pixel, would be my last flagship phone, and I'd replace it with a budget phone when budget phones overtake it in performance. It looks like we're getting to that point actually, but I'm still in no particular hurry.
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I fail to see your point.
Most people don't need a new phone after every upgrade. Sure the Mobile sellers want to sell you a new phone every year. But you don't need to get one, heck you can use your old phone for many years.
The people who may want the S21 are not the people with the S9-20, or the iPhone 8 - 12. But those who may be on an S7 or an iPhone 6 who had their phone for 4 or 5 years already, and its battery is not lasting as long anymore, plus it is unable to keep up with running the latest Apps
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I know several people who run out and by the new top-of-the-line iPhone as soon as it's released, and then brag about it on social media. But generally speaking, nobody seems to care.
Maybe it's appropriate to dust off this cartoon. [theoatmeal.com]
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I personally get joy from the opposite, having the cheapest phone, or not having one at all, and taking pride in it. Looking at people who know and care when their next pay day is and thinking to myself yeah they where really smart buying that smart phone.
Unfortunately I have had to move to a smart phone (for free) because of the covid tracer app, can't wait to get rid of it.
You can get the same undeserved smug sense of superiority by not spending money as well, all it takes is a change in attitude.
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However doing such can also make you seem like a jerk. Having Everyone with a device that offers a feature that they are all using except for you. So they have to always doing something in exception, just because you want to be Mr. Low Tech.
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The people who may want the S21 are not the people with the S9-20, or the iPhone 8 - 12. But those who may be on an S7 or an iPhone 6 who had their phone for 4 or 5 years already, and its battery is not lasting as long anymore, plus it is unable to keep up with running the latest Apps and websites as well anymore.
I'm not sure that is the case. I would assume the most common S21 buyer currently has an S9 which is now 2 years old. My assumption is anyone who is okay with a 4-5 year old phone is probably going to go for an S20 for the extra discount after the S21 is released. Everyone I know who I have discussed this with and who buy the flagship phones the year of their release buy a new phone at least every other year. I am one of those, and my Note 10+ will likely be replaced later this year. Although I generally on
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$1000 for a phone ... I think I'll pass on that. My existing phone still does everything I want a phone to do....
It will be interesting to find out what sales will be like for Samsung after releasing a new year of flagship phones which don't seem to be much of an upgrade and in some cases are a downgrade of last year. People who wanted to pay $800 instead of $1000 could already have bought last year's flagship phone, so I don't see how you get many more sales there. And people who would have paid $1200+ for a phone simply won't have an option which is much better than last year, so why not either wait a year or get la
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Because Islam is a minority and must be protected, Christianity is not. It is not about the rights and wrongs of the religion its about defending who they perceive are the weak and oppressed.
$200 for a charger? (Score:1)
Talk about a premium for such convenience item... unless the innovation on this new devices wasnâ(TM)t enough to justify keeping up the prices. Regardless, I am happy to see the affordable word back to our daily vocabulary.
I haven't kept track of phones. (Score:3)
I've not kept track of phones for several years.
There's no real new features to them anymore in the news at least, and when I rarely look at an app store or 'play' store, there's no applications that really seem to care about new phones.
A used phone can do basically the same as any of these. I put my money into my PC - and my current phone can do 4k video and run anything so...
Perhaps I'm wrong though - so tell me - is there any actual reason to spend tons on any newer phone? All youtube videos of folks talking about newer phones still seem like the same phone as I've got with the same touch interfaces - it's not like the 2010s when the new phones had supremely major differences in what you could even do with them.
It's the same good 'problem' PCs have had for a long while - there's been no reason to upgrade, since there's only a 5-15% performance change per major release, enabling no real new tool utility for the change.
Ryan Fenton
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>>WiFi6
>>5G
>>New battery
Yeah - even my 5-year old (I think) phone has those.
I did do a manual battery swap on that one, from a kit on Amazon - so, new battery too.
I'm probably just not the target audience for these flagships though.
Ryan Fenton
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Oh - except the Wireless AX (aka 6) - that's new, but not really functionally useful. I'll quickly explain.
I've looked into AX previously, and it's not a great Wifi upgrade - yes, under ideal conditions it'll get faster speeds, but also like the previous AG update, it's got an even more limited range where you see those increases.
In almost all of my house, and every office I've gone, and every waiting room I've been in it's functionally not an improvement for the spaces I'd be using the phone.
Ryan Fenton
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Ha! Wireless AC not AG there. I may have gotten too used to Reddit with ability to edit.
Ryan Fenton
Come on (Score:1)
Yeah - even my 5-year old (I think) phone has those.
It has none of those (except maybe the battery).
Plus it has a massively less powerful CPU and GPU, which have both been increasing in power rapidly in the mobile space.
Yea your five year old technically works, but you can do a lot more, and far better, with a new phone.
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Yup - you're correct there.
The phone listed itself as '5g ready' when I got it, and I remembered that part - but when the standard came out - looks like no, it wasn't.
Cool. Fortunately, 4g will do more than fine until the 5g phones are rather cheap.
Ryan Fenton
4G really better for some time. (Score:1)
Fortunately, 4g will do more than fine until the 5g phones are rather cheap.
In an opposite take from what I was saying before, 4G will probably be better than "5G" for about two years or more...
The thing that really shines on newer phones is the camera, if you take photos or video at all newer phones are vastly better than a phone from five years ago.
The extra power is awfully useful as well though...
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Perhaps I'm wrong though - so tell me - is there any actual reason to spend tons on any newer phone?
I can at least speak for me:
I'm 6'4" with large hands and still wish the largest phones had closer to an 8" screen. So I buy new phones because each year the largest phone ticks up an extra 0.1" or so. Just like how my clothes are too big for smaller people to wear I wish my phone was too big for most people to fit in their pocket.
I don't own a separate camera so all my family photos are with my phone. They do still improve every year.
Batteries do keep getting bigger, and my Note 10+ lasts a lot longer than
Full Dock (Score:2)
Compelling price? (Score:5, Insightful)
The price might be the most compelling part of these two devices.
Great - finally, a sensibly-priced flagship model.
...the S21 and S21+ will start at $800 and $1,000.
Oh... I don't think that word means what you think it means...
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Since when are flagship devices targeted at the 90%? Samsung has plenty of interesting in selling to everyone and a product to fit every price range.
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I don't think you know what flagship means. How is $1000 not a sensible price of the flagship model? If you want a normal phone there are many at a reasonable price. If you want a flagship device that's pretty damn reasonably priced compared to some of the competition.
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I know what "flagship" means, thank you very much, both in the literal and figurative sense.
One thousand dollars is not a "sensible" price for the consumer when compared to the BOM.
The only reason that vendors now massively over-charge for their highest-spec models is that they saw Apple get away with it.
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One thousand dollars is not a "sensible" price for the consumer when compared to the BOM.
Yes because these are just off the shelf devices with no R&D, it's just like slapping a GPU into a PCIe slot throwing in some RGB LEDs and then they double the price /sarcasm.
Seriously you have no idea what actually goes into the design of a phone, even if the likes of Samsung didn't produce their own silicon and own displays for them as well, all of which needs to be paid for by something other than hopes and dreams of upset Slashdotters.
The mark up on phones was not original to Apple. All Apple did wa
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I don't think you know what flagship means. How is $1000 not a sensible price of the flagship model?
My first guess would be because it's laughably insane.
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My first guess would be because it's laughably insane.
Why? You think people should give you high end stuff for free? You sound like you either don't know what a flagship phone is or you sound like you don't want or have a need for one, and that's okay. There are many devices on the market to suit you. The current model Samsung A21 is $120 if that suits you better.
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Thing about Sansung phones is that hardly anyone pays full price for them. The sticker may say $1000 but that's just to make you think you are getting a good deal when you pick one up for $500.
Having said that, yeah, I still have my original OnePlus One. $350 and it was a genuine flagship killer at the time.
Technically true about "more affordable" (Score:2)
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$800 or $1000 is more affordable at $200 less but like Apple's offerings is way more than what most people want to pay.
You want flagship phones, you pay flagship prices. I mean if you want to trade in your old phone you get a new flagship for $299. You want second hand phones there's plenty out there. You want cheap new phones, Samsung has many models for you including Galaxy A21 which is $180 after trade in. Or an A01 which is $80 after trade in and $150 completely new.
That's before you consider phone plan bundling. Most customers do not pay full retail price outright and once off for their phone.
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Everyone I know will get their phone on contract with the cellular carrier. They don't "see" the price of the phone.
Any compelling reasons to upgrade? (Score:2)
I know I sound like an old moron and maybe I am. Once I replaced my phone every year, but then I got the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. And I'm still using it. My phone is 7½ year old!
How?: It have an user-replaceable battery. I have an almost new battery, and hence as-new battery lifetime. But it still runs everything I use; maps, mail, calendar, chrome, firefox etc. I never really played games on my phone.
Yes, it is feeling slightly more sluggish, maps have grown and can do a lot more nowadays. But my 7
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I suggest upgrading to at least a 4. That's still a no-compromise phone with a replaceable battery.
Re: Any compelling reasons to upgrade? (Score:3)
"affordable" .... $1000 ... Fuck off! (Score:2)
Affordable is $150-200!
Which is about what thosenm devices are actually worth. If they let me install my own OS, that is. Othrwise put a minus sign in front, for the damages I want to be paid for, or fuck off and die.
Plenty more fish in this sea.
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Exactly! These are not "more affordable", they are "less egregiously priced". Maybe if millennials didn't think they need a thousand dollar phone, a dozen streaming services, and other social baubles, they could move out of mommies basement.
The problem with Millennials still living in mommies basement, isn't tech addiction.
It's the mommies.
Kick your adult child, out of the damn house. They might actually grow up.
iPhone SE (Score:2)
Is the $350 iPhone SE still faster than a $1000 Samsung?
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No MicroSD slot (Score:4, Interesting)
Internal storage is getting big enough (starting with internal 128 GB with up to 512 GB available) that maybe I should calm down about this. But why remove it? The microSD fits in the same slot with the SIM card you still have to have. There is just no drawback to including the slot!
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Everything costs money.
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They tried this before, with the S6, and had to relent...
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The microSD fits in the same slot with the SIM card you still have to have. There is just no drawback to including the slot!
It literally quadruples the size of the slot you're talking about compared to a standard nanoSIM tray to say nothing of the fact the dual slot is actually an incredibly expensive part.
Cuts (Score:1)
Samsung also tried to lure in purchases with a exchange tat saw serious discounts on the S20 and S20 Not amongst others.
The S20 Note Ultra came down to something like $800 with a exchange and edu or first responder discount.
Wow! (Score:2)
$200 off a $1000 price point. I'll buy five.
Left Samsung world for Pixel 4a (Score:2)
$350. Great camera, great size, great everything. #1 rated in durability by JerryRigEverything and easy to repair as well.
Android Phone Security Sucks (Score:2)
To my regret, I own a Samsung Android phone. In light of the device's horrendously bad security, I've reinitialized it, neutered all of the vendor apps as much as I could, disabled wifi, bluetooth, and app broadband use. When not in use, I keep it turned off. So, it's just a phone I can use to make calls, making it even less useful to me than my old $15 flip phone.
Anyone who buys one of these is, like I was when I bought mine, a fool.
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Battery, headphone and microSD needs (Score:2)
Hard pass (Score:2)
I do not want an OLED display.
I need a card slot.
I'm not going to buy a phone with a hole in the top center of the screen.
I need a stereo headphone jack.
I'm not going to spend a grand on a phone where the battery can't even be replaced.
deal breakers (Score:2)
no MST, no micro sd card, less ram, no charger block, and a few other downgrades. Is it worth the price???
It is worth it to some (Score:2)