Samsung S21 Is It Worth It – Samsung Galaxy S21+ review: Excellent everyday driver, but not easy to recommend If you just want a well-rounded everyday driver that delivers a flagship experience, the S21+ has a lot going for it, too, at a relatively low price.
Samsung has released three versions in its Galaxy S21 series, a practice that started with last year’s S20 series.
Samsung S21 Is It Worth It
But before we get started, let’s take a look at the three versions of the Samsung Galaxy S21 series and how they compare:
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The Samsung S21+ is in a tough spot, which makes it a tough product to recommend. After using the device for nearly two weeks, I can’t find any standout features to recommend the S21+. While Samsung itself has plenty of competition with its older generation of devices at this price point, rivals have yet to launch next-gen products. Unlike the S21 Ultra, which has many unique features to comfortably wear the flagship crown, the S21+ is neither here nor there. In no way am I implying that the S21+ is a bad device, it’s not. But let me elaborate on this in my detailed review below. Let’s first understand the main functions of S21+.
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Chipset: Exynos 2100 (1 Cortex X1 2.9GHz + 3 Cortex A78 2.8GHz + 4 Cortex A55 2.2GHz)
Camera: 12MP wide-angle (with OIS), f/1.8 aperture + 64MP (with 1/1.72-inch sensor), f/2.0 aperture (with OIS), offering 1.1x optical zoom and 3x hybrid zoom + 12MP ultra-wide-angle (with f/2.2 aperture)
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For this generation of flagship S-series smartphones, Samsung has opted for a new design language. He used the contoured camera module, which wraps around the top left edge. The S21+ is equipped with three cameras, placed vertically, and the whole module protrudes only slightly. The dual-tone flash is integrated flat into the back of the smartphone and is protected by a curved Gorilla Glass Victus.
The aluminum frame is the only shiny element, and it picks up smudges easily. Image credit: Tech2/Nimish Sawant
The phone I tested was the Phantom Silver model, and it looks great. The Corning Gorilla Glass Victus and raised metal camera module have a matte finish, meaning fingerprints won’t be as noticeable. The aluminum frame is the only shiny element, and it picks up smudges easily. Around the edges, you’ll notice six protruding cutouts for the tentacles. The S21+ is still a bit slippery, so be careful. It has an IP68 rating, which means it’s water and dust resistant.
The button and port layout is the same as the S21 Ultra: there are standby and volume rocker buttons on the right, and a dual-SIM tray, USB Type-C port, and speaker section on the bottom. The only design difference on the front is that the display is flat with no curvature at the edges. The S21+ features an Infinity-O display with the selfie camera at the top center. It’s relatively lighter than the S21 Ultra, but difficult to use one-handed.
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The S21+’s Infinity-O display also doesn’t have curves around the edges and is a flat piece of glass, which isn’t bad. Image credit: Tech2/Nimish Sawant
The Samsung Galaxy S21+ is equipped with a 6.7-inch 2X AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz, but a resolution of up to 2400 x 1800 pixels and a pixel density of 394 PPI. For this generation, Samsung has kept the highest-resolution display on the Ultra model. The S21+’s Infinity-O display also doesn’t have curves around the edges and is a flat piece of glass, which isn’t bad. Like the S21 Ultra, the S21+ also offers a choice between an adaptive refresh rate (which can go from 48Hz to 120Hz, depending on what’s on the display) and a standard refresh rate (which is locked at 60Hz). The display is also protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus.
The S21+ display supports a peak brightness of 1300 nits (visible only when watching high-end HDR content), and can play HDR10+ content from popular streaming services such as YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, and more. The display has a “Vivid mode,” which lets you change the screen temperature, and a “Natural mode,” which has softer colors.
Overall, the display is nothing to complain about. The lower resolution isn’t as noticeable compared to the S21 Ultra, and I only had issues reading text at very small font sizes, which showed some judder. But other than that, watching movies, playing games, and reading e-books with your mobile phone is also a kind of enjoyment. The AMOLED display ensures excellent contrast, deep blacks and the display offers a wide dynamic range. Samsung added an “Eye Comfort Shield” option to the display that provides additional blue light filtering to reduce eye strain. Just like the S21 Ultra, holding the phone for long periods of time can lead to hand fatigue. The phone’s brightness levels are also excellent when using the device outdoors. I had no issues framing shots in bright conditions.
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Since the Samsung S21+ has the same internals as the S21 Ultra (Exynos 2100 SoC) and comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage (the storage cannot be expanded), there is not much difference in performance. Sure, the S21 Ultra’s 12GB of RAM might allow power users to have more apps in memory, but in terms of day-to-day performance, I didn’t notice much of a difference. The S21+ can easily handle anything you throw at it. Larger games, video, and photo-editing applications ran without issue. But as was the case with the S21 Ultra, thermal management is an issue with the S21+. Many times, I’ve noticed that the back of my phone gets hot even when performing the simplest actions like clicking a photo. This problem needs to be solved, because creating photos should not be resource intensive. This won’t cause any app crashes or anything like that, but it’s not desirable on a high-end smartphone. The phone received the update during the testing phase, but it didn’t fix the issue.
The ultrasonic fingerprint scanner works lightning fast and is certainly much more responsive than the fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S20 Ultra, which required multiple attempts to unlock. But if your fingers are wet, the S21+ won’t unlock that fast.
Call quality is excellent, and like the S21 Ultra, the S21+ has nicely concealed earpieces without compromising sound quality. The quality of the stereo speakers is also good; I only watched a few movies using the speakers, and it was a great experience. The phone also supports 5G, if that’s currently relevant.
Since it uses the same OneUI 3.1 UI on Android 11 (January 1, 2021 Patch) as we saw on the S21 Ultra, I’ll reiterate this part of the review, since the S21+ hasn’t changed much. In most respects, the OS is well-designed, but Samsung also tends to throw a billion features at you. Even something as simple as the quick notification bar is filled with as many as 19 icons. The Settings menu on the S21+ offers a plethora of options to customize your phone the way you want. I wouldn’t hold it against Samsung, but for the average user, it might be a little overwhelming.
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Some features, like the option to lock up to three apps in RAM, are handy. You’ll also find Samsung system apps a bit bloated, but luckily they can be uninstalled. There’s a ton of Microsoft apps preinstalled, including Office, OneDrive, Outlook, and LinkedIn, but that’s definitely going to be a plus for many potential buyers of this device. I mentioned ads in some of Samsung’s native apps, and the S21+ doesn’t address that either. Seeing a native app with ads on a flagship device is shocking.
Unlike the flagship S21 Ultra, there’s no 100x Space Zoom feature here, and the maximum hybrid zoom is locked at 30x. Image credit: Tech2/Nimish Sawant
The Samsung S21+ has a triple camera array, which is slightly different from the S21 Ultra. First off, the main camera on the S21+ is a 12MP unit with OIS and f/1.8 aperture, and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera with f/2.2 aperture. The 64MP camera offers 1.1x optical zoom and 3x hybrid zoom. Unlike the flagship S21 Ultra, there’s no 100x Space Zoom feature here, and the maximum hybrid zoom is locked at 30x.
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