Review of the flagship smartphone Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G with support for electronic pen

This time, a simple and straightforward method was used to "hide" the protruding camera block: this block was expanded to the edges of the body and made part of it. It seems that the solution was obvious, but no one had done it before. And it turned out quite well. However, as always, there will be both opponents and supporters, as tastes differ.

The decision to make wide bezels around the front lens to visually increase their size has been retained. Obviously, such cameras, in the opinion of the developers, look more solid and "premium."

The cameras did not protrude less, so using the device lying on the table is still inconvenient: it wobbles when working with the screen.

Perhaps the appearance of the Apple iPhone 12 with its flat edges influenced Samsung, but be that as it may, it is now much easier and more convenient to lift the smartphone from the table by its flat sides. In the case of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra with its completely rounded sides, this was impossible to do immediately.

However, the device remains very large and very heavy. Not every pocket can withstand such weight. The materials of the case are the same: front and back - two glasses (Gorilla Glass Victus), the side frame - metal, heavy and massive. The back panel is matte, it is not prone to fingerprints, and they are almost invisible on it.

The side buttons are installed on one side, large keys, comfortable, with a pleasant springy travel. Both buttons are completely smooth, without tactile differences.

The front camera is already conventionally installed behind a small cutout directly in the screen matrix. They managed without a notch, but there is also no reliable face authentication, as there is no IR sensor for building a three-dimensional map of the face. Unfortunately, the smartphone also lacks an LED notification indicator.

The fingerprint scanner is under the glass of the ultrasonic screen. It works well compared to the classic capacitive one, and among under-display scanners, it is definitely one of the best.

The card slot is designed for the installation of two Nano-SIM cards, but a microSD memory card cannot be inserted here at all. Hot swapping of cards is supported.

There is nothing on the top except for an auxiliary microphone. The bottom edge houses the speaker, microphone, USB Type-C port, and card slot. The 3.5mm audio output for headphones is again absent.

The electronic pen, which is supported by the new flagships of the Galaxy S21 series, is not installed on the body, unlike the Note series. For this, special external cases with a compartment for the branded S Pen have been invented. It looks like this:

The case, of course, is reliable, the edges are protected by thick rubber, and the electronic pen is well held in the side compartment. The pen comes with the case, not with the smartphone, meaning it is purchased separately. The only downside: the already large and heavy device becomes truly enormous and unmanageable in such a case.

The pen itself is noticeably different from that of the Note series: there is no button on the back end. The pen is made of ordinary matte plastic, quite light - essentially, it is not active like in the Galaxy Note series, but passive. The package includes a set of replacement tips and metal tweezers for their removal.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G smartphone is available in two color options – black and silver. Its less flagship relatives, the S21 and S21+, offer more variety in this regard, with options for purple and pink, but here everything is strict. The new model has protection against water and dust according to the IP68 standard (submersion for 30 minutes at a depth of up to 1.5 m).

Screen

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G smartphone is equipped with an AMOLED display (Dynamic AMOLED 2X) with a diagonal of 6.8 inches and a resolution of 1440×3200, covered with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus with slightly curved edges. Compared to the previous generation, the glass has twice the protection against scratches and impacts.

The physical dimensions of the screen are 71x158 mm, the aspect ratio is 20:9, and the pixel density is 515 ppi. The width of the bezel around the screen is less than 2 mm on the sides, about 3 mm on the top, and less than 4 mm on the bottom, so the bezel is minimal. The screen supports a refresh rate of 120 Hz.

The front surface of the screen is made of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are better than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) (hereafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo where a white surface is reflected on the turned-off screens (left – Nexus 7, right – Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, which can be distinguished by size):

The screen of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G is noticeably darker (brightness in the photos 105 against 110 in the Nexus 7) and has no pronounced tint. The two reflected objects on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G screen are very faint, indicating that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. Due to the fewer boundaries (type glass/air), screens without an air gap look better in conditions of intense external illumination, but their repair in case of cracked outer glass is much more expensive, as the entire screen has to be replaced. On the outer surface of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G screen, there is a special oleophobic (oil-repellent) coating (very effective, much better than in the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a slower rate than with regular glass.

When displaying a white field on the entire screen and manually controlling the brightness, its maximum value was about 410 cd/m² under normal conditions, but in very bright light, it increases to 870 cd/m². It should also be noted that in this case, the smaller the area of white on the screen, the brighter it is, meaning the actual maximum brightness of white areas will almost always be higher than the indicated value. As a result, reading the screen during the day in sunlight should be at an excellent level, and the dark theme not only saves battery charge but also contributes to better readability of information on the screen in high lighting conditions. The minimum brightness value is 1.6 cd/m², meaning the reduced brightness level allows the device to be used even in the dark without any problems. Automatic brightness adjustment works based on a light sensor (located under the screen near the top edge and to the right of the center). The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider: the user can try to set the desired brightness level in the current conditions. If everything is left at default, then in complete darkness, the auto-brightness function reduces brightness to 9 cd/m² (a bit dark), in conditions illuminated by artificial office light (about 550 lx) sets it to 120 cd/m² (normal), and under direct sunlight increases it to 870 cd/m² (to the maximum, as needed). The result did not completely satisfy us, so in the dark, we slightly increased the brightness, resulting in the following values for the three conditions mentioned above: 20, 110, and 870 cd/m² (an ideal combination). It turns out that the auto-brightness adjustment function works adequately and allows the user to adjust the operation to individual requirements. At any brightness level, there is significant modulation at a frequency of 240 Hz.