Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 512 GB / 16 GB

S Pen support

This is a unique flagship for Samsung, one of the main highlights of which is the support for the S Pen stylus. Why unique? Yes, because not a single smartphone of the Galaxy S series had such a function before — only representatives of the Galaxy Note series, some tablets and laptops supported the electronic pen. It seems that in this way the manufacturer combines the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lines into one and focuses on folding models. Anyway, the Galaxy S21 Ultra has worked to its advantage. But although it supports the stylus, there is no additional compartment for it in the case, and the pen itself is not included in the kit, but is an additional accessory.

Cameras at maximum

In total, the device has five cameras, if you count another 40-megapixel front camera. As for the main one, it is a massive rectangular block on the rear panel, which seems to flow onto the side frame, with four modules. These are a 108MP sensor with OIS and phase detection autofocus, a 12MP ultra-wide lens with a 120-degree field of view, a 10MP telephoto module with OIS and 3x zoom, and a 10MP telephoto module with a periscope design, OIS and 10x zoom. Additional features include a laser autofocus sensor, as well as the ability to shoot 8K video at 24 frames per second. It turns out a set with everything you need for shooting in any situation, for all occasions. For the average user, the camera is beyond praise: photos and videos are colorful and impressive, so the need to carry an ordinary camera with you will definitely disappear. But for experts, the camera is good, but not perfect — there is room for improvement, especially given the top specifications. And the most surprising thing is that in the DxOMark rating, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is even inferior to its predecessor Galaxy S20 Ultra — it turns out that the improvements that Samsung is talking about still did not benefit the smartphone.

real top

Fortunately, the rest of the flagship is at the highest level, without any nuances. Both the proprietary Samsung Exynos 2100 processor and the Snapdragon 888 from Qualcomm, which are installed in versions for different countries, perform any tasks stably, the interface and applications work very quickly, there is enough memory for everyday use, although there is still not enough memory card slot . The 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with a high resolution of 3200x1440 pixels and an adaptive refresh rate of 120Hz offers bright, vibrant colours and settings that help extend battery life. The 5000 mAh battery supports not only 25W fast charging and 15W wireless, but also reverse charging, with which you can recharge, for example, wireless headphones or smartwatches from your phone. In general, one charge is enough for a day, or even a couple of days of work. The under-screen ultrasonic fingerprint scanner is faster and larger, meaning more scanning area. Of the wireless options, there are NFC, Bluetooth 5.2 and the new Wi-Fi 6E standard, and the portrait of the top flagship is completed by IP68 water and dust protection and stereo speakers. The lack of a charger in the package spoils the impression a little — in this Samsung followed the example of its competitor Apple.