Galaxy S20 Ultra vs Galaxy S21 Ultra: How big of a difference is there?

Samsung first began using the Ultra moniker in February 2020 with the introduction of the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Not a total year has passed since just Samsung is now ready to unleash a direct sequel, predictably called the Galaxy S21 Ultra, onto the marketplace. But how much has Samsung'due south flagship formula changed over the course of 11 months? Is the newer Ultra model that much better than the first?

In short, yes it is. The new Milky way S21 Ultra refines the company'southward top-tier flagship formula in many ways that count, from the outside design to the photographic camera setup and the new internal hardware. But Samsung also took a couple of shortcuts this year that might rub some customers the wrong style.

Galaxy S20 Ultra vs Milky way S21 Ultra: Hardware specs

Samsung has historically released a new chipset with every new Galaxy S generation, but 2021 is a little scrap different. The make-new Exynos 2100 SoC that was introduced earlier this week looks a lot more promising than the Exynos 990 solution, the latter of which was a indicate of contention for many Galaxy S20 Ultra owners.

Indeed, the new Exynos 2100 SoC replaces the Exynos 990, whereas the Snapdragon 865 solution is beingness superseded by the Snapdragon 888 chipset. Preliminary benchmarks bespeak that the new Exynos 2100 is a lot more than capable and tin can keep up with – or possibly fifty-fifty outperform – the Snapdragon 888, and then in this regard the Galaxy S21 Ultra is virtually miles better than its predecessor.

Samsung's new flagship boasts Qualcomm's latest 3D Sonic Sensor Gen 2 in-display fingerprint reader which is 77% larger and l% faster than the previous generation.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra is 5G-enabled by default and there won't be an LTE variant. Both phones offering the aforementioned memory options including 12/16GB of RAM and 128/256/512GB of built-in storage. Additionally, Samsung's new premium flagship challenges its predecessor with the inclusion of UWB (Ultra-wideband) technology and Wi-Fi 6E compatibility, only not everything is outright better on the newer model.

Although both variants draw energy from a v,000mAh battery, Samsung took a shortcut and gave the Galaxy S21 Ultra fast charging capabilities of up to 25W, down from 45W. On peak of that, the Galaxy S21 Ultra lacks expandable storage.

Galaxy S20 Ultra vs Milky way S21 Ultra: Display

The Galaxy S20 Ultra was released concluding year with a 6.ix-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X HDR10+ display featuring a WQHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate mode that doesn't work at maximum resolution. The panel is protected past Gorilla Glass 6.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra adopts the newer Gorilla Glass Victus solution for its 6.8-inch WQHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X brandish but, this time around, Samsung has upped the game by throwing adaptive refresh rate into the mix. The Galaxy S21 Ultra brandish tin can operate at ten-120Hz, and 120Hz even works at WQHD+ resolution, which is a massive improvement.

But the biggest change introduced by the 2021 flagship model is a new digitizer that assures compatibility with the S Pen, making the Milky way S21 Ultra Samsung's first non-Galaxy Note phone to offering this feature. This optional accompaniment will exist sold separately but the option is non-existent for the 2020 flagship model.

Galaxy S20 Ultra vs Galaxy S21 Ultra: Pattern

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, every bit they say, but it'due south probably safe to assume that the bulk of Samsung fans prefer the Galaxy S21 Ultra's pattern over that of its predecessor. The new camera crash-land was modernized and it no longer looks as if it was tacked onto the dorsum panel as an afterthought.

The camera housing on the Galaxy S21 Ultra is made of metal and the back console is Gorilla Glass Victus. Both phones have a metal frame and an IP68 rating merely the new model has slightly thinner bezels.

The range of colors for the Galaxy S21 Ultra is wider, or at least information technology will be in some markets. The new flagship will be available in blackness and silvery at launch, and Samsung volition exist selling it in a few custom colors called Phantom Brown, Phantom Navy, and Phantom Titanium exclusively through its website. In contrast, the Galaxy S20 Ultra was just made bachelor in Cosmic Gray, Cosmic Blackness, and Cosmic White.

Milky way S20 Ultra vs Galaxy S21 Ultra: Camera

Samsung took the mobile world by storm concluding yr when it announced the Milky way S20 Ultra with up to 100x zoom capabilities for its then-called Space Zoom camera. In practice, the ambitious camera setup wasn't without flaws, especially at launch, simply Samsung has made a lot of changes to the setup this year.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra has the same 40MP selfie sensor only introduces a brand-new 108MP (f/1.8) chief rear-facing camera with OIS and Stage Detection autofocus. Information technology'due south paired with a 12MP ultra-broad (f/2.ii) shooter with Dual Pixel autofocus; 1 10MP telephoto sensor with an f/2.iv aperture; and some other 10MP telephoto camera with an f/4.nine aperture. Both telephoto units benefit from Dual Pixel autofocus and they tin achieve 100x zoom combined. Each of these four sensors can tape 4K videos at 60fps.

These new components work together with a handful of camera features that were introduced with 1 UI iii.1, and even zooming-in at 100x should yield better results thanks to a new steady hand feature. We'll have to test the new camera setup for ourselves earlier we can determine if it truly is better than the Galaxy S20 Ultra's, but so far the new entry looks very promising.

Milky way S20 Ultra vs Galaxy S21 Ultra: Price and verdict

Despite all the improvements brought over past the new Galaxy S21 Ultra, Samsung's new flagship is scheduled to striking the shelves for the starting price of $one,199 / €1,249 / £1,149. This makes it $200 less expensive than the Milky way S20 Ultra at launch, though it's worth noting that Samsung has removed both the wired earbuds and the wall charger from the S21 series' retail boxes.

The toll seems fair given the lack of standard accessories, the removal of external storage, and the lower 25W fast charging limit. Allow's not forget that the Milky way S21 Ultra introduces quite a few key improvements, from the display to the new design that makes the Galaxy S20 Ultra look older than it actually is. Performance and efficiency should also be drastically improved by the Exynos 2100 and Snapdragon 888 chipsets, and zoom has now go more useful, presumably.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra fifty-fifty offers compatibility with the Due south Pen, and so all things considered, these few downgrades might be a small price to pay in favor of a lower entry fee and a handful of other meaningful upgrades.

So to reply the question of whether or non the Galaxy S21 Ultra is a worthy successor to last twelvemonth's Space Zoom flagship: It certainly looks the part. Nosotros'll know for certain after nosotros spend some fourth dimension with the device, simply as of this writing, the Galaxy S21 Ultra represents a great evolutionary step for the serial, even if Samsung did cut a couple of corners.

You tin can refer to our device comparison widget beneath for a closer expect at the 2 phones side by side, and don't forget to stay tuned for our upcoming Galaxy S21 reviews.

Galaxy S21 Ultra hands-on | Galaxy S20 Ultra review

Device

Samsung
Milky way S20 Ultra 5G

General Information

Model Name

Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G

Galaxy S21 Ultra
Model type

Bar

Bar
Colors

Grayness (Gray)Black (Black)

Black (Blackness)Silverish (Silvery)Brown (Brown)Navy (Navy)Titanium (Titanium)
Announced

2020, February

2021, Jan
Released

2020, March

2021, January