Samsung Galaxy S21+ is in the house! Launched alongside the S21 and S21 Ultra, the S21+ is that middle brother carrying an identity crisis. It is neither compact like S21 nor has the advanced camera tech like S21 Ultra. For who exactly the Galaxy S21+ caters to? Let’s find out in our first impression.
Box contents
- Samsung Galaxy S21+ 8GB + 128GB (Phantom Violet)
- USB Type-C to C Charging cable
- SIM ejector
- Manual
The S21+ comes in Phantom Violet, Phantom Silver, and Phantom Black colours. We have the Phantom Violet 8GB + 128GB variant with us. From the S21 series, the South Korean tech giant decided not to bundle in the charging adapter and headphones in the box. As a result, we got a compact box, which looks kind of nice, but has just the phone and charging cable.
In terms of the design, both Galaxy S21 and S21+ looks the same, except for the size factor. The design in the S21 series looks refreshing from the back, thanks to the new camera design which aesthetically fuses with the frame, making a seamless transition.
Just like other Samsung high-end devices, the S21+ comes with a glass and metal build. The matter frosted glass on the back offers a good and solid feel, no fingerprints but slippery. Despite the weight and size, we felt comfortable while holding it most of the time. It is easier to reach the buttons most of the time.
Talking about the placements, we have the SIM card slot, USB-C port, and speaker grille on the bottom. On the right side, we have the power button and volume controls. Up top, there’s another mic.
On the front, we have a 6.7-inch FHD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) Infinity-O Dynamic AMOLED Display with an Adaptive 120Hz refresh rate (48 – 120Hz) and offers brightness up to 1300 nits. The front display is Gorilla Glass Victus protection. The Galaxy S21+ automatically switches between 48 and 120Hz refresh rates depending on the on-screen content.
The Galaxy S21+ is powered by Octa-Core Samsung Exynos 2100 processor under the hood. The Exynos 2100 is based on the 5nm manufacturing process, just like Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 mobile platform. In our brief usage, we didn’t find any complaints. The games run smooth, apps optimisation was great and performance is top-notch all across the interface.
The Samsung Galaxy S21+ sports a triple camera setup –
- 12MP rear camera, f/1.8 aperture, supports OIS
- 12MP Ultra Wide sensor, f/2.2 aperture
- 64MP Telephoto lens with f/2.0 aperture (3x hybrid zoom, 30X space zoom), supports OIS.
- 10MP front camera with f/2.2 aperture
On the video front, the device can support 4K up to 60 fps and 8K at 30fps.
The camera setup is virtually identical to Galaxy S20+ minus the 0.3MP TOF sensor. We will bring out the in-depth details about the camera in our review, meanwhile, check out the camera samples.
Furthermore, the Galaxy S21+ comes equipped with an in-display fingerprint scanner supplied by Qualcomm. It has a 77% larger scanning area and 50% faster compared to other Samsung high-end’s till this point. And it’s true. Compared to Note 20 Ultra, the fingerprint works faster. The device is shipped with Android 11 with One UI 3.1 out of the box.
On the connectivity front, it supports 5G SA/NSA, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax (2.4/5GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, UWB (S21+), GPS + GLONASS, USB 3.1, NFC, MST
The S21+ has Ultra-wideband capabilities (UWB) embedded to automatically unlock compatible car doors without pulling out your keys. You can also use an AR finder to drop virtual messages that let other Galaxy smartphone users know you need help searching for a lost item.
The phones have IP68 water and dust resistance and pack 4,800mAh batteries, with support for wired 25W fast charging and 15W Fast Wireless Charging as well as a new Wireless PowerShare feature to charge Qi-compatible devices on the back of the phones.
Coming in Phantom Violet, Sliver, Black, the S21+ is available in two variants :
- Galaxy S21+ 8GB +128GB: Rs. 81,999
- Galaxy S21+ 8GB +256GB: Rs. 85,999
It is now available across Samsung Online Shop, Flipkart, and Amazon.in online, Croma and Reliance Digital stores, Samsung Opera house and other offline outlets.