The compact and balanced Samsung Galaxy S21 5G

C ompact, light, attractive and perfectly manageable with one hand. Power to spare with great fluidity and optimization, exquisite screen, outstanding autonomy and camera system worthy of a true high-end. This is the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G.

The younger brother of Samsung's S21 line that is not small at all, as it is a top of the range that is worth knowing if you are looking for something balanced in all aspects. Below I show you more details so that you can learn more about it.

Aesthetics and multimedia of the Samsung Galaxy S21

We start talking about the aesthetic and multimedia section of this Galaxy S21, the most compact and content of the three brothers in terms of dimensions.

Being able to be perfectly manageable with one hand without the risk of slipping. This thanks to its light weight of 171 grams and its robust aluminum body with a plastic back that Samsung calls Glass thick, a union of plastic glass in English.

The truth is that plastic is pleasant and despite the fact that plastic does not sound premium at all in a high-end range, the finish is rather metallic and in any case we gain resistance to a possible fall, and we also avoid fingerprints or scratches.

To that we add that we have IP68 resistance against water and dust. We have an all-terrain terminal that we can even use without a cover due to the good security it offers us in our hands.

In summary, the design is very clean and minimalist, with curved edges and a gold-finished camera module located in the upper left corner that protrudes a millimeter from the body and houses three lenses of the same size, with the flash in the outer area of the shape very discreet.

As for other details, on the right side we have the power button next to the volume buttons. So we see a totally clean left side.

In the upper one are the two microphones and in the lower one we have the USB type C port, the speakers, a third microphone and the tray for the dual SIM.

The connectivity is completed with Dual 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, USB type C 3.2, headphone jack, FM radio and the infrared sensor.

Going to the front, which has a selfie embedded in the upper central part and offers a radius of 20 with 9, we have a 6.2-inch screen with an 87.2% use of the front.

We are talking about a panel with Dynamic amoled technology that offers a full HD plus resolution, thus reducing the 2K of the last generation, which can be seen as a setback, but in reality it is a great success, since in this way we have the 120 Hz refresh rate directly without having to go into settings to manually reduce the resolution.

In addition, a density of 424 pixels per inch is enough to not visually appreciate the pixels on the panel. Incidentally, it saves a bit of battery power by having fewer pixels to illuminate on the screen.

As for other details, we have support for HDR 10 plus, 100% of the s & p 3 color gamuts, blue light control to protect our eyes and a brightness that can reach a peak of 1,300 nits.

So in any type of environment, viewing content with this cell phone is an excellent experience. We are facing an excellent visualization in general.

The Samsung always stand out in this section, especially in the high-end models. So it is a 10 out of 10, and it is recommended to select the dark mode to save battery and have the refresh rate in adaptive mode, so that it varies between 48 Hz, when the image remains static, or 120 Hz, when we are playing or browsing.

In addition to the above, the fingerprint lock is great because it is very fast and secure. The always on mode will always be a great success to see the time and notifications on the lock screen permanently.

Regarding the audio and the speakers, the level is high thanks to an AKG double stereo voice system with Dolby Atmos technology.

The power is somewhat higher than that of the S20 and the good details are maintained without any distortion.

Samsung Galaxy S21 hardware and software

It's time to talk about the performance of this device. Inside it houses a Samsung exynos 2100 processors, the most recent and powerful that the brand has built to date.

It is an 8-core 64-bit CPU with 5-nanometer manufacturing and a notable performance jump over the previous generation. Especially that this CPU is accompanied by a mali G78 GPU that improves performance up to 20% up to the G77. At the same time reducing consumption by up to 50%.

In summary, this hardware, which is completed with 8 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128 or 256 GB of UFC 3.1 storage, gives us a performance of a whole top of the range, very on par with the most powerful snapdragon chip, and the results show.

In applications with game ben 5 we get a score of 1080 for a single core and 3,558 for multiple cores, so we are talking about the best numbers on a cell phone.

In any case, the important thing is that you do not have to be afraid of this processor in terms of high temperatures as in past years. The cell phone behaves very well in that sense, thanks to the 5 nanometers and good energy management.

Giving us an average temperature of about 32 °C, which is very good.

When it comes to tasks and apps and apps, there's really little to add. As you would expect from a top of the range, we are fluent everywhere in all applications with great interface speed for other multitasking and demanding processes.

If you are looking to render and play with the graphics, making the most of the game launcher, the experience will be the best. The device practically does not suffer, and it will undoubtedly be a hardware that will give us many years of maximum performance.

The above is due in large part to the great fluidity of the system and its good optimization, we are talking about one with 3.1. A layer that has improved significantly after several updates and that now gives us a more similar experience to pure Android with very dynamic and clean menus.

Of course, maintaining its DNA with numerous options in terms of customization, such as the notification bar, menus, widgets, edge panels, wallpapers, and other things that give an important plus to the final user experience.

Which is very good for Samsung, no more overheating, no more an interface riddled with inconsistency, that sums it up.

Samsung Galaxy S21 autonomy

Now we enter autonomy, as you should imagine, thanks to the energy efficiency of the processor and the optimization of the system, we have some interesting numbers.

Specifically, we have a 4000 milliamp battery, a very fast 25 watt standard charge and an acceptable irreversible 15 watt wireless charge that drops to 4.5 watts.

Being able to charge the Samsung wireless headphones or a compatible gadget with the cell phone.

Mind you, as everyone knows, Samsung doesn't include the charger in the box, just the cable. So we have to get by buying one or using one that we have.

In short, highlighting that it does not come with the charger and that the charge is not at all fast if we compare it with other top of the range. The important thing is that in the face of screen hours we can a full day with relatively intense use.

With the brightness at half and the adaptive refresh rate doing things like photos, listening to music, watching videos, playing the occasional casual game and browsing in the browser and using the most common social networks.

In total, we have a generous 8 hours of screen time or so, something that is great without a doubt.

Obviously if we squeeze more the cell phone with the maximum brightness and the most demanding games, these 9 hours could be 5 or 4. Likewise, if we give it a lighter use using the Wi-Fi, we can reach up to two days of autonomy, since the 5G consumes more power.

We can highlight that a charger with a fast charge of 25 watts, we can charge the device from 0 to 100 in approximately an hour and a half and that the most recommended is to use the adaptive refresh rate, the dark mode and take advantage of the always on mode with everything the above, in order to save a little more battery.

Samsung Galaxy S21 cameras

This section is one of the most interesting high-end. We have a three lens rear setup.

The first, a 12 MP sony imx 555 main sensors with a focal aperture of 1.8 and optical image stabilization.

The second, a 12.2 MP sony imx 563 wide angles, which has a 120º field of view and a 2.2 focal aperture. We have a Samsung 64 MP telephoto lens with 2.0 focal aperture and super-resolution zoom technology with artificial intelligence to reach a hybrid x3 and digital x30 zoom.

This is how we have an all-terrain and balanced configuration, like the same main sensor of the previous generation, but highlighting that now more is taken advantage of through the software, since the post-processing is better achieved, and we have a much better application full of versatility and possibilities.

Above all, having many options to squeeze each of the lenses with great speed and fluidity when going from one to another.

In addition, the colors are very natural, and the software practically does not saturate anything. The same happens in detail, the shots are very correct and little loss of detail is appreciated.

Perhaps at night there is no artificial light, but the results are just as outstanding in this type of scenario and the night mode also helps a lot.

Something I like is that the focus of the cameras is faster and more precise. Especially if we add focus tracking if we mark a person or object in motion so that it keeps it in focus while it remains in the plane.

Another point is that there is not much difference in terms of the tonality of the lighting between the cameras, so taking a photo with the wide angle is a pleasant experience, with a little less detail but with a great quality in general and with almost no deformation on the edges.

The same goes for portrait mode, even at night the results are great, and the camera focuses very well on the person and blurs the background, either from far or near with very good details or colors.

In conclusion, we have excellent to excellent results in the different scenarios, the photographic experience is a top of the range and the application is increasingly polished and better achieved to optimize the results through software.

Turning now to the 10 MP selfie with seal 2.2 aperture, without dual pixel autofocus, I must say that it behaves as quickly and effectively as the rear cameras.

We have a great level of detail, the tones are natural, the autofocus works perfectly, and the portrait mode delivers greatly.

So we could have individual photos in the foreground, both individual and group, either in light or dark tones.

Finally, it's time to talk about the recording. It is that we can record 1080p, 4K and 8K, as well as record in slow motion up to 950 fps and have high dynamic range.

In any case, if we want better results, it is better to go for 1080p and 60 fps where we will have great fluidity both day and night.

What I like the most is the versatility when recording, we can use all the sensors during the same recording and without cuts. As well as taking advantage of the super stabilization mode if we are in constant movement or the director's perspective, where we can record simultaneously with the rear and front cameras.

This is great for content creators, and it certainly adds a great differential to this device. If you are looking to record videos, this S21 will be ideal, it offers a very mature and successful experience in all scenarios.

With great stabilization, focus, detail and colors. So there is little to add in technology.

Conclusions

This Galaxy S21 is a very balanced high-end. It is very compact, light and beautiful. You can maneuver it very well, you can use it perfectly with one hand, and it offers a minimalist, sophisticated look, with a rear that does not collect fingerprints or scratches.

In terms of design and dimensions, it is very well achieved. It has a great combination between hardware and software, since we are facing a totally remarkable performance and power.

The fluidity is exquisite, the performance in games, heavy applications and others, it is a top of the range. The processor is very good, and we have almost no heating.

The performance of the cameras is very remarkable and balanced, from outstanding to excellent in each of the scenarios, both in background and in video, the selfie, we have a very good behavior in general. It is an all-terrain camera with a very good setup.

In the multimedia section, Samsung always shows its face, it has an excellent screen to consume and create content. We have excellent speakers, a great audiovisual experience, and we are facing the best in the market in that regard.

Of the few disadvantages we can say that, it does not have the charger in the box, there is no headphone jack, and it does not have a slot for a micro SD card.

Another disadvantage is the plastic back, although it has a metallic finish, it feels good to the touch, it does not collect fingerprints and so on, if it is plastic. Which is not premium at all, taking into account this terminal that many mid-range have better materials on the back.

The fast charge is not so fast since we only have 25 watts, which for a top of the range is very little. Considering that the competition offers too much.