Samsung Galaxy S21+ Appearance and Design

In terms of color, you have even less choice with the Samsung Galaxy S21+ than you do with the S21 Ultra. In stores, it is only available in black, purple and silver. In Samsung’s online store, you can also choose the colors gold and red, but these two colors are not available on the open market. Unless you buy a used model.

In terms of design, the Galaxy S21+ only differs from the Galaxy S21 Ultra in detail. The display is particularly noticeable, which, unlike the S21 Ultra, is not slightly curved at the edge. Instead, it lies flat. Whether a curved or a flat display is better or not is something that is debatable, though.

Small differences to the S21 Ultra are also noticeable on the back. The camera unit in particular should not go unmentioned. It only protrudes by 1.1 millimeters, whereas the S21 Ultra even protrudes by 1.9 millimeters.

The Galaxy S21+ is also about one millimeter thinner than the more expensive Galaxy S21 Ultra. Furthermore, the Galaxy S21+ also weighs a little bit less than the S21 Ultra model with its 200 grams. Thus, this smartphone is one of the slimmer of the latest models on the market, but it still feels comfortable in the hand.

Samsung Galaxy S21+ Display

The display is particularly impressive thanks to its high refresh rate. Samsung’s latest model offers a whole 120 hertz. In contrast to the S21 Ultra, however, the resolution is somewhat reduced. While the Ultra model offers 3,200 × 1,440 p, the Galaxy S21+ only gets 2,400 × 1,080 p. However, you will hardly notice this in the size of the display; such resolutions only make a difference on large TVs. 

Speaking of size, this has also been reduced in contrast to the S21 Ultra. However, not too much, but only by 0.1 inch. Accordingly, that can definitely be gotten over.

The so-called Boost mode is also extremely practical. It is activated automatically as soon as the sensors detect a fairly bright environment. Thus, you can still see what is happening on the screen even in strong sunlight. Furthermore, the Samsung Galaxy S21+ has an excellent viewing angle stability.

Samsung Galaxy S21+ Storage

The working memory of the Galaxy S21+ is 8 GB, plus an internal memory of 128 or 256 GB. However, you should first consider whether the cheaper model with 128 gigabytes is enough for you. Unfortunately, Samsung has removed the option to expand the storage via a micro-SD card without replacement.

Of course, you can store everything in the cloud nowadays. Despite that, we would be happy if we at least had the option to opt for more offline storage.

Samsung Galaxy S21+ Battery

During active use, the battery of Samsung’s Galaxy S21+ lasts for about 10.5 hours. Of course, the S21 Ultra model offers a bit more with approximately 11 hours of battery life, but it is still higher than that of the direct predecessor’s battery.

However, it also depends on how you use your smartphone. Especially when you use the always-on mode, this eats up a lot of power.

However, it is a bit disappointing that no power adapter is included in the scope of delivery. Samsung now fully relies on inductive charging. However, only with 15 watts.

Especially if you want to charge your smartphone faster, you cannot avoid buying an extra charging cable. However, the latest Galaxy lineup only supports charging cables with up to 25 watts, although the competition has already made 50 watts the standard. This is a small disappointment, but it can be tolerated in view of the smartphone’s other performance.

Samsung Galaxy S21+ Camera

As for the main camera, Samsung fully relies on the triple optics in the Galaxy 21. Among other things, you can expect two wide-angle cameras, but also a sensor with an impressive resolution of 64 megapixels. In addition, there is a triple optical zoom, which also lets you photograph distant objects perfectly.

Especially the quality of the pictures is absolutely convincing. Differences to the S21 Ultra are only in the details, but only a professional photographer will notice them.

The results with the wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle cameras are also impressive. As with the main camera, the difference between the S21+ and the S21 Ultra is hardly noticeable.

If you want to shoot some videos, you can do so in 8K resolution on the S21+. However, not in 30 fps like on the S21 Ultra, but only in 24 fps. For a smoother video, however, 4K is more recommended, then even up to 60 fps is possible.

Conclusion

In contrast to the Samsung Galaxy 21 Ultra, you will of course have to make some deductions with the Galaxy S21+. However, they are hardly noticeable, the display is only slightly smaller and the entire smartphone is also a bit narrower. In return, it is even 200 Euros cheaper.

So, if you want to buy one of the latest models on the smartphone market, the Galaxy S21+ is the ideal choice. Only if you have the highest demands on your smartphone’s performance, it is worth looking at the Ultra variant of the latest Galaxy series. The average user will definitely enjoy the S21+.

The only deductions we have to make are the missing mains charger and the fact that you cannot expand the storage on the latest Samsung Galaxy range. If this were not the case, Samsung would already be miles ahead of its competition.