Samsung Galaxy S21 / S21+ / S21 Ultra

[Dave245]

Have you tried using the Fold? I was in the same boat as you, tbh... when the original Fold was first introduced. I thought it was clunky (still do). I thought it was bulky (still do). And, I thought it was unnecessary, why would someone want a phone that folds?

But after careful consideration. At the end of the day... I wanted a bigger screen, the Fold fits my interest. I think the Note fans are driven by the nostalgia aspect of it, the boxy design and S-Pen slot. Maybe, Samsung fill that need with S line down the future.

No I haven’t tried the Fold, there seems to be a few trade offs. You can’t use the SPen, it’s not water resistant like other phones and the display seems to be more fragile. Plus how reliable are folding screens? After a certain amount of folds will it suddenly break in half.

 

[Ludatyk]

No I haven’t tried the Fold, there seems to be a few trade offs. You can’t use the SPen, it’s not water resistant like other phones and the display seems to be more fragile. Plus how reliable are folding screens? After a certain amount of folds will it suddenly break in half.

It's not as fragile as you think. It's quite durable.. I've dropped it a few times, whereas my heart stopped a few seconds. But it's held up alright.. I've had it since October, my daily driver.

As far as S-Pen, it's not necessarily a deal breaker and in regards to water resistance... I rarely take my phone near water to begin with. But I understand, people want that piece of mind where accidents might happen. And, I haven't had any issues with the folding display. Some users have decided to take their screen protector off... but I rather keep mine on.

 

[Dave245]

It's not as fragile as you think. It's quite durable.. I've dropped it a few times, whereas my heart stopped a few seconds. But it's held up alright.. I've had it since October, my daily driver.

As far as S-Pen, it's not necessarily a deal breaker and in regards to water resistance... I rarely take my phone near water to begin with. But I understand, people want that piece of mind where accidents might happen. And, I haven't had any issues with the folding display. Some users have decided to take their screen protector off... but I rather keep mine on.

I would be willing to give foldables a go when they are more refined. If Samsung could find a way of putting the S Pen inside the Fold and make it compatible with the devices (and not scratch the screen) i think it would be cool.

I'm not against foldables in general, i just think for the price tag i want them to be more durable.

 

[ian87w]

The problem is that the Note line is popular and has its fans. It will be the only reason why I jump from my iPhone, I have no interest in the fold devices. It would be a shame for them to just stop the Note altogether.

The Note line is popular because right now it's the only Galaxy phone line with S-pen support. But when the S line gets S-pen support, the Note line literally lost its selling point. The Note series used to be the larger phone, but now with Plus and Ultra models, the S line already took care of that. With the lackluster Note 20, I'm sure Samsung would rather have a streamlined product line (less cost) while serving both customer segments at the same time. Adding S-pen to the S21 Ultra makes sense. Those who wanted the Note will want larger screen anyway, and those not needing the S-pen can save money by not paying for one. Imo it's a win win, and I'm sure current Note users are smart enough to pick the device based on the feature they want, not just because of the name.

But that's just my opinion. We'll see what happen though. Sometimes Samsung is quite unpredictable (eg. the plethora mess of the A and M lineup with multiple variants of practically the same phone).

 

[Dave245]

The Note line is popular because right now it's the only Galaxy phone line with S-pen support. But when the S line gets S-pen support, the Note line literally lost its selling point. The Note series used to be the larger phone, but now with Plus and Ultra models, the S line already took care of that. With the lackluster Note 20, I'm sure Samsung would rather have a streamlined product line (less cost) while serving both customer segments at the same time. Adding S-pen to the S21 Ultra makes sense. Those who wanted the Note will want larger screen anyway, and those not needing the S-pen can save money by not paying for one. Imo it's a win win, and I'm sure current Note users are smart enough to pick the device based on the feature they want, not just because of the name.

But that's just my opinion. We'll see what happen though. Sometimes Samsung is quite unpredictable (eg. the plethora mess of the A and M lineup with multiple variants of practically the same phone).

The problem is the SPen doesn’t have the slot to go into on the S21 (provided the leaks are correct) so a special case will be needed to house it.

Also the Note has a curved display (Note Ultra) and is more of a boxy type device. Overall I really liked the Note 20 Ultra, but had to return it due to the battery life and Exynos chip (which probably caused the bad battery life). All I want from Samsung this year is a Note 21 Ultra, (hell it can even have the same design as the Note 20 Ultra) with better battery and an improved Exynos chip. If they do that, I will jump from my iPhone 11 Pro Max!

 

[Ludatyk]

The Note line is popular because right now it's the only Galaxy phone line with S-pen support. But when the S line gets S-pen support, the Note line literally lost its selling point. The Note series used to be the larger phone, but now with Plus and Ultra models, the S line already took care of that. With the lackluster Note 20, I'm sure Samsung would rather have a streamlined product line (less cost) while serving both customer segments at the same time.

I agree that Samsung would rather streamline their offerings, that's why I'm in favor of them removing the Note from the lineup. However, in my previous post... Note fans is not only a fan of the S-Pen, but the boxy design as well. The S-line and Note line have two distinguishable design languages.

And, the reason for the lackluster Note20 was Samsung doing. They skipped out on 120hz, QHD, camera and only gave 8GB. I perhaps, can forgive the 8GB. But withholding 120hz, QHD and the camera caused critics to not recommend the Note20. And, on top of that Samsung charged 1k for those specs. If Samsung either charged less or added those features listed... it would of been successful.

Maybe, Samsung did it to test the waters... see how popular the Note brand was. I don't know, but Samsung was kidding themselves. Then they decide to release the best bang for your buck with the S20 FE... smh.

 

[Awesomesince86]

I agree that Samsung would rather streamline their offerings, that's why I'm in favor of them removing the Note from the lineup. However, in my previous post... Note fans is not only a fan of the S-Pen, but the boxy design as well. The S-line and Note line have two distinguishable design languages.

And, the reason for the lackluster Note20 was Samsung doing. They skipped out on 120hz, QHD, camera and only gave 8GB. I perhaps, can forgive the 8GB. But withholding 120hz, QHD and the camera caused critics to not recommend the Note20. And, on top of that Samsung charged 1k for those specs. If Samsung either charged less or added those features listed... it would of been successful.

Maybe, Samsung did it to test the waters... see how popular the Note brand was. I don't know, but Samsung was kidding themselves. Then they decide to release the best bang for your buck with the S20 FE... smh.

I think Samsung knew exactly what they were doing with the Note 20. They wanted to provide a stylus offering at a more affordable price point, but they didnt want to steal customers from the Note 20 Ultra. So they dumbed the Note 20 down enough to tempt the budget phone buyers to make a jump up in price to get a stylus but also made it a worse enough phone so Note 20 Ultra buyers wouldnt drop down to the base model.

That said, I dont expect them to do it again. I cant imagine the Note 20 was that successful.

 

[Dave245]

I think Samsung knew exactly what they were doing with the Note 20. They wanted to provide a stylus offering at a more affordable price point, but they didnt want to steal customers from the Note 20 Ultra. So they dumbed the Note 20 down enough to tempt the budget phone buyers to make a jump up in price to get a stylus but also made it a worse enough phone so Note 20 Ultra buyers wouldnt drop down to the base model.

That said, I dont expect them to do it again. I cant imagine the Note 20 was that successful.

I hope they go all out with the Note 21 Ultra, but even if they stick with the design of the Note 20 Ultra I wouldn’t mind that as long as they give better battery life and a better Exynos chip.

 

[Awesomesince86]

I hope they go all out with the Note 21 Ultra, but even if they stick with the design of the Note 20 Ultra I wouldn’t mind that as long as they give better battery life and a better Exynos chip.

Has it even been confirmed that there will be a Note 21? I know there have been rumors both ways but it sounds like nobody really knows.

 

[Dave245]

Has it even been confirmed that there will be a Note 21? I know there have been rumors both ways but it sounds like nobody really knows.

It sounds like there will be with a near enough official confirmation.

A Samsung official confirmed that the Galaxy Note 21 series is alive and well for 2021 | TechNave

Just this morning, we wrote news about how Samsung hinted on the possibility of the S Pen making its way to the upcoming Galaxy S21 series. There

technave.com

 

[Ludatyk]

I think Samsung knew exactly what they were doing with the Note 20. They wanted to provide a stylus offering at a more affordable price point, but they didnt want to steal customers from the Note 20 Ultra. So they dumbed the Note 20 down enough to tempt the budget phone buyers to make a jump up in price to get a stylus but also made it a worse enough phone so Note 20 Ultra buyers wouldnt drop down to the base model.

Unfortunately, it was more to it than that.

Affordable price point? 1k is affordable? But besides that... the Note10 from last year started at $950. I know $50 isn’t much of a difference. But the price shouldn’t have jumped $50 to begin with.

And, I totally agree with you that they wanted to dumb down the Note20 in hopes to push consumers toward the Note20 Ultra. But the problem with that, is that they alienated the whole fan base. The Note10 and Note10 Plus differences wasn’t so glaring compared to the Note20 and Note20 Ultra.

If Samsung gonna pull some shady mess like that, they should just go ahead and remove the Note line. Samsung managed to keep the S20 line differences to a minimum.

 

[Awesomesince86]

Unfortunately, it was more to it than that.

Affordable price point? 1k is affordable? But besides that... the Note10 from last year started at $950. I know $50 isn’t much of a difference. But the price shouldn’t have jumped $50 to begin with.

And, I totally agree with you that they wanted to dumb down the Note20 in hopes to push consumers toward the Note20 Ultra. But the problem with that, is that they alienated the whole fan base. The Note10 and Note10 Plus differences wasn’t so glaring compared to the Note20 and Note20 Ultra.

If Samsung gonna pull some shady mess like that, they should just go ahead and remove the Note line. Samsung managed to keep the S20 line differences to a minimum.

When I said affordable, I meant in comparison to the Ultra model.

 

[5105973]

2020 was confusing. I know Google and Samsung wanted to make sure they get the business of people with financial hardships but they’ve both always had good quality offerings for people on tight budgets. So they did really odd things about their flagship phones. Like they made some weird cuts and compromises to do sort of an “affordable flagship” but they also did the super extra out there Ultras. I don’t know...I find these offerings confusing now. I’m staying put on my S20 until I see where things are going.

I don’t know why the S21 NON Ultras have so many compromises when they’re meant to be flagship models. Now it’s like they’re sort of a hybrid between budget and flagship. I guess this is based on last year having regular S20’s and then that end of year budget versions of the S20’s.

Oh well, it makes for interesting reading!

 

[Ludatyk]

I don’t know why the S21 NON Ultras have so many compromises when they’re meant to be flagship models. Now it’s like they’re sort of a hybrid between budget and flagship. I guess this is based on last year having regular S20’s and then that end of year budget versions of the S20’s.

Its the reality we are in... S21 Non-Ultra are going to be dumbed down to entice consumers toward S21 Ultra. At least, rumors are mentioning prices should be reasonable... Samsung is looking to decrease the price of S21 Non-Ultras.

 

[5105973]

Its the reality we are in... S21 Non-Ultra are going to be dumbed down to entice consumers toward S21 Ultra. At least, rumors are mentioning prices should be reasonable... Samsung is looking to decrease the price of S21 Non-Ultras.

That’s fine, but I would hope that means they don’t do an S21 FE this year. Because this is essentially already introducing FE type compromises to what should be a premium lineup that should be different only in size. But not only have they been reducing size since last year, they skimped on features.

It’s a weird watering down of their premium lineup, given that they have a really nice quality mid-level line already.

If I were going for one of these I definitely would go for the Ultra. But I can’t really afford to do that right now. And trading my S20 for an S21 would entail compromises I think would make the move a bad value. It’s the first time doing a yearly upgrade for a comparable sized model is actually a downgrade in some respects (from my perspective). It definitely is a case of go big or go home!

But this is all my perspective only. I’m sure Samsung has sales data that tells them customers will be delighted with the new lineup.

 

[Healer Flame]

don’t know why the S21 NON Ultras have so many compromises when they’re meant to be flagship models

If a major part of the phone is degraded its hard to call it flagship. The S+ resolution is degrading from QHD to FHD so bit disapointing really but many Samsung fans won't mind as long as the price is reasonable.

 

[SteveJUAE]

It’s a weird watering down of their premium lineup, given that they have a really nice quality mid-level line already.

If I were going for one of these I definitely would go for the Ultra. But I can’t really afford to do that right now. And trading my S20 for an S21 would entail compromises I think would make the move a bad value. It’s the first time doing a yearly upgrade for a comparable sized model is actually a downgrade in some respects (from my perspective). It definitely is a case of go big or go home!

But this is all my perspective only. I’m sure Samsung has sales data that tells them customers will be delighted with the new lineup.

I think this is exactly it, we forget to some degree that a few 10's of $ is not a great deal too many in the west but it's probably a make or break for more that we can imagine

 

[5105973]

I think this is exactly it, we forget to some degree that a few 10's of $ is not a great deal too many in the west but it's probably a make or break for more that we can imagine

Hah, the west. It’s pretty dire here in the US right now, actually. I’m all for the budget lines, I am just wondering at the blurring of product lines into each other. It makes it hard to know which is a good value, I guess. Lol I’m not really trying to figure out what to do. I’m just enjoying the eye candy of it all.

I have all I can do keeping my sanity through some things we are going through right now. Everything changes on a dime these days. We just take it one day at a time. We have managed money more carefully than you all might think given how many phones I’ve owned and count our blessings.

 

[ian87w]

That’s fine, but I would hope that means they don’t do an S21 FE this year. Because this is essentially already introducing FE type compromises to what should be a premium lineup that should be different only in size. But not only have they been reducing size since last year, they skimped on features.

It’s a weird watering down of their premium lineup, given that they have a really nice quality mid-level line already.

If I were going for one of these I definitely would go for the Ultra. But I can’t really afford to do that right now. And trading my S20 for an S21 would entail compromises I think would make the move a bad value. It’s the first time doing a yearly upgrade for a comparable sized model is actually a downgrade in some respects (from my perspective). It definitely is a case of go big or go home!

But this is all my perspective only. I’m sure Samsung has sales data that tells them customers will be delighted with the new lineup.

Samsung S users, at least in my country, usually are yearly upgraders because Samsung always put out the best trade in offers for previous flagship models everytime they release a new one. So for the regular S lineup, Samsung has its customers captive through their trade in offers.

This leaves those who has not bought a Samsung, or an S model ever. This is where the FE comes one, being more affordable than the regular S lineup (although sales can dilute this as sometimes I can find regular S20 being cheaper than the FE version).

Imo the FE model is a smart move, especially since nobody predicted Covid-19. Having an FE model brings back Samsung brand to the masses instead of alienating them by pushing the prices upwards.

The only downside in my country is that the S20 FE still uses Exynos. Hopefully the Exynos 2100 really delivers the hype, so S21 FE models will be truly attractive.

 

[Healer Flame]

S21 FE

I don't think there will be 21 Fan Edition. Only Note 7 had FE variant before s20.

 

[Vegastouch]

I hope they make a FE every year as I Probably won't get a S series again. Just too expensive but Samsung does have good trade ins so you never know.

 

[Ludatyk]

I don't think there will be 21 Fan Edition. Only Note 7 had FE variant before s20.

Its no telling what Samsung will do. We are on uncharted territories with this COVID. That FE variant was a hailmary, I believe on VergeCast FE was in result of COVID.

 

[Tulani]

more on pricing

Samsung Galaxy S21 prices leaked — and it's bad news for iPhone 12 Pro

Apple's flagship iPhone could get undercut by the Galaxy S21

www.tomsguide.com

 

[ian87w]

Its no telling what Samsung will do. We are on uncharted territories with this COVID. That FE variant was a hailmary, I believe on VergeCast FE was in result of COVID.

Yup, the FE was a smart move during the pandemic. It's not about the price per se, but the notion of the company offering a more "economical" flagship. And it's not that Samsung never did this. They did this with the S10 and Note 10, by having S10 lite and Note 10 lite. It's just the branding that changes.

 

[ian87w]

I hope they make a FE every year as I Probably won't get a S series again. Just too expensive but Samsung does have good trade ins so you never know.

I'm sure they do, although they might space the release date months after the main flagship as not to cannibalize the sales.

Release the main S flagship for the enthusiasts and early adopters, release a better value FE model months later to capture those on the fence with a better value product. Smart.