Samsung Galaxy S21 Phantom Violet Full Review - Samsung Cut Back On Features

Today I'm checking out the new Samsung Galaxy S21, which released on January 14 and shipped a couple of weeks after that. I've already done a couple of videos about it - an unboxing, where I go into detail on the design and how you can score one for super cheap, and I did a deep dive into the camera, which I wanted to mention so you know where to find EVERYTHING you'd want to know about the lenses on this phone.

So this one comes in Phantom Violet, Gray, White, or Pink, priced at $799.99 for the 128GB model, or $849.99 for the 256GB model. In the box you get the phone, a data cable, the sim eject tool, and a quick start guide. No power adapter is included.

The phone is made with a plastic back, though I really don't mind it. That helps keep it pretty lightweight at 169 grams, and also helps deter from fingerprints. BUT, the lenses are held in this lovely aluminum casing, which wraps around all the edges to give it a really cool, stand out design. And the front is made with Gorilla Glass Victus.

It's relatively small and thin. The Dimensions are 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9mm. You'll notice the Bixby side button (which I opt to switch to a power off button), along with the volume button, and there are two speakers - one on the bottom next to the USB C port, and one hidden at the top of the display. The phone is IP68 water and dust resistant. Some folks found that if you turn on the flashlight, the edges light up. I don't think that's a feature, I think it's just because the bright LED is bleeding out of the edges. On the violet colorway, the samsung logo does not glow when you use the flashlight.

The display is 6.2", it's flat, and it's FHD+ at 2400x1080 with 421 PPI, which is a slight step down from the S20 of last year. And I do like that they included the high 120hz refresh rate since that keeps everything lookin' fancy and smooth. It's a dynamic AMOLED 2x infinity - O display, and is HDR10+ certified. I'm generally satisfied with this display and think it does a fine job of giving me. On default settings it is slightly bluer tinted than my iphone, but the S21 is also highly customizable: you have vivid vs natural colors, and you can change the white balance. When testing this outside, I had no issues viewing the screen since it has 1300 nits brightness.

The aspect ratio is nothing new, it's 20:9, and the screen size ends up being 86.06% of the body. You can still do cool Samsung stuff with the always on display, like add a custom clock, add a calendar, include widgets for weather and such. I do recommend keeping Hide Content enabled for the Always On Display so no one can see your text notification details when your phone is locked.

As mentioned, I did a deep dive into the cameras but this is a good overview with some examples.

The rear sensors include a main camera front and center - 12 MP sensor with OIS (1x zoom), f1.8 aperture, 1.8 micron pixel size (that's a larger pixel size designed for more light), 79 FOV.

At the top is an ultrawide - 12 MP w/ 120 degree FOV (0.5x zoom), 1.4µm, f/2.2.

Then at the bottom of the trio is the Telephoto lens - 64 MP w/ (3x hybrid optic / 30x digital zoom) 0.8µm, f/2.0, 76 FOV, OIS - this zoom capability happens because of sensor cropping, but there is no optical magnification.

On the front is the selfie lens - 10 MP, 1.22µm, f/2.2, FOV 80 degrees (also, the punch hole for the camera is smaller on the new model). It's less obtrusive.

When it comes to video recording you can record at several resolutions and framerates: FHD 30 and 60, UHD 30 and 60, and 8k 24. Super Steady is only available for FHD 30 and 60. Video can do digital zoom up to 12x.

The default camera app has several features and filters, like Hyperlapse (basically timelapse), and slo mo. Single Take, Director's View, Panoramas, Food and night modes, pro modes for video and photo. Scene optimizer is still included, as is face retouching under filters, but those can be turned off completely or enabled under the filter settings. My deep dive does go into the changes and updates for these settings in detail.

So Generally - videos are slightly over saturated but not overexposed. Audio from the mics was generally good but it does pick up a lot of background noise.

Photos - were generally impressive. I really liked the detail and the color balance using these three lenses. The front facing camera was also quite impressive, giving me excellent exposure even if the sun was setting behind me.

Portraits - one of the best I've seen so far. These have gotten far better than last years models. They do a better job of determining where my hair should be in focus and the aperture looks a bit more natural. Overall, these are some of my favorite portraits I've seen out of a smartphone in a while.

Zoom - Starts getting muddy anywhere above 10x. Last year I called it a potato and I stand by that opinion, though the new Zoom lock does help with keeping things in focus at 30x.

Night Mode - Decent, but not great. I think I still prefer the Pixels night sight mode over the night mode on the s21, but I'll do side by sides to confirm that thought in an upcoming video.

As far as Focusing goes - No issues. It's faster at focusing than previous gen and did better at focusing on the correct subject and not jumping around, which was a pretty annoying problem last year. The speed of capture has also increased, which may be thanks to the faster processor.

Speaking of internals... I'd mentioned the storage space... 8GB RAM with 128 or 256 GB storage space. There's no SD Card support. That's a tradeoff for the price point.

My 3D Mark Test Scores were solid. 3D Mark has a new stress test that's 20 minutes long and comparible to a lot of mobile games, so I'll be able to start recording new scores for my devices. This one hit 5724 on the short test, 5715 on the longer test.

In regards to gaming, it was also solid. I play mostly adventure and puzzle games on mobile, unlike my FPS and more heavy duty PC gaming. Pokemon Go did excellent with the AR views and didn't leave me waiting for fights to load.

I can say similar positive things about the user interface and experience. It's Quite fast and predictable, given the OS hasn't changed much from last gen. You can find most everything where you'd expect, and it's highly customizable. I like Samsung's search option within settings, and I often find that's faster than going thru the settings menu. This ships with Android 11 and still does include some bloatware: Like there's Definitely some Samsung Bloatware built in, and you have to be careful not to accept any of the optional data sharing in those apps since that will open you up to personalized ADS on your phone. One thing I really like is the inclusion of the Google App when you swipe over from the home screen, replacing Samsung's own feed. You can knock to turn off or on the screen, which I thought was pretty cool.

Some fun features like the Edge Screen shortcuts are still there, along with Smart View to wirelessly share your screen to a TV. Samsung Pay is also built in should you choose to use it, but I usually switch to Google Pay. Accessibility is rarely mentioned in reviews, but it's important. Samsung does include high contrast themes, a magnifier, hearing aid support, and Androids new live transcribe and captions features.

I do like the Security upgrades you get with the S21 line. 2D face unlocking is still included, along with Qualcomm's new Ultrasonic Fingerprint sensor, which is not only a lot faster and isn't as bright for example, when using this at night, but more data is captured to increase accuracy, it's a bigger area, which also means it brings upgraded security.

Samsung Knox for hardware and software security, like kernel protection, Knox Vault, and DEFEX which stands for defeat exploit. This prevents unauthorized apps from changing the system and it's also there to deter rooting.

As for connectivity: Models vary depending on your location and carrier, but both sub 6 and mmwave versions are available, Bluetooth 5.0, Wifi 802.11 up to AX AKA wifi 6, NFC, SIM (mine supports single SIM, dual and e-sim are available on certain carriers and locations). There is no Ultra Wide Band included. Only in the + and Ultra phones. UWB can be used to give you better accuracy for location - i.e. with the smart tags.

Call quality was crystal clear for both myself and the person I was calling. I also had no issues accessing 5G speeds downtown here in Denver on my Google Fi SIM card.

The Stereo speakers made by AKG, support Dolby Atmos, no headphone jack. Speakers are on the top of the display and on the bottom rail. Well balanced, excellent clarity. Bass lacks.

I'm pretty impressed with the battery performance. It's a 4000mAh battery and it supports fast wireless charging 2.0 and Fast charging wired. You also get Wireless powershare. For Wired: 25.0W; Wireless: 15.0W. The Battery life Went from 100% charge to about 53% in 7 hours, with that full time being used to watch Youtube videos, all radios but Wifi turned off, full resolution, adaptive refresh rate, adaptive brightness.

So, my overall impressions. This is a solid, excellent phone. Especially for the price point. It's $200 cheaper MSRP than it's predecessor. BUT also lost some functionality, while gaining other important features. The screen resolution decreased slightly, we don't have expandable storage, and you lose the adapter in the box. There's also no MST or magnetic secure transmission, which is used for Samsung Pay on traditional, non chip POS and credit card terminals, and no UWB. It's also plastic on the back instead of glass. I don't think any of these are deal breakers for myself, but they may be for you, especially the storage. BUT you also get a faster processor, faster fingerprint sensor, better AI for the camera technology even though they're the same lenses, and a flat display instead of a curved one which some folks will definitely like. My biggest reason for only getting the S21 and not the +, is because the plus is mostly the same except it's bigger, has a bigger battery and higher screen resolution, and that one supports Ultra Wide Band, unlike this regular s21.

So Should you buy it? Yes, if you want to stay under a 1 grand budget and want a smaller phone, it's especially a great deal if you have an old phone to trade in, or you get one with a carrier instead of unlocked.

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