To obtain a reward, a qualifying product must be taken out. 1 membership per year. Rewards T&Cs apply. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is Samsung's latest foldable, showcasing the company's prowess when it comes to display technology and hardware design. The Fold 3 is a big, powerful phone that Samsung has intended to succeed the venerable Galaxy Note line (RIP). We also tested the screen brightness of the Galaxy S20 Ultra outdoors, and it automatically amps up to a super-bright 1,500 nits when necessary. Other phones with AMOLED screens, including the S21 and S21 Plus, max out at 1,200 nits, and every little bit helps in direct sunlight. I tested the camera out at a nearby store to capture a shot of produce, and the green peppers in the foreground look shiny and delicious. And you can make out a pretty amazing amount of detail when you zoom in.However, by comparison, the iPhone 12 Pro Max’s shot looks even more vibrant. S-Pen supportis now also standard on the Galaxy S21 Ultra, although you'll have to buy the accessory separately - no freebies here, unfortunately - at least upon release.

Going all the way from the ultra-wide camera at 0.6x to the digitally zoomed-in 30x with usable photos each step of the way is how Samsung stands apart from Apple and its cameras on the iPhone 12 Pro Max (capped at 2.5x optical / 12x digital), and Google’s Pixel 5 (no telephoto). No one (except Huawei) is doing zoom on a smartphone like this in 2021, and your Apple phone-owning friends will have telephoto envy. While Samsung offered compromises on the standard Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Pro devices to bring their prices down to more reasonable climates, the South Korean tech giant still pulled out all the stops for the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra - the big daddy of the current flagship lineup. This is still Samsung’s best screen, but for many other reasons. We found the 6.8-inch body to be easier to grasp than the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max, and that’s in large part thanks to the curved display and overall narrowness of Samsung's device. The curved edges are subtle on the S21 Ultra, and not quite as pronounced as on past Samsung devices, and that means fewer errant presses. Terms and conditions apply. See www.samsung.com/sg/tradeup for details. Trade-in value may vary depending on the device condition. Samsung reserves the right to amend the list of eligible devices and their trade-in values at any time without prior notice. Samsung Trade Up Programme is provided by a Samsung-approved independent third-party vendor. Our Galaxy Z Fold 3 vs. Galaxy S21 Ultra face-off breaks down the differences. But if you're tired of the old smartphone design, then the Galaxy Z Fold 3 (or even Galaxy Z Flip 3) is worth looking at — bearing in mind that it's quite expensive. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Android 12 updateWe noticed that the Galaxy S21 Ultra camera offers improved dynamic range in outdoor photos (see photos with a bright sky and darker buildings) over its predecessors, and Samsung now offers 12-bit raw files for greater flexibility when editing. The iPhone 12 Pro series still wins out for many non-zoomed photos, especially indoor and nighttime shots, but Samsung and its more finely tuned night mode (it doesn’t simply bump up the exposure) help close the gap. That said, while that's the list price, many stores are now selling the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra for less. You can expect the price to continue dropping over time. For more, see our in-depth iPhone 13 Pro Max vs. Galaxy S21 Ultra face-off. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs. Galaxy Z Fold 3 The Galaxy S21 Ultra is also a great partner to have when you're outdoors. Take this photo of towering trees I took at a nearby park. You can make out fine detail in the bark, and the phone does a great job capturing the clouds against the blue sky even while dealing with all of the shadows in the foreground. I slightly prefer the S21 Ultra’s photo in this case to the iPhone 12 Pro Max, but it’s really close.

Hang on to your power adapters. Neither the old USB-A nor the new USB-C chargers are included in the box, but you will get all-day battery life. (Image credit: Future) Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra battery lifePart of the reason the S21 Ultra seems snappy is the fact that Samsung has further streamlined its software interface. With the OneUI 3.0 interface, menus now throw fewer unnecessary windows in your face before executing what you want to do. Turning on power save mode, for example, makes adjustments immediately.

While Samsung has modified something from what you'll find on a Pixel phone, you can read our Android 12 review to learn more about what you can expect with the update. Samsung's Ultra series superphones are meant for the consumers that want the absolute best of the best in their phones and the S21 is providing just that kind of an exceptional experience with top-tier features and specs in all relevant areas imaginable. With an attractive new design, powerful the Exynos 2100 chip and a larger display, the S21 will not disappoint the power users. On top of all that, the price has been reduced too. Compared to the last year's S20 Ultra's launch price, the Ultra is more affordable to find its place in this troublesome global economy. Super-Smooth and Colour-Rich Display Compare the Market is a trading name of Compare The Market Limited. Registered in England No. 10636682. Registered Office: Pegasus House, Bakewell Road, Orton Southgate, Peterborough, PE2 6YS. Compare The Market Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for insurance distribution (Firm Reference Number: 778488). Energy and Digital products are not regulated by the FCA. Samsung reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions and/or amend or withdraw the promotions at any time without prior notice and without assigning any reason. In addition, the screen on the Ultra is more dynamic, as it can scale from 120Hz all the way down to 10Hz, while the panels on the regular S21 and S21 Plus go down to 48Hz. This helps save on battery life. And the S21 Ultra has the largest battery at 5,000 mAh, compared to the S21 (4,000 mAh) and S21 Plus (4,800 mAh).

Galaxy S21 | S21+ | S21 Ultra 5G

The base-level 128GB of internal storage with 12GB of RAM might not be enough for everyone. You’ll want to either pony up for the version with 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM, or max out at 256GB of storage with 16GB of RAM. The RAM won’t make much of a difference in a phone, but you’ll definitely notice if you run out of storage space. The biggest area where Samsung are consistently great at is the display. The 6.8-inch, Dynamic AMOLED display with QHD+ resolution (1.440 x 3.200) is certainly a sight to behold. It has vibrant colours, very high peak brightness, high pixel-per-inch count and a super-smooth refresh rate at 120 Hz. The refresh rate especially makes a massive difference in how responsive the device feels. Combined with the Exynos 2100 chip that powers the device, navigating the UI is just a breeze. The content on display is super sharp too. The 515-PPI display is perfect for high-res multimedia consumption. The Advanced Camera System Maybe we just had a bad experience, but just on our batteries alone, I give this phone 2*'s out of 5. I read from Tom there are battery fixes in the works and as long as that and the texting work, I'd give this another look this summer. For now a hard pass. Unlike it's smaller siblings, who are dropping down to 8GB of RAM, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra retains its 12GB while still upping its processor significantly to the new Snapdragon 888. It's also now the only S21 model to feature a top-end 512GB capacity variant, which also has a hefty 16GB of RAM to boot. Another key upgrade is the screen tech in the Ultra - which is now fully capable of offering both 1440p resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate. That's a refresh rate that's matched on the two other new devices, but only at a 1080p resolution. Proximity Sensor, Hall Effect Sensor, Light Sensor, Gyroscope Sensor, Accelerometer (G-Sensor), Fingerprint Sensor

Keep in mind that there’s no microSD card slot for expandable storage, so if you’re keen on taking lots of 4K 60fps or 8K 24fps video, you may want to look into the pricier 256GB or 512GB storage sizes – and the latter of those sizes also bumps up the RAM to 16GB. The biggest competitor for the Galaxy S21 Ultra is the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Apple's phone delivers faster performance from its A15 Bionic chip, and you get a strong Ceramic Shield front display that's designed to be more durable. The long-awaited verdict to having both? Meh – it’s the best of both worlds, sure, but you won’t see much of a difference between 1080p and Quad HD on a display of this size, and Quad HD will drain your battery faster. The Galaxy S21 Ultra also performs quite well in low light, thanks to a faster Bright Night sensor and 12MP nona-binning technology for reducing noise reduction.In this comparison you can make out more of the stones and bushes in the foreground in the S21 Ultra’s photo compared to the iPhone 12 Pro Max, although the iPhone’s colors look more natural. Welcome amid an economic slowdown, the overhauled look and boost in performance haven't led to a price increase over last year’s S20 Ultra – Samsung has actually made this phone significantly cheaper. Granted, we felt like the first Ultra phone was overpriced, and the S21 Ultra is still mighty expensive – it’s more than the iPhone 12 Pro Max – but Samsung gives you a bit more for the extra cost: a larger, brighter and more capable curved screen, 10x optical camera zoom (vs 2.5x on the iPhone), and stylus support, something Apple has yet to offer on any iPhone.OS:Android 11 | Screen size:6.8-inch AMOLED, 120Hz| Resolution:1440 x 3200 | CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 | Memory:12 / 16GB | Weight:172g | Storage:128 / 256 / 512| Battery:4,800mAh | Rear camera:108MP main/ultrawide/telephoto| Front camera:40MP The need for resolutions higher than Full HD among smartphones was being driven by VR headsets – you could see a ‘screen door effect’ at lower resolutions when the pixels were so close to your face. But Samsung, along with the entire mobile industry, seems to have cooled all phone-based VR initiatives.