Samsung’s new Galaxy S21 phones feature a new look, improved specs, and cheaper prices than last year’s models

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• Samsung launched its new Galaxy S21 flagship phones on January 14.
• Prices start at $799.99 for the Galaxy S21, $999.99 for the Galaxy S21 Plus, and $1,199.99 for the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
• They’re available for preorder today and will be widely available to buy starting January 29 from Samsung, online retailers, and carriers. 
• The Galaxy S21 phones come with a fresh design, new specs, and camera improvements. 
• See also: The best smartphones

Samsung announced its latest Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, and Galaxy S21 Ultra flagship smartphones on January 14.

The new Galaxy S21 phones will be available to preorder from Samsung.com starting on January 14 at 11 a.m. ET, and ending on January 28. They’ll be widely available to buy starting on January 29 in carrier stores, online retailers, and Samsung.com.

Samsung Galaxy S21 price

The phones start at $799.99 for the Galaxy S21, $999.99 for the Galaxy S21 Plus, and $1,199.99 for the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Those are cheaper price tags than Samsung’s 2020 Galaxy S20 series, which are always welcome. Samsung says that the price difference can largely be attributed to maturing 5G technology. 

As usual, Samsung has some incentives for preorders, which include $200 in Samsung credit and a free Galaxy SmartTag. Samsung and some carriers also have trade-in program that let you trade in your old phone to reduce the price of a Galaxy S21 device.

Samsung Galaxy S21 features

Samsung has overhauled its usual smartphone design for the new Galaxy S21 series, including flat screens for the S21 and S21 Plus compared to curved screens from previous models. The backs of the Galaxy S21 series are also getting the matte glass texture treatment compared to Samsung’s traditional clear glass.

And who could miss the fancy new camera module design that wraps around the top left corner of the Galaxy S21 phones? It’s a unique look compared to the usual plaques we often see on smartphone camera models, and it helps the Galaxy S21 series stand out among the crowd.

The Galaxy S21 series is getting the full 120Hz screen refresh rate treatment that’s largely expected on high-end phones these days, which makes for a smooth look and feel when navigating around Android and apps. Samsung also added a new Eye Comfort Shield feature to each S21 model that automatically adjusts the screen’s color temperature based on the time of day. The screen will have a brighter, cooler tone that transitions to a warmer tone as the day wears on.

And of course, the cameras got some attention, too. Save for the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s new quad-lens system, there’s nothing too remarkably different with the camera hardware itself, but Samsung added some new features that could prove handy for certain users. Namely, the new Director’s View shows you what each camera lens sees in small thumbnails and lets you switch between lenses while you’re recording video. There’s also a Vlogger View that records video with both the rear and front cameras at the same time.

The fourth lens in the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s quad-camera system is an extra 10x optical zoom lens that complements a 3x optical zoom lens. Having this variety of lenses should lead to better zoomed photos and a wider range of distances, while also enabling Samsung’s crazy 100x digital zoom, which is seeing several improvements as well.

Samsung also said that it’s improved the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s low-light photography capabilities by combining nine pixels into one to absorb more light. Unfortunately, this feature won’t be available on the S21 Plus or standard S21.

Also specific to the Galaxy S21 Ultra, is support for the S Pen stylus from Samsung’s Galaxy Note series. It’ll offer the same functionality as Note users get, and you can store the S Pen in a sleeve that comes with a special case.

And specific to the Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra will be ultra-wide-band (UWB) radios. The UWB radios will let users turn their phones into digital car keys to lock and unlock their cars.

Galaxy S21 specs

Display: 6.2-inch flat 1080p (2,400 x 1,080) 48-120Hz AMOLED

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888

Memory and storage: 8GB RAM, 128GB/256GB storage

Rear cameras: 12-megapixel standard wide, 12-megapixel 120-degree ultra-wide, and 64-megapixel 3x hybrid zoom up to 30x digital zoom 

Selfie camera: 10-megapixel 

Battery: 4,000mAh

Water resistance: IP68

Connectivity: Sub6 (5G), mmWave (5G)

Galaxy S21 Plus specs

Display: 6.7-inch flat 1080p (2,400 x 1,080) 48-120Hz AMOLED

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888

Memory and storage: 8GB RAM, 128GB/256GB storage

Rear cameras: 12-megapixel standard wide, 12-megapixel 120-degree ultra-wide, and 64-megapixel 3x hybrid zoom up to 30x digital zoom 

Selfie camera: 10-megapixel 

Battery: 4,800mAh

Water resistance: IP68

Connectivity: Sub6 (5G), mmWave (5G), ultra-wide-band (UWB)

Galaxy S21 Ultra specs

Display: 6.8-inch curved 1440p (3,200 x 1,440) 10-120Hz AMOLED

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888

Memory and storage: 12GB RAM with 128GB/256GB storage; or 16GB RAM with 512GB storage

Rear cameras: 108-megapixel standard wide with phase detection, 12-megapixel 120-degree ultra-wide, 10-megapixel 3x optical zoom, and 10-megapixel 10x optical up to 100x digital zoom 

Selfie camera: 10-megapixel 

Battery: 5,000mAh

Water resistance: IP68

Connectivity: Sub6 (5G), mmWave (5G), WiFi 6E, ultra-wide-band (UWB)