Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra display has an amazing feature that makes it the phone to own in 2021
At Unpacked 2021, Samsung revealed their Galaxy S21 series, a trio of smartphones that are lead by the Galaxy S21 Ultra which has their best technologies shoved into an exquisitely slim casing that’s just 8.9mm thin. All three of their flagship phones are destined for an imminent launch across the globe including Malaysia.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra has the requisite performance and camera upgrades that allow it to stand and fight toe to toe with anything currently in the market for 2021 and give anything else beyond it a good fight but it has one particular hardware feature that gives it a decisive advantage and which blows anything in the market currently out of the water – it’s display. 
What’s so special about the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s display anyway?
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At first blush, the Galaxy S21 Ultra has a solid looking 6.8-inch WQHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display that’s a good deal sharper and larger on its smaller and more affordable siblings the Galaxy S21 and S21+. It’s also capable of a dynamic refresh rate of between 10-120Hz depending on what content you’re viewing onscreen.
If it’s static like a text document, it refreshes at a slower rate. If you’re watching a movie, gaming or scrolling through a web page, it refreshes much faster. Sure. But what makes it so special?
Granted, the S21 Ultra’s Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel is razor sharp and its buttery smooth 120Hz refresh rate is impressive when taken piecemeal. The game changer here is that it’s able to do both at the same time. 
The Galaxy S21 Ultra is so far one of the first phones to punch out a full 120Hz dynamic refresh rate on a full sized WQHD+ display which means that you not only have incredibly smooth animations for movies, gaming and web browsing on a pin-sharp 3,200 x 1,440 pixel panel. This is something none of its predecessors were able to accomplish.
Even last year’s Galaxy S20 Ultra and Note20 Ultra allowed you to either have a 120Hz refresh rate but at a lower FHD+ resolution or WQHD+ resolution at a normal 60Hz refresh rate. If you’re looking for a no-compromise high resolution, high refresh rate AMOLED display in a phone, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is currently the only game in town.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra – the other good stuff
On top of the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s cutting edge Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen, it has hardware that is impressive indeed. You have the latest Exynos 2100 or Snapdragon 888 processor, up to 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage which lets it go toe to toe with any flagship phone.
In a first for the Galaxy S series line, the S21 Ultra also has an optional S Pen stylus which comes bundled with a casing though the phone itself doesn’t have a stylus well in the fashion of the Galaxy Note series phones.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra’s quad camera setup comes with a 108MP F/1.8 main camera with OIS, a 12MP F/2.2 ultra wide angle camera and a unique Dual Zoom lens array.
Rather than one bulky zoom camera to tackle zoom at all levels, the camera array splits the workload between two cameras with a 10MP F/2,4 Dual Pixel camera with OIS and 3X optical zoom paired with a secondary 10MP Dual Pixel camera with 10X zoom and OIS for longer distances. Rounding things off is a laser autofocus sensor. 
Combined, this quad camera setup allows you to capture up to 108MP stills that are crisp enough that you can still zoom in and crop without significant loss of details.
When it comes to extended Zoom shots, and the S21 Ultra is able to go up to 100x Space Zoom, Samsung has added a new Zoom Lock mode that locks in and steadies extreme zoomed in shots if you keep a subject in frame for two seconds or manually trigger it.
Another enhancement with the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s cameras is an upgraded Night mode that is a marked improvement over the Galaxy S20’s night mode. Up front, the Galaxy S21 Ultra has a 40MP single selfie camera. 
On the imaging front, the Galaxy S21 Ultra allows for filming in 4K across all sensors which is quite an impressive feat. Keeping it powered is a 5,000mAh battery with all the usual embellishments like Super Fast charging, fast wireless charging and wireless PowerShare along with Ultra Wideband (UWB) which lets the phone be used in an expanding array of functions including acting as a key to unlock cars and more.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Specifications
You can check out a detailed spec sheet of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and how it stacks up to its siblings the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ here.
| Specifications | Galaxy S21 | Galaxy S21+ | Galaxy S21 Ultra |
| Price | RM3,699 | RM4,299 |
RM5,299 (12GB/256GB) RM5,899 (16GB/512GB) |
| Display | 6.2-inch Flat FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Display (2400×1080), 421ppi, HDR10+ certified Adaptive 120Hz refresh rate (48~120Hz) Eye Comfort Shield | 6.7-inch Flat FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Display (2400×1080), 394ppi, HDR10+ certified Adaptive 120Hz refresh rate (48~120Hz) Eye Comfort Shield | 6.8-inch Edge QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Display (3200×1440), 515ppi, HDR10+ certified Adaptive 120Hz refresh rate (10~120Hz) Eye Comfort Shield |
| Size/Weight | Dimension: 71.2×151.7×7.9mm Weight: 169g(sub6) | Dimension: 75.6×161.5×7.8mm Weight: 200g(sub6) | Dimensions: 75.6×165.1×8.9mm Weight: 227g(sub6) |
| Cameras | [Front camera] 10MP Dual Pixel AF, FOV 80°, F2.2, 1.22µm [Rear camera] Triple camera Ultra Wide: 12MP FF, FOV 120° F2.2, 1.4µm Wide-angle: 12MP Dual Pixel AF, FOV 79°, OIS, F1.8, 1.8µm Telephoto: 64MP Phase Detection AF, Hybrid Optic 3X, FOV 76°, OIS F2.0, 0.8µm 30X Space Zoom | [Front camera] 10MP Dual Pixel AF, FOV 80°, F2.2, 1.22µm [Rear camera] Triple camera Ultra Wide: 12MP FF, FOV 120° F2.2, 1.4µm Wide-angle: 12MP Dual Pixel AF, FOV 79°, OIS, F1.8, 1.8µm Telephoto: 64MP Phase Detection AF, Hybrid Optic 3X, FOV 76°, OIS F2.0, 0.8µm 30X Space Zoom | [Front camera] 40MP Phase Detection AF, FOV 80°, F2.2, 0.7 µm [Rear camera] Quad camera Ultra Wide: 12MP Dual Pixel AF, FOV 120°, F2.2, 1.4µm Wide-angle: 108MP Phase Detection AF, FOV 83°, OIS, F1.8, 0.8µm Telephoto 1: 10MP Dual Pixel AF, Optical 3x, FOV 35°,OIS, F2.4, 1.22µm Telephoto 2: 10MP Dual Pixel AF, Optical 10x, FOV 10°,OIS, F4.9, 1.22µm 100X Space Zoom Laser AF Sensor |
| Processor | Exynos 2100 5nm 64-bit Octa-Core Processor 2.9GHz (Maximum Clock Speed) + 2.8GHz +2.2GHz / Snapdragon 888 | Exynos 2100 5nm 64-bit Octa-Core Processor 2.9GHz (Maximum Clock Speed) + 2.8GHz +2.2GHz / Snapdragon 888 | Exynos 2100 5nm 64-bit Octa-Core Processor 2.9GHz (Maximum Clock Speed) + 2.8GHz +2.2GHz / Snapdragon 888 |
| Memory | 8GB RAM (LPDDR5) with 256GB internal storage | 8GB RAM (LPDDR5) with 256GB internal storage | 12GB RAM (LPDDR5) with 256GB internal storage 16GB RAM (LPDDR5) with 512GB internal storage |
| Battery | 4000mAh (typical) | 4800mAh (typical) | 5000mAh (typical) |
| Charging | Improved wireless charging speeds with Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 USB PD 3.0 (PPS) certified Fast Charging for wired charging (AFC and QC2.0 compatible) *WPC certified Wireless charging *Wireless PowerShare | Improved wireless charging speeds with Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 USB PD 3.0 (PPS) certified Fast Charging for wired charging (AFC and QC2.0 compatible) *WPC certified Wireless charging *Wireless PowerShare | Improved wireless charging speeds with Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 USB PD 3.0 (PPS) certified Fast Charging for wired charging (AFC and QC2.0 compatible) *WPC certified Wireless charging *Wireless PowerShare |
| OS | Android 11 | Android 11 | Android 11 |
| Connectivity | [5G]5G Non-Standalone (NSA), Standalone (SA), Sub6 | [5G]5G Non-Standalone (NSA), Standalone (SA), Sub6 [Ultra Wideband] | [5G]5G Non-Standalone (NSA), Standalone (SA), Sub6 [Ultra Wideband] |
| Payment | NFC, MST | NFC, MST | NFC, MST |
| Audio | Ultra high quality audio playback] UHQ 32-bit &DSD64/128 support PCM: Up to 32 bits, DSD: DSD64/128 *DSD64 and DSD128 playback can be limited depending on the file format. [Audio playback format] MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, APE, DSF, DFF [Bluetooth] Dual Audio *The two connected devices may exhibit a slight difference in sound output.. Scalable Codec *Available only for certain wearables made by Samsung such as Galaxy Buds Pro, Galaxy Buds Live, Galaxy Buds. [Recording] Recording quality is improved with the High AOP Mic that minimizes distortion in noisy environments. *AOP: Acoustic Overload Point | Ultra high quality audio playback] UHQ 32-bit &DSD64/128 support PCM: Up to 32 bits, DSD: DSD64/128 *DSD64 and DSD128 playback can be limited depending on the file format. [Audio playback format] MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, APE, DSF, DFF [Bluetooth] Dual Audio *The two connected devices may exhibit a slight difference in sound output.. Scalable Codec *Available only for certain wearables made by Samsung such as Galaxy Buds Pro, Galaxy Buds Live, Galaxy Buds. [Recording] Recording quality is improved with the High AOP Mic that minimizes distortion in noisy environments. *AOP: Acoustic Overload Point | Ultra high quality audio playback] UHQ 32-bit &DSD64/128 support PCM: Up to 32 bits, DSD: DSD64/128 *DSD64 and DSD128 playback can be limited depending on the file format. [Audio playback format] MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, APE, DSF, DFF [Bluetooth] Dual Audio *The two connected devices may exhibit a slight difference in sound output.. Scalable Codec *Available only for certain wearables made by Samsung such as Galaxy Buds Pro, Galaxy Buds Live, Galaxy Buds. [Recording] Recording quality is improved with the High AOP Mic that minimizes distortion in noisy environments. *AOP: Acoustic Overload Point |
| Video | [Video playback format] MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM [TV connection] Wireless: Smart View (screen mirroring 1080p at 30 fps) Wired: supports DisplayPort over USB type-C. Supports video out when connecting via HDMI Adapter. (DisplayPort 4K UHD at 60 fps) | [Video playback format] MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM [TV connection] Wireless: Smart View (screen mirroring 1080p at 30 fps) Wired: supports DisplayPort over USB type-C. Supports video out when connecting via HDMI Adapter. (DisplayPort 4K UHD at 60 fps) | [Video playback format] MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM [TV connection] Wireless: Smart View (screen mirroring 1080p at 30 fps) Wired: supports DisplayPort over USB type-C. Supports video out when connecting via HDMI Adapter. (DisplayPort 4K UHD at 60 fps) |
| Water resistance | IP68 | IP68 | IP68 |
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Price
At launch, Samsung has listed the price of the Galaxy S21 Ultra from US$ 1,199 in the US.
For Malaysia, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is up for preorders and will have two subvariants available, with one packing 12GB RAM and 256GB storage for RM5,299 and another top-tier one with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage for RM5,899.
Preorders will get you a free Galaxy Buds Pro. You can check out Samsung Malaysia’s preorder programme at their official page at https://www.samsung.com/my/smartphones/galaxy-s21-5g/buy/
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