The VW Golf among Android phones

With the Galaxy S21, Samsung has brought a top smartphone onto the market that requires many compromises in terms of features. But does this really make the cell phone worse or even better? GIGA answers exactly this question in the test of the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G.

Samsung Galaxy S21 in the test: design and workmanship

Samsung has fine-tuned the look of the Samsung Galaxy S21. With the flat display on the front and the camera pulled into the frame, the smartphone looks very modern and unique. Everything looks like it is from one piece. With its rounded edges and light weight, the mobile phone is very comfortable to hold. Much more comfortable than the Galaxy S21 Plus or Galaxy S21 Ultra, which appear much clunkier and heavier. The S21 has a plastic back. This is often perceived as negative, but it is not at all. The matte finish suits the phone very well and makes it easy to use.

The look of the Galaxy S21 is pleasing and the workmanship also fits. The transitions between the different materials are fluid. You don’t feel any sharp transitions. Even the camera unit was shaped round so that the transition to the housing does not appear so massive. This has also been tried with the S21 Ultra, but the camera is still much more present there.

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Samsung Galaxy S21 in the test: display and speakers

Samsung has decided to reduce the resolution of the Galaxy S21 compared to the Galaxy S20. Since you could only use the 120 Hertz mode with a lower resolution anyway, that’s not a really negative point. Much more important is that the screen is now flat and the cell phone no longer has a pointless dual-edge display. Overall, the Super AMOLED panel can convince with a beautiful display and high brightness. With the rounded edges, the screen nestles against the housing and creates narrow edges. It just fits. The larger fingerprint sensor, which works a little better, was also noticed positively.

The speakers of the Samsung Galaxy S21 are convincing. One sits on the underside, the other between the frame and display above the front camera. So it doesn’t happen too quickly that you cover something up. The volume is high enough to fill a room with sound. The sound is okay up to a certain volume. Of course, you shouldn’t expect too much. It is and will always be a cell phone. The voice quality when telephoning in the WLAN, but also in the Telekom network, was convincing.

Samsung Galaxy S21 in the test: performance and software

Before the Galaxy S21 was presented, Samsung did a lot of advertising for the Exynos 2100 and promised that the processor would no longer be at a disadvantage compared to a Qualcomm. In fact, the new Samsung processor has extremely high performance and good efficiency. We don’t want to anticipate the part of the mobile phone runtime, but that’s really good. This also applies to performance. Android 11 with One UI 3.1 is top notch on the phone. No matter whether you have to update countless apps via the Play Store after setting up and surf the Internet at the same time. The Galaxy S21 runs like a one and does not get warm. So the 5 nm processor keeps what Samsung has promised. The 8 GB RAM is sufficient for all normal activities.

Samsung has preinstalled Android 11 and One UI 3.1 on the Galaxy S21. The operating system works pretty well on the whole, but every now and then some things are annoying: The double symbols in notifications are a particular problem. During the test, I was shown the WhatsApp icon and the weather twice. Once because the weather and WhatsApp have just sent a notification and then again because the apps are being updated. The symbols are then shown twice on the always-on display for a very long time. This is ugly and needs to be cleaned up.

Anyone who has ever used a Samsung smartphone will find their way around immediately. But even beginners won’t have any problems, because Samsung has made the operating system more and more beginner-friendly over time. Most of the features are self-explanatory and Samsung will help you understand features when you start.

Samsung Galaxy S21 in the test: camera

The camera of the Galaxy S21 basically corresponds to the camera of the predecessor. Samsung only tweaked the software a little to improve the zoom, for example. But you shouldn’t overdo it. The pictures still look good up to a tenfold magnification, after which one can basically no longer speak of an acceptable picture quality. If you want to zoom in more, you have to use the S21 Ultra, which we will look at in detail shortly. Below are some photos taken with the Galaxy S21:

Samsung Galaxy S21 in the test: battery life

Samsung has installed a 4,000 mAh battery in the Galaxy S21. Although the capacity has not changed compared to its predecessor, the smartphone lasts noticeably longer. With the 120 Hertz function activated, I achieved display-on times of 5 to 6 hours. That is as much as the Galaxy S20 Plus from last year with a larger battery. This is probably due to the new display and the efficiency of the Exynos 2100. For the first time, I had the feeling that the battery life of the normal model is sufficient for normal use instead of longing for a Plus or Ultra. The runtime of the S21 Plus should be even better.

A power supply is not included with the Galaxy S21. If you want to charge your Samsung cell phone, you have to get a power adapter from the manufacturer or look for it in the open market. Since I now only charge 90% of my cell phones wirelessly, that wasn’t a major disadvantage. Anyone who starts with the Galaxy S21, of course, has a problem and additional costs.

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