**** The Official Samsung Galaxy S21 Family Thread ****
- Thread starter n30_mkii
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Well on my s21 after my first full day I'm down to 5%battery with 8hrs 10mins SOT. This was just a mixture of setting up apps, web browsing, few YouTube vids and messing around with the camera.
That's on adaptive refresh with auto brightness.
Big step up from my old s9 but that was known for being pretty bad as it was released not that long after Samsung was having batteries catch fire so had a tiny battery.
That's on adaptive refresh with auto brightness.
Big step up from my old s9 but that was known for being pretty bad as it was released not that long after Samsung was having batteries catch fire so had a tiny battery.
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Yeah. I need to reset and start again then I think!
What's your signal/reception like? 4G or 5G?
Wanted to give some feedback after 48 hours of use.
First of all really really impressed with this phone , at this stage I see this as being the perfect phone for me.
Recently I've had in this order SnapDragon N20 ultra, pixel 5 (great camera but average device) , SD N20 ultra again which I still have.
Comparing the s21 ultra and my Note 20 ultra, first things are:
A) Fingerprint reader is so much better, the N20 ultra feels inaccurate and slow after this. This is a big difference in my book.
B) camera - the Note 20 ultra could take some amazing photos but also has some issues with soft edges, colours etc, the S21 fixes all of these from what I have tested. The Macro mode is brilliant also.
C) Battery - note 20 ultra snapdragon still appears better but I will reserve judgement until usage patterns are learnt. I started from fresh again yesterday as I did use smart switch before from the N20 ultra.
Not bothering running in QHD+ with 120hz, will hammer the battery. Runs fast and no overheating unlike my S20+ Exynos which started me on the SnapDragon journey
The reason I started looking at the s21 is due to lack of software updates on the HK note 20 ultra, Samsung appear to have forgotten. No one UI 3 and still on November patch.
Both amazing devices with the s21 fixing a lot of the issues. It's also slightly more comfortable with the rounded edges but a bit more heavier and thicker.
Aiming to keep this combination for a couple of years after switching to much recently.
This is the pinnacle of mobile phones in this form, once foldables are matured that will probably be the next jump.
First of all really really impressed with this phone , at this stage I see this as being the perfect phone for me.
Recently I've had in this order SnapDragon N20 ultra, pixel 5 (great camera but average device) , SD N20 ultra again which I still have.
Comparing the s21 ultra and my Note 20 ultra, first things are:
A) Fingerprint reader is so much better, the N20 ultra feels inaccurate and slow after this. This is a big difference in my book.
B) camera - the Note 20 ultra could take some amazing photos but also has some issues with soft edges, colours etc, the S21 fixes all of these from what I have tested. The Macro mode is brilliant also.
C) Battery - note 20 ultra snapdragon still appears better but I will reserve judgement until usage patterns are learnt. I started from fresh again yesterday as I did use smart switch before from the N20 ultra.
Not bothering running in QHD+ with 120hz, will hammer the battery. Runs fast and no overheating unlike my S20+ Exynos which started me on the SnapDragon journey
The reason I started looking at the s21 is due to lack of software updates on the HK note 20 ultra, Samsung appear to have forgotten. No one UI 3 and still on November patch.
Both amazing devices with the s21 fixing a lot of the issues. It's also slightly more comfortable with the rounded edges but a bit more heavier and thicker.
Aiming to keep this combination for a couple of years after switching to much recently.
This is the pinnacle of mobile phones in this form, once foldables are matured that will probably be the next jump.
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Thank you for this. I will be upgrading my s21 ultra (uk 512gb) next year for the s22 ultra then the year after I will be on the foldable, by then i am hoping it will of matured and some of the concerns i have will be sorted. In case your wondering I'm on the EE smart 5g yearly upgrade contract.
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Took out a new contract for this phone with EE last night when I noticed they've added 20% discount back to my works reward portal.
A bit of a faf having to port my number to a payg SIM and back again...
Figured there's no point waiting for a better phone now that the camera has broken only pixel 2xl and the cracked screen is slowly falling apart.
A bit of a faf having to port my number to a payg SIM and back again...
Figured there's no point waiting for a better phone now that the camera has broken only pixel 2xl and the cracked screen is slowly falling apart.
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I managed 10hrs screen on time yesterday, which was nice..
But the main annoyance for me is fingerprint sensor on my s21u seems to forget my prints sometimes
But the main annoyance for me is fingerprint sensor on my s21u seems to forget my prints sometimes
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It takes me so long to set up my new phones, authenticators banking apps the way it looks ect. i think it must take me a week. but then i am only able to do it after work at night time. But having said that I do enjoy that part of having a new phone. I stopped using the smart switch since note 9, I personally have only ever had problems using it. So with each new phone, I start afresh. The only thing i let backup is my contacts, its a pitta to type all those back in.
Saw a review where the person said to register the same finger a few times but in different positions.
Might help.
I am coming from a note 9 so up until now I have only ever used a finger print scanner on back of the phone. I find that much better, but now getting used to the on screen scanner.
On another note I miss the dedicated finger to unlock the secure folder option. Also the iris scanner.
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Hi @Famgoon, thanks for the suggestion. I did that with my pixel2xl too (which never had a problem unlocking) but it hasn't really helped on my s21u.
Considering how everyone else seems to be praising it, I'm guessing there's something wrong with my thumbs? Lol
It failed 5 times in a row a few minutes ago, forcing me to slide and unlock with my pin
Considering how everyone else seems to be praising it, I'm guessing there's something wrong with my thumbs? Lol
It failed 5 times in a row a few minutes ago, forcing me to slide and unlock with my pin
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For those that don’t use smart switch - what do you do re. restoring your messages?
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I didn't bother
4g and only 2 bars out of 4. Was on WiFi the whole time though as I was at home. No WiFi calling either. No idea if that has a positive or negative affect on battery
I also set up both thumbs twice at different angles, been doing it for a couple of years and makes it flawless
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I wondered if my thumbs / fingers are different to everyone else's as I always seemed to have trouble with the rear fingerprint sensors on the pixels when other people were claiming they never did, yet touch wood, no problems at all with this, big improvement.
On day 2.
Loving this so far, S21 Ultra camera is far more reliable at getting a good shot over my S20 Ultra and the soon is insane.
Also battery life seems considerably better than my S20 Ultra Exynos, although I'll reserve judgement till I'm a good 2-3 weeks in.
Loving this so far, S21 Ultra camera is far more reliable at getting a good shot over my S20 Ultra and the soon is insane.
Also battery life seems considerably better than my S20 Ultra Exynos, although I'll reserve judgement till I'm a good 2-3 weeks in.
Just been testing the 3x and 10x zoom optical very good even compared to my note 20 ultra. Went to 30x and the zoom look is brilliant and stops the juddering.
Quality is still decent at 30x , past 50x as expected gets a little bad. Saying that I probably won't go past 10x often
Quality is still decent at 30x , past 50x as expected gets a little bad. Saying that I probably won't go past 10x often
Wow mine has just turned up S21 Ultra (512gb), no warning it was today as emails etc all say its tommorow delivery. Gives me something do now, before work tomorrow though 
- I have said a few times on here how bad i thought the s20+ was, from a long term samsung fan and user. It was mainly Exynos 990 related, heat and i thought battery life in particular was pretty bad so waited until i read reviews etc and have done a lot of reading this last few weeks. Everything that was coming out seemed to be a lot more positive about the S21 and the exynos 2100 so took the plunge on thursday before the samsung offer expired for freebies. Initial thoughts, from just opening the box is its a thing of beauty. Gonna make a start now setting it up. Fresh install, smart switch is a nightmare and caused loads of issues for me before.
- I have said a few times on here how bad i thought the s20+ was, from a long term samsung fan and user. It was mainly Exynos 990 related, heat and i thought battery life in particular was pretty bad so waited until i read reviews etc and have done a lot of reading this last few weeks. Everything that was coming out seemed to be a lot more positive about the S21 and the exynos 2100 so took the plunge on thursday before the samsung offer expired for freebies. Initial thoughts, from just opening the box is its a thing of beauty. Gonna make a start now setting it up. Fresh install, smart switch is a nightmare and caused loads of issues for me before.