**** The Official Samsung Galaxy S21 Family Thread ****

[Iamzod]

I'm unsure what to do here, had my last phones have been S2 - S4 - S6 Edge - S8 Plus - S10 Plus.

I can't help but feel that unless I go for the Ultra it's a downgrade from the S10 Plus. Lower resolution, no SD Slot, no headphone socket, no charger(WTF?), plastic back.

The Ultra Looks nice but again, no SD slot is a bit of a kicker and really puts me off.

 

[AshB1989]

I've just cancelled my pre order. My gut was telling me it isn't worth it.

 

[nam]

seems like a downgrade upgrading from a S9+ to a S21+ , will stick to my S9+

 

[Funky-Melon]

No my Apple Watch shows me.

Lol, that's typical Apple for you isn't it, create a problem then sell you a solution.

They use AMOLEDS in iPhones now, there is no reason why they can't implement this

 

[azibux1]

Got my pre order in for the S21 Ultra but I might cancel. There is nothing on the website to show this is dual sim as they have removed the SD card slot. Which was used for my 2nd sim on my S10+

I too am stuck trying to work out if it will accept two SIM cards (even if one is e-SIM, that is fine for me, as long as both work)

Seems very vague information online.

Anyone know?

GSM Arena are pretty good and they say even the "single SIM" will have "nano sim AND/OR e-sim"

https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s21_ultra_5g-10596.php

EDIT: Even Samsung Sales have no clue.....



My personal thinking is they've very likely removed second physical SIM slot. But I doubt / hope they haven't removed 2nd sim via e-sim (seems massive backwards step if they have and no logic behind why they'd do that).

 

[smokedog]

I’ve gone phantom blue 256 for £1073 via my employees discount postal.

Thats not a good deal, you can get 10% off with just the normal friends refer discount code

 

[kakarott]

Not sure how many people traded in their old galaxy 10.1 for £450. Samsung has removed this mistake now.

 

[kona786]

Not sure how many people traded in their old galaxy 10.1 for £450. Samsung has removed this mistake now.

They must have got a cancellation email if they found the mistake. Otherwise they got real lucky.

 

[Omar]

They have reduced the trade-in values quite a bit since yesterday - e.g an S20+ 5G was £540 credit yesterday, now down to £450 today.

This happened on the first day of Galaxy S20 FE pre-orders as well and I think for some people they ended up cancelling the orders without any explanation at all.

I really hope they don't do the same thing again!

 

[doodah]

Very keen to see what they do with this year's Note.

 

[Omar]

Everyone has their needs and all but is 512gb (480ish after OS) still not enough for photos and videos? You must have your entire library on it.

As I said, I'm not a fan of cloud storage for photos/videos so that's part of it.

Over a number of years and phones I tend to keep the photos sorted in folders for trips/events/etc on a MicroSD card that can simply be moved from phone to phone when I upgrade (sometimes upgrading the MicroSD card capacity). While in theory the built-in phone storage should be very fast, when connected to a Windows PC to manage files via MTP/PTP modes, my experience is that it can be pretty flaky and not quite as reliable as popping a MicroSD card into a card reader.

And then more recently there's the fact that newer phones with higher resolution video recording can eat lots and lots of storage.

I accept that I am in the minority when it comes to preference of having lots of local phone storage capacity.

 

[Cookie12]

When do NDA get lifted and reviews come out? - Very tempted by the Ultra, via employee discount and trade in it comes at an acceptable price point for me. Want to see the back of the S20 and Exynos 990 but unlike last year where i just purchased, i want to see reviews etc. I've never got decent battery life out of this, unlike my note 9 before it. Always been a samsung fan and had most versions of their Galaxy or Note Series but this is the first year im cautious beforehand.

 

[wesley]

they offered £290 for my phone yesterday and now its £250. no thanks i wont be buying S21.

 

[djay]

I ordered the S21 Ultra 5G 256GB yesterday and also the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Smart Clear View Cover with S Pen. The case with S Pen was £20 yesterday, today it's £84!

 

[kakarott]

Very keen to see what they do with this year's Note.

I don't think there will be a Note, probably replaced by Fold.

 

[Omar]

I ordered the S21 Ultra 5G 256GB yesterday and also the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Smart Clear View Cover with S Pen. The case with S Pen was £20 yesterday, today it's £84!

Yeah, they definitely had different pricing yesterday - I was really surprised during check-out at the price of the silicone case with the s-pen included (£24 as a non-discounted price) yesterday so bought it - today it's up to £59 (£41.30 discounted price if purchasing alongside the phone).

That as well as the higher trade-in values yesterday. I really hope they don't cancel the orders and make us re-order at the higher prices - they did that with a mistake on the trade-in prices when the S20 FE launched and didn't provide any explanation or compensation whatsoever.

I don't think there will be a Note, probably replaced by Fold.

I guess we'll know better by around August, but some rumours are that they may have a final "farewell" Note 21 this year, although possibly not an Ultra model, just a "basic" model.

 

[neoboy]

Yeah I'd say 50/50 if we see a final note this year and Fold will then become the "latest tech" handset like Note series used to be.

Guess they are committed to the foldable thing and differentiation between S and Note range was getting smaller every day.

 

[azibux1]

I have more faith in Samsung themselves than I do in their clueless sales rep.

If it accepts eSIM (they confirmed it does) and it accepts one physical SIM... I'm sure the software will manage the rest (as it would if I did that in S20+). I think the sales rep is just stupid.

I don't see why Samsung would remove such a feature from their flagship phone.

Me: Please can you confirm if I will be able to use 2 SIMs (it doesn't matter even if one has to be e-SIM) in my UK-purchased S21 Ultra 256GB? I can use 2 physical SIMs in my S20+ but I also have option of e-SIM. I find it hard to imagine Samsung would drop e-SIM support. So I imagine and hope I can at least use 1 physical SIM and 1 e-SIM in my S21 Ultra. There is just no mention of it at all on your website though which concerns me.

Samsung: Please be informed that Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G has Single Sim and no SD Card.

Me: OK. And can I use one physical nano sim and one e-SIM? (digital sim). Like with my S20+?

Samsung: S21 and S21+ are both Hybrid Sim - SIM1+SIM2 or SD Card. You can use nano sim or eSIM.

Me: I can use eSIM with my S21 Ultra?

Samsung: Yes.

Me: And also one physical nano SIM?

Samsung: It has Single Sim only. For S21 Ultra 5G. S21 and S21+ are the one who's Hybrid Sim.

Me: I understand, but I'm asking can I use one physical and one e-SIM in my S21 Ultra? So I can make and take calls (for example) from two different numbers on my S21 Ultra, with nano SIM and e-SIM?

Samsung: No, but on the S21 and S21+ you can do so.

Me: OK that is a shame. Makes no sense whatsoever to remove features from the higher model / more expensive phone. But thank you for confirming. Have a great day.

 

[kakarott]

Does the note any sense anymore? The plus series were always big, just need the pen.

 

[Jay794]

I was so close to preordering one of these, but no SD card, thats a deal breaker, guess I'll just get an S20+ or Ultra