Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra: High-Quality Superzoom

It’s like an anime title: “Galaxy S: Redemption.” The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is, by and large, what the Galaxy S20 Ultra should have been. It’s a solid and premium-feeling phone with a unique (for the US) superzoom camera, a gorgeous screen, future-forward network chops, and it retails for $300 less than the S20 Ultra. Right now it’s almost too far ahead of its time, as some of the networks it supports aren’t widely available. But if you have cash to spare, it’s worth considering as an investment in the future.

- SASCHA SEGAN

THE TOP OF THE GALAXY S LINE

Samsung has three models in its 2021 flagship Galaxy S series: the small S21 ($799.99), the medium S21 Plus ($999.99), and the large S21 Ultra ($1,199.99).

All have the same basic processor and modem. The S21 and S21 Plus are similar, other than their screen and battery sizes. The S21 Ultra pours on features the other two lack: a 108-megapixel main camera, a 40-megapixel selfie camera, a 10x optical-zoom camera, S Pen support, Wi-Fi 6E, and UWB directional positioning.

These are all nice features, and all of them work. The tricky bit is to understand whether they’re excessive, and that’s going to be an individual choice. I’ve grown skeptical of phones over $1,000 just on principle, in this coronavirus-crushed time when people are begging for government checks so they can pay rent and buy food. The S21 Ultra’s price doesn’t affect our rating, but it does mean we aren’t giving it our Editors’ Choice award.

At $1,199.99, the S21 Ultra costs $100 less than the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and $300 less than the Galaxy S20 Ultra did at launch. On the other hand, it costs $100 more than the iPhone 12 Pro Max. You might not have to pay full price, though; there are a lot of trade-in and promo offers around that could reduce your out-of-pocket cost for any of the S21 models.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

PROS

Beautiful design and solid build. Excellent photo quality at up to 10x zoom. Equipped for next-gen C-band and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity.

CONS

Heavy. Expensive. Some of those next-gen networks don’t exist yet.