Samsung Galaxy S21

[Luke.]

TheJimi said:

Tbh, it's less the in-hand aspect (although, that's part of it) it's more about carrying the thing about. I keep my phone in my back pocket, always have done - I don't think that's do-able with the Ultra, is it?

Don't know about back pocket, but I always have mine in my front and it's fine. Don't really notice it.

[Dromedary66]

The way they have designed the rear camera housing is horrible.

Can even see one of the owners here choosing to lay the phone face down because of it.

Really spoils the phone.

[take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey]

Rod200SX said:

djfaulkner said:

Have a look at buying direct from Samsung as it might be cheaper.

For the Ultra is was something like £30 over 36 or £46 over 24 using Klarna with £100ish upfront payment. The change the service plan to PAYG or 30 day rolling.

I’ve got a P20 Pro and still deciding about get one, Had intended on pre-ordering but I would only be getting one because its new and shiny.

Success. I should have a 512GB ultra arriving tomorrow, hopefully!

I'm on a P30 Pro just now and it's great but there's some software issues that just drive me mad, namely the volume having a mind of its own! Will be interested to compare the cameras.

I'm on a p30 pro and my wife has just got the ultra (upgrade from p20 Pro) Night and day improvement against both phones... And yes the bloody volume levels is infuriating... Have that same problem myself.

Think you'll love it.

[TameRacingDriver]

R1gtr said:

Luke. said:

TheJimi said:

Has anyone got the standard S21? I've tried to talk myself into the Ultra but it's just too big. Ridiculous actually - for me anyway.

Jimi, give a whirl, you might just like it? I've not got big hands and it's fine.

I came from a S9 to the S21 Ultra and when I first held it I thought "It's pretty big".
A few days in though and it feels perfect. Can't see me going smaller ever again. My S9 feels like a toy in comparison. Get the Ultra, if you don't you will regret it.

I went from a pixel 2xl to a pixel 5 because I thought I wanted a smaller phone. Got to be honest, I missed having the bigger screen, and so that was one reason I went with the ultra. Most phones are still too big to be comfortable one handed devices and my eyes are thanking me for the upgrade.

[TameRacingDriver]

Anyone who was curious about which lens did what on the Ultra (I was), wonder no more.

[gangzoom]

Dromedary66 said:

The way they have designed the rear camera housing is horrible.

Can even see one of the owners here choosing to lay the phone face down because of it.

Really spoils the phone.

The cameras are fab though, and with a case on the camera housing sits flat with the rest of the back.

I some how have taken over 3gigs of photos in less than 1 week of ownership! Most of those photos have been deleted, and I recon there probably is just over a dozen I would say are 'keepers' out of the 100 or so I haven't deleted.

So essentially the S21 Ultra is letting me recreate my old DSLR experience......take hundreds of photos and only show the 1 - 2 good ones to make it look like you know how to take photos when in reality its just random luck

[TameRacingDriver]

gangzoom said:

with a case on the camera housing sits flat with the rest of the back.

Unfortunately, not with the official samsung leather case, which still has a hump (although it does offer some protection).

[Mr-B]

I noticed on the first update they dropped in the Netflix app which is uninstallable. I hope this isn't the start of a trend! 54mb of space wasted!

[TameRacingDriver]

Mr-B said:

I noticed on the first update they dropped in the Netflix app which is uninstallable. I hope this isn't the start of a trend! 54mb of space wasted!

Start of a trend?

They've been at it for years, didn't you notice the pre installed Facebook app?

[TheJimi]

TameRacingDriver said:

Mr-B said:

I noticed on the first update they dropped in the Netflix app which is uninstallable. I hope this isn't the start of a trend! 54mb of space wasted!

Start of a trend?

They've been at it for years, didn't you notice the pre installed Facebook app?

Yep, Samsung used to be terrible for loading the phone with bloatware.

They've gotten a bit better of late, but still not great.

[Frimley111R]

Dromedary66 said:

The way they have designed the rear camera housing is horrible.

Can even see one of the owners here choosing to lay the phone face down because of it.

Really spoils the phone.

Noticed that on a few of their recent phones and agree. i hate phone covers as the bulk up the phone and cover up the lovely design.

[Rod200SX]

Mine arrived at the local depot earlier and now awaiting to go out for delivery. I'm so impatient

[Mr-B]

TameRacingDriver said:

Start of a trend?

They've been at it for years, didn't you notice the pre installed Facebook app?

I know they have previous here but reviews said they have improved with regard to this, and yes Facebook was the first thing I uninstalled, which at least had the option to uninstall it.

[gaseous clay]

TheJimi said:

TameRacingDriver said:

Mr-B said:

I noticed on the first update they dropped in the Netflix app which is uninstallable. I hope this isn't the start of a trend! 54mb of space wasted!

Start of a trend?

They've been at it for years, didn't you notice the pre installed Facebook app?

Yep, Samsung used to be terrible for loading the phone with bloatware.

They've gotten a bit better of late, but still not great.

The Facebook app can be uninstalled this time, Samsung giveth and Samsung taketh away!

My Phantom Brown S21 Ultra turned up 2 days ago and I'm well impressed. Feels a lot heavier than the S10+ it replaced but not really any bigger in the hand as the width is similar. The cameras are extraordinary

[TameRacingDriver]

Mr-B said:

TameRacingDriver said:

Start of a trend?

They've been at it for years, didn't you notice the pre installed Facebook app?

I know they have previous here but reviews said they have improved with regard to this, and yes Facebook was the first thing I uninstalled, which at least had the option to uninstall it.

Unfortunately it's par for the course with Samsung phones. However the sheer amount of options and customisation on offer more than makes up for it especially now that performance isn't an issue anymore.

[TheOversteerLever]

Mine arrived early today - impressed so far, having upgraded from a S10+.

Went for the Ultra 512gb with the free Buds Pro and the smart tag thing.

I wasn't expecting much from the Buds to be honest but they're surprisingly good. No idea what I'm going to do with the tag though.

Looking forward to trying out the camera outdoors this weekend.

[Rod200SX]

Got mine this evening. Lovely being back on a Samsung. Just transferred everything over which was fun but straightforward!

The screen is tremendous. Super smooth.

[gangzoom]

The detail the main camera + UW sensor captures is crazy, and in phone post processing is also fab, compressed screen shots don't do it justice.

Edited by gangzoom on Saturday 6th February 17:37

[TameRacingDriver]

There have been a few somewhat negative reviews of the current Exynos chip, however, this one seems to suggest there really isn't too much difference this time around between the Exynos and Snapdragon. The current gen Exynos seems to be considerably improved on the last generation.

Comparison: S21 Ultra SD888 x EX2100 (Tech Chap): https://youtu.be/yuNNmf2gIRc

[BlueJazz]

They're very good photos, how are you finding the video quality when transferred onto the TV screen (assuming 4k and HDR)?