Samsung Galaxy S21

[melhookv12]

SD_1 said:

I'm in a similar boat to you - currently got an S9 contract ending next month and looking to keep it an go SIM only as I don't see the newer models as much of an upgrade, if at all.

Where did you get your SIM only contract? I'm looking at the EE website and they look a bit crap, £20 for 120GB and then the next rung down is £16 for 1GB. In reality I only need about 20 but they don't seem to offer a middle ground.

Have a look at comparison websites, like uswitch. Also look at mobile phones direct sim only

[7n8n]

gangzoom said:

Just don't use a one of these newer phones, seriously I was 100% happy with my S9 till I picked up my wife's Note 20 Ultra. Now the S9 feels like a toy phone, cannot wait to trade it in for the 21 Ultra.

I was also happy with my Galaxy S8 until I opened this thread and saw the 21 sample photos!

[7n8n]

SD_1 said:

I'm in a similar boat to you - currently got an S9 contract ending next month and looking to keep it an go SIM only as I don't see the newer models as much of an upgrade, if at all.

Where did you get your SIM only contract? I'm looking at the EE website and they look a bit crap, £20 for 120GB and then the next rung down is £16 for 1GB. In reality I only need about 20 but they don't seem to offer a middle ground.

If you're with EE now, then calling them and getting a PAC code at the end of contract is your best bet. Their published deals are always pretty average. For example I got offered 8GB for £8 via a call back from them, this after my handset contract expired a few months ago.

[Mr-B]

7n8n said:

SD_1 said:

I'm in a similar boat to you - currently got an S9 contract ending next month and looking to keep it an go SIM only as I don't see the newer models as much of an upgrade, if at all.

Where did you get your SIM only contract? I'm looking at the EE website and they look a bit crap, £20 for 120GB and then the next rung down is £16 for 1GB. In reality I only need about 20 but they don't seem to offer a middle ground.

If you're with EE now, then calling them and getting a PAC code at the end of contract is your best bet. Their published deals are always pretty average. For example I got offered 8GB for £8 via a call back from them, this after my handset contract expired a few months ago.

Have a look on uswitch, I looked on there the other day and plusnet has 10gb for £8 (and smarty 30gb for a tenner), which is probably enough for me, but the main benefit is plusnet use EE which has good coverage where I am.

[SD_1]

Thanks for the tips, first thing to do will be call EE and ask for a PAC code I think. Had a look on Uswitch and the deals there on other networks, and EE, are excellent. Hopefully there is a deal to be done there - I'm already with EE and found them to be really good.

[anonymous-user]

SD_1 said:

I'm in a similar boat to you - currently got an S9 contract ending next month and looking to keep it an go SIM only as I don't see the newer models as much of an upgrade, if at all.

Where did you get your SIM only contract? I'm looking at the EE website and they look a bit crap, £20 for 120GB and then the next rung down is £16 for 1GB. In reality I only need about 20 but they don't seem to offer a middle ground.

I used https://www.mobiles.co.uk/

They often have great deals for SIM only and phones.

[Teebs]

Keep an eye on Quidco for cashback deals too. I got £80 back for a 18 month deal with EE fairly recently.

[Mr-B]

SD_1 said:

Thanks for the tips, first thing to do will be call EE and ask for a PAC code I think. Had a look on Uswitch and the deals there on other networks, and EE, are excellent. Hopefully there is a deal to be done there - I'm already with EE and found them to be really good.

EE have a retention team that you will get put through to if you go through the menus saying you are thinking of leaving, they might not exactly match what you are looking for but they will probably try and offer you something better than you currently have. I tried to get them to match a plusnet offer that ends tomorrow, they didn't quite match it but I decided to stay with EE but now I'm paying a third less than I was for slightly more data than before and still unlimited mins/texts so overall happy with that.

[fourstardan]

Just looked at trade in on my s10...cheeky fookers ask "No signs of screen burn"....

I've only had about 2 replacement screens replaced under warranty....all owned up to being Samsungs fault.

Not sure I'll be upgrading yet....only seems to have a better camera which is useless as we are all sitting in the front room at the moment.

[LasseV]

Impressive phone lineup. My pick would be (maybe) either s21 or s21 ultra. I do like value proposition of the s21 a lot, but using a s pen in ultra is tempting. It is big and expensive phone tho. Maybe too big? Does the s21+ hit the sweet spot in size and usability?

I'm using s10e at the moment. It is a small powerhouse and DeX makes it a very versatile phone but i think i need a bigger screen now. Exynos 2100 seems to be a very good chip. Strong and power efficient. Efficient chip combined with bigger battery makes better battery life compared to s10e. 120Mhz screen is so awesome to use. Better camera and improved OneUi are important things too. Overall it seem to be a big enough jump from s10-series.

Now i need to decide which model is best for me.

[gangzoom]

LasseV said:

Does the s21+ hit the sweet spot in size and usability?
me.

The S21+ is barely any smaller than the Ultra, and a £999 its hardly cheap.

Not everyone cares about the camera, but the early sample pictures people are apparently taking with the Ultra look superb, this is getting very close to DSLR quality interms of zoom range options available to use.

For an extra few £££ I would say going for the Ultra over the S21+ is a no brainer? If you are ready to drop nearly £1k on a phone, you might as well get the best available.

https://twitter.com/nimishdubey/status/13517722871...

[hotchy]

I know everyone says there s9 is good enough but how much is a battery change? Mines is down to 30% when I finish work when it used to be 70% and between 19 and 12% it can drop straight to a percent. I'll need to factor new battery into keeping it vs excuse for the new one.

[gman88667733]

hotchy said:

I know everyone says there s9 is good enough but how much is a battery change? Mines is down to 30% when I finish work when it used to be 70% and between 19 and 12% it can drop straight to a percent. I'll need to factor new battery into keeping it vs excuse for the new one.

Had a quick look and it seems the S9/Plus is about £70-£80 to post it in and get it changed. Obviously if DIYing it'll be less, depends if you want to fight getting the glass back off.
I'd say an S9 with a new battery is still perfectly OK for most people, they aren't exactly ancient, they still use a very good processor. Not sure if they are still getting updates? If so, even better!

I'm using a Galaxy A71 and can't see how an S21 can be 150-300% more expensive than it. IMO...!

My only real dislike is the Samsung camera app seems to take really bad pictures unless you are in absolutely ideal conditions, GCAM seems to improve this a bit.. Not sure if this is the same on all Samsung's.

[SD_1]

hotchy said:

I know everyone says there s9 is good enough but how much is a battery change? Mines is down to 30% when I finish work when it used to be 70% and between 19 and 12% it can drop straight to a percent. I'll need to factor new battery into keeping it vs excuse for the new one.

Mine is about the same as it was when it was new (2 years ago) - charge overnight on a low output charger, use throughout the day and in the evening, and its usually on 30 - 40% by the time I go to bed.

[gman88667733]

Fast charging seems to reduce the overall lifespan of the battery by quite a bit, I always disable it in settings as I only ever charge overnight. It is handy if you run low during the day though!

[gangzoom]

gman88667733 said:

I'm using a Galaxy A71 and can't see how an S21 can be 150-300% more expensive than it. IMO...!

Ignorance is bliss!!

I was 100% happy with my S9 till I used my wifes Note 20 Ultra - Much better display and wide range of usable zoom range cameras are the two main areas which are so much better on the Note 20 than my S9. Given I paid £240 for the S9 in 2018 I don't mind spending the ££££ needed for the S21 Ultra.

[gman88667733]

gangzoom said:

Ignorance is bliss!!

I was 100% happy with my S9 till I used my wifes Note 20 Ultra - Much better display and wide range of usable zoom range cameras are the two main areas which are so much better on the Note 20 than my S9. Given I paid £240 for the S9 in 2018 I don't mind spending the ££££ needed for the S21 Ultra.

The difference in size and quality of the S9 and the note would be far greater I think.
In my case, the screens are almost the same size, the quality of the A71 screen is also very good.
Performance is the main area that would be different, but even then without them both together, I doubt you'd notice.
Given an A71 can be had for £250 brand new now, the S21 ultra being £1149, I can't ever imagine it being worth the jump in price, surely?

I'm sure in some cases it really is worth an upgrade though!

Edit - I'm not saying you're wrong, I just don't think that for me personally, it'd be worth it. Doesn't mean I wouldn't want one though

Edited by gman88667733 on Thursday 21st January 10:40

[LasseV]

gman88667733 said:

The difference in size and quality of the S9 and the note would be far greater I think.
In my case, the screens are almost the same size, the quality of the A71 screen is also very good.
Performance is the main area that would be different, but even then without them both together, I doubt you'd notice.
Given an A71 can be had for £250 brand new now, the S21 ultra being £1149, I can't ever imagine it being worth the jump in price, surely?

I'm sure in some cases it really is worth an upgrade though!

Edit - I'm not saying you're wrong, I just don't think that for me personally, it'd be worth it. Doesn't mean I wouldn't want one though

Edited by gman88667733 on Thursday 21st January 10:40

A71 is overall best phone in 300ish price range. However s21 does offer so much more for the extra price:
- IP68 rating. This is a big thing if you spend a lot of time in outside.
-DeX makes S-series a very versatile phone. I don't need a laptop anymore.
- Vastly improved camera (even in base s21). You don't need a real camera anymore if you are random bloke like i am.
- 5G. Huge thing in the near future.
- Overall top of the line spec's.

s21 Ultra just takes things more further. S pen is a great addition, camera is best what you can get and display is straight from year 2022 (and huge in size). It is a real 4-1 (phone,camera,tablet and laptop) machine if you want to. More than a phone, IMO.

[TameRacingDriver]

I've just bought a Pixel 5, and yeah, it's OK, good camera, if lacking the same features, but overall, a bit meh....

I shouldn't even be entertaining the thought of spending double what I have on the Pixel 5 just a month or so after purchase, but the WANT for the S21 Ultra is bloody strong. I am a little salty they decided to get rid of the Micro SD card though, but overall, still a very tempting device, very tempting indeed!

[anonymous-user]

TameRacingDriver said:

I've just bought a Pixel 5, and yeah, it's OK, good camera, if lacking the same features, but overall, a bit meh....

I shouldn't even be entertaining the thought of spending double what I have on the Pixel 5 just a month or so after purchase, but the WANT for the S21 Ultra is bloody strong. I am a little salty they decided to get rid of the Micro SD card though, but overall, still a very tempting device, very tempting indeed!

High speed upload to the cloud is negating the need for large external memory. The onboard memory is pretty large these days also.