Over the last few weeks there have been a ton of Samsung Galaxy S21 leaks, including the key specs and pictures. Here’s everything we know so far.
According to Android Police, the specs come from an official press render. The publication says it can’t publish it directly as it would expose its source. However, it has also said it has had the information verified by multiple sources.
Samsung Galaxy S21 spec leak
Update December 31:
A new leak from WinFuture, via The Verge, has revealed some more detailed specs about the S21 and S21 Plus.
The new leak reveals that the S21 series will have a slightly lower screen resolution at 2400 x 1080 and that the new models will support up to 8K/30p video recording.
The RAM size for the S21 and S21P+ is said to be 8GB and the devices will offer 128GB or 256GB of internal storage.
The leak contains details of the Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+ and S21 Ultra. While it doesn’t reveal everything, it’s still a significant amount of information, particularly if it’s true.
Unfortunately the storage and RAM are gratuitously absent. It will be interesting to see if the S21 builds on last year’s line up in this regard. If you cast your mind back the S20+ and Ultra could go as high as 12GB RAM with 512GB storage.
I’m particularly curious to see whether Samsung brings 1TB storage back into the fold. This was an option on the S10+ in 2018 (before the ‘Ultra’ naming convention was added) but it was an incredibly pricey device.
Samsung Galaxy S21
- Display: 6.2-inch FHD+ LTPS, 120hz
- CPU: Snapdragon 875 (Exynos 2100 in Australia)
- Rear Camera: 12MP Ultra wide, 12MP main, 64MP telephoto
- Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1
- Battery Life: 4,000 mAh
- Colours: Phantom Violet, Phantom Pink, Phantom Gray, Phantom White
Samsung Galaxy S21+
- Display: 6.7-inch FHD+ LTPS, 120hz
- CPU: Snapdragon 875 (Exynos 2100 in Australia)
- Rear Camera: 12MP Ultra wide, 12MP main, 64MP telephoto
- Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1
- Battery Life: 4,800 mAh
- Phantom Silver, Phantom Black, Phantom Violet
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
- Display: 6.8-inch WQHD+ LTPO, 1-120hz adaptive
- CPU: Snapdragon 875 (Exynos 2100 in Australia)
- Rear Camera: 12MP Ultra wide, 108MP main (with a gen 2 sensor), 10MP 3x optical telephoto, 10MP 10x optical telphoto
- Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1
- Battery Life: 5,000 mAh
- Phantom Black and Phantom Silver
Samsung Galaxy S21 Camera
You may notice that the rear cameras on the S21 and S21+ plus sound familiar. And that’s because they’re the same as their S20 counterparts, at least on paper. Hopefully Samsung will be adding some robust software updates to make the upgrade worth it here.
We know at least one will apparently be 4K 60fps recording capability across all cameras. Previously this was limited to the primary lens.
However, the S21 Ultra camera is new. In addition to an improved second-generation 108MP primary lens its also adding two telephoto offerings with 3x and 10x optical zoom. Rumour has it that Samsung will be bringing 100x zoom to the S21 Ultra.
According to Android Police, the Ultra will also have a laser auto focus to help combat the focusing issues on the S20 suffered. Let’s hope so, because this problem was also present in the Note 20 Ultra which was a shame.
Design
Update December 18:
This week the alleged first official press photo of the Samsung Galaxy S21 was released by renowned leaker Evan Blass over at Voice.
“The real changes, aesthetically, are around back, but rest assured that there will be plenty more leaks of this lineup prior to its January 14th debut,” Blass says in the post.
Blass also released some images of the front of the device, though its unclear if they are official or renders:
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Renders of the new S21 series have been floating around for over a month now. Renowned leaker Steve H. McFly (OnLeaks) has provided several rendered images and a video of the upcoming line up. He’s also published these images on Voice.
It reveals a camera bump that lives in the left corner at the rear of the device. It appears to be built into the frame, a detail also apparently confirmed by Android Police’s source.
Apparently the bump will vary in colour, depending on which colour device you opt for. For example, while the Phantom black will all be one colour, the Violet and Pink will apparently have a copper bump.
This is the #Samsung #GalaxyS21!
-> https://t.co/QB3mnTU2aA pic.twitter.com/Z6bi1K0w8h
— Steve H.McFly (@OnLeaks) October 18, 2020
S Pen
Update January 5:
WinFuture has seemingly uncovered images of the S21’s S-Pen stylus as well as a phone case designed to house the S-Pen. This S-Pen looks fairly similar to Samsung’s previous stylus designs. These images also support previous rumours that the stylus will be sold as an optional accessory and the S21 Ultra will require a specially designed case to house the S-Pen.
Update December 24:
A new FCC filing has all but confirmed that the S21 Ultra will have S-Pen support. The leak suggests that the S21 will support hover and click S-Pen functions which will allow users to draw and take notes as well as gain additional information by hovering over certain UI elements with the pen – like a mouse pointer.
Update December 16:
This week Samsung all-but-confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy Note series will be discontinued.
“We’ve also been paying attention to people’s favorite aspects of the Galaxy Note experience and are excited to add some of its most well-loved features to other devices in our lineup,” Samsung’s Head of Mobile Communications Business, TM Roh, recently wrote.
We still think there is a strong chance this means the S Pen is coming to the S21 as well as future foldable devices.
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There’s been mixed reports on this one, but the latest is that the Samsung Galaxy S21 will in fact have S Pen support. That being said, it will apparently not ship with an S Pen or have the internal garage that the Note series has. Samsung will apparently sell cases For the S21 that can house the stylus, instead.
This does make me wonder how you’re supposed to charge the S Pen, though. Consider me not entirely convinced on this rumour just yet.
No charger
A recent filing in Brazil revealed that none of the upcoming S21 devices will ship with a charger or headphones.
This means that Samsung will be following in Apple’s footsteps. Earlier this year it released the new iPhone 12 series without charges.
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Release Date
Update January 5:
Samsung has confirmed its Galaxy Unpacked event will occur on January 14 at 7 AM PT/10 AM ET, which is January 15 at 2am AEDT, 1:30am AEDT, 1am AEST, 12:30am ACST and 11pm on January 14 for AWST. The event will be broadcast live on Samsung’s website.
It’s unclear how long after it would then release, but probably a couple of weeks later.
Pricing
We’ll let you know when we hear more about this. But for reference, here in Australia the S20 started at $1,349, the S20+ at $1,499 and the S20 Ultra at $1,999.
This article has been updated with additional information.