Samsung Galaxy S21 series vs Galaxy S20 series - the upgrades detailed

16 January 2021
We’re putting the phones next to each other to see what Samsung improved and what they did wrong.

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Per, 18 Jan 2021But what about this: SD is simply too slow when compared... moreDo you know what is the difference between UFS 3.X on S21 and UFS 3.1 on S21 Ultra? I can't find this info anywhere and the guys from gsmarena seem to have an understanding with samsung not to post additional info

    Anonymous, 17 Jan 2021Rumour has it that Xiaomi is removing the chargers as well ... moreAt least that's an option.

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      • Alkeek
      • IbG
      • 19 Jan 2021

      Correct the title, should be downgrade details

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        • Ioannis
        • 0ZX
        • 19 Jan 2021

        Plus no 3.5 jack, no radio, no infrared for a 1,200 euro phone...

          Hopefully they announce the Note and not discontinue it. And secondly, they don't downgrade so many parts.

            • K
            • Kev
            • qTa
            • 19 Jan 2021

            Per, 18 Jan 2021But what about this: SD is simply too slow when compared... moreA microSD card is awesome for storing photos, videos, and music. Suggesting dropping the uSD card is a good thing is just plain wrong. There is nothing wrong with having more internal storage, but having a uSD card expandable storage is a HUGE plus for things that don't require extremely fast access times. The S21 line seems to be a cost reduction, not an upgrade.

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              • Your not smart
              • vxx
              • 18 Jan 2021

              Lyndino, 18 Jan 2021LOL, surely your not seriously comparing these 2 brands.Same brand

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                • Clam-
                • sv7
                • 18 Jan 2021

                Do you guys think the 4000mAh battery in base S21 is going to be the problem paired with the new Exynos CPU? I really don't want to pay the price they're asking for S21+ and I'm afraid the CPU+battery might suck. :/

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                  • Per
                  • mZY
                  • 18 Jan 2021

                  Lyndino, 18 Jan 2021Definitely not worth it considering the lack of expandable ... moreBut what about this:

                  SD is simply too slow when compared to UFS 3.0 in device.

                  Any data to be read from an SD card would be more than noticably slower. So only internal UFS 3.0 is better and prevents performance questions relating to SD cards, see:

                  Category Sequential Read (MB/s) Sequential Write (MB/s) Random Read (IOPS) Random Write (IOPS)
                  UFS 3.0 2100 410 68,000 63,000
                  UFS 2.1 850 260 45,000 40,000
                  UFS 2.0 350 150 19,000 14,000
                  eMMC 5.1 250 125 11,000 13,000

                    It runs on Android OS like most of the manufacturers then why no micro sd slot?
                    No micro sd slot is like oneplus idealogy.
                    Better to go for oneplus.

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                      • Mark
                      • kph
                      • 18 Jan 2021

                      Lyndino, 18 Jan 2021Definitely not worth it considering the lack of expandable ... moreThere is such thing as cloud storage or if you take a lot of pictures maybe download them to a secure storage once a month and purge. Its a phone not a laptop

                        Anonymous, 17 Jan 2021Rather get the Mi 11 same specs as the plus pro thingy and ... moreLOL, surely your not seriously comparing these 2 brands.

                          Anonymous, 17 Jan 2021AOD uses a lot of power. Turn it off and your phone os go... moreAOD only uses 1% per hour, that's what I read when they introduced it on the S8.

                            Shadocx, 16 Jan 2021IMO the fact that they're priced lower while having a ... moreDefinitely not worth it considering the lack of expandable storage. That's a huge problem for someone like myself.

                              Markobarko, 17 Jan 2021What is with Samsung slow speed chatging? Why not at least 45W?Because it's not needed.

                                The title should've been "the downgrades detailed" instead.

                                Unless you're going for the Ultra, you should skip the S21 series. Give a clear cut answer to Samsung that you don't approve of their downgrades. They'll bring these features back next year, but only if these models don't sell.

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                                  • Nagen
                                  • 7tV
                                  • 18 Jan 2021

                                  SomeGadgetGuy, 17 Jan 2021You missed mag stripe being removed from Samsung Pay. This is really sad

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                                    • s21 ultra
                                    • vYn
                                    • 18 Jan 2021

                                    Where is my MST ?
                                    But I think the S21 Ultra's telephoto might much better than S20U and Note 20U

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                                      • Abhi
                                      • KA3
                                      • 18 Jan 2021

                                      Markobarko, 17 Jan 2021What is with Samsung slow speed chatging? Why not at least 45W?45W was a gimmic with near to 0 improvement in charging time over 25W charger. During past 1 year most of the users now already aware of it. Samsung does not have a real 45W charging solution... It was just a marketing gimmic.

                                      That is why Samsung chose to be truthful this time and offered 25W only which is the real maximum charging speed it can charge.

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                                        • Gani
                                        • rKD
                                        • 18 Jan 2021

                                        SomeGadgetGuy, 17 Jan 2021You missed mag stripe being removed from Samsung Pay. Nice mobile

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