Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G review

25 January 2021


Sort by:

  • T
  • Troll
  • StU
  • 29 Jan 2021

I've just received the silver 512gb with 16gb Ram version.
I've rooted it , it's overclocked CPU, and upgrade the GPU to 1300mhz.
Omg, it's 2 times faster than standard. The graphics are on 70fps than standard 60fps rubbish.
The phone is very fast zippy than standard. The phone reached 45 celcuis hot, doesn't or don't give a rat's about being even 50 celcuis. Doesn't throttle. CPU governor is always on extreme, so CPU Idols at 80% all the time. The battery drain is 30% more than standard. I keep a 3000mah power bank with me .

After rooting, no one or anyone would go back too P O S standard.
In extreme version this is 2 years ahead like having S23

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • 3bm
    • 29 Jan 2021

    miki69, 26 Jan 2021Thanks for the in-depth review. To GSM Arena team - You ... moreIts because the S2x series rely massively on night mode, if you compare night mode photos you will see the big difference.

      • M
      • M3S4
      • IWV
      • 29 Jan 2021

      Anonymous, 27 Jan 2021Go purchase a 50$ wired and wireless earphones and tell me ... moreYou miss the point. People just don't compare wireless vs wired headphone at the same price point. People just buy wireless because it's convenient and cool. I have some friends that cannot feel the difference between my 300$ audiophile headphone to 20$ headphone, or 200$ iem to stock samsung iem. Anyway, price dont justify the quality, most wireless headphones are average compare to headphone audiophile grade on lower price.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • fnY
        • 28 Jan 2021

        Lovely

          TheLastOracle, 28 Jan 2021BM3D technique is basically a image denoising algorithm, an... moreHuawei clearly stated during the Kirin 990 announcement that its ISP uses BM3D NR to handle noise in still images, and if you do a bit of research you'll find out that this very algorithm is indeed developed by University of Tampere and Huawei - which explains why no smartphone/camera manufactures but only they managed to implement it on their products. Have Qualcomm or Samsung stated anywhere that they use the same algorithm on their flagship SoCs? If you know then please kindly quote.

          It's also worth mentioning that BM3D NR has some interesting characteristics - Noises in low frequency areas of an image are swept away whereas textures and lines are selectively preserved instead of turned into an oilpainting - which Mate exactly shows in its image. On the other hand, S21U still leaves a bit of noise in smooth/immacurate sections in the frame while losing some details (See the fish on the lower right corner). I should ask, where is your assumption that S21U uses BM3D NR coming from?

            • S
            • SVK
            • rJ7
            • 28 Jan 2021

            Could you please update review about changes brought by adding Google Feed and Google Messages.
            Or are these changes not present in OneUI 3.1?

              • S
              • Shui8
              • KZK
              • 28 Jan 2021

              TheLastOracle, 28 Jan 2021BM3D technique is basically a image denoising algorithm, an... moreI've compared it, a lot of time. Can't unsee how bad the S21 Ultra oversharpened things, especially in low lights. Look at the tied rope in the middle right, details are identical between Mate & S21, but S21 introduce more noise & artificial sharpening.

                • S
                • Shui8
                • KZK
                • 28 Jan 2021

                Nick Tegrataker, 28 Jan 2021You're totally right, but it's really unfortunate... moreThe upscale crop technique is a bad habit. Looks like they want to control the camera bump thickness, by sacrificing a bit when pixel peep.

                  Shui8, 28 Jan 2021Lol those HUGE margin you call obviously just an artificial... moreBM3D technique is basically a image denoising algorithm, and nothing more. And, incidentally, the Ultra has better noise handling than the Mate40 in low light as well. See the comparison link again of the 3 cameras. It has the lownlight photos in the comparison tool as well.
                  Most likely, the Ultra is using the BM3D noise reduction algorithms, and the Mate isn't.

                    Shui8, 28 Jan 2021Lol those HUGE margin you call obviously just an artificial... moreYou're totally right, but it's really unfortunate that Mate 40 Pro only uses the centre 9MP portion of the image and upscales it which is clearly reflected on GSMArena's photo comparison chart (softer edges and more jagged lines compared to Mate 30 Pro). A part of me kind of wished that GSMArena would've taken a photo at 0.8x magnification where no crop is applied to the image, though at the same time I know it would be totally unfair if I blamed it on them.

                      • y
                      • ypcx
                      • HBt
                      • 28 Jan 2021

                      dazed1, 27 Jan 2021Charging speed is already fixed, you should STOP thinking a... moreI top-up my phone when I go take a shower. What Samsung offers now is too slow for that.

                        • S
                        • Shui8
                        • KZK
                        • 28 Jan 2021

                        TheLastOracle, 26 Jan 2021In the Comparison tool of gsmarena, between the Samsung S21... moreLol those HUGE margin you call obviously just an artificial detail caused by excessive oversharpening. Its called overprocessing, with a bit of noise too.

                        Iphone 12 Pro Max does worse, oversharpening + smudging + noise everywhere. Less processing, but way more artifacts. I'll take S21 Ultra over it anyday.

                        As for Mate 40, its the most natural when it comes to details. Actually it resolve almost the same as S21, but kept sharpness & noise reduction well controlled, thanks to the BM3D technique. Yes it is softer than others, but thats how it should be.

                          Anonymous, 27 Jan 2021Go purchase a 50$ wired and wireless earphones and tell me ... moreNot sure I follow, explain better. In the wired category, I always had earphones that came with the phone. So pretty good (AKG). Last with my Note 8 and Note 9. I also have a wireless $100 earphones and $450 headphones. That being said, I like how all of them sound with some tweaks in EQ, sound profiles, etc.

                            TheLastOracle, 27 Jan 2021Since you're so confident of your theory, you could do... moreWithout added sharpening:
                            https://i.imgur.com/FLcT52e.jpg
                            https://i.imgur.com/ZOH07mU.jpg
                            https://i.imgur.com/LJRIiyF.jpg

                            With added sharpening (150, radius 3):
                            https://i.imgur.com/fVpOLP9.jpg
                            https://i.imgur.com/iFjQBoR.jpg
                            https://i.imgur.com/47bhP9W.jpg

                            You should probably test it out yourself if you still have any doubts.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • gBV
                              • 28 Jan 2021

                              A comparison with the Xiaomi 10 Ultra periscope camera would be interesting.
                              A Xiaomi 10 Ultra vs P40 Pro Plus full resolution comparison at gizmochina shows that the 120mm equivalent Xiaomi 10 Ultra periscope camera can occasionally beat the 240mm equivalent periscope camera of the P40 Pro Plus regarding distant objects. Maybe the quality of the P40 Pro Plus lens is worse or maybe the image processing is worse.
                              I wonder if the Xiaomi 10 Ultra periscope camera beats the S21 Ultra regarding distant objects. My impression is also that the Xiaomi 10 Ultra periscope camera seems to take the best and most natural moon photos.

                                • A
                                • Andrey
                                • 8w2
                                • 27 Jan 2021

                                With what version of the processor were the photos taken? Exynos 2100 or Snapdragon 888. Is there a difference in photo quality when the processor is different?

                                  • b
                                  • begjay
                                  • r3H
                                  • 27 Jan 2021

                                  [deleted post]Dual sim means you can used two sim on that phone and your second question mean both sim have that network frequency you mention

                                    AKW2020, 27 Jan 2021Thank u so much. It called bbk electronics, include Oppo Vi... more1100usd for my find x2 pro back in may 2020

                                      • D
                                      • AnonD-973296
                                      • GYi
                                      • 27 Jan 2021

                                      Hellfire, 27 Jan 2021I just run geekbench 5 on samsung s21 ultra and single core... moreu own one? and if so which version do u have?

                                        https://japantoday.com/category/tech/samsung-display-unveils-new-low-power-oled-display-for-smartphones
                                        Looks like there's secret sauce in the Ultra oled panel reducing power draw vs all other oled phones

                                          12 of 21