Speed to market. Samsung understands this better than most brands. It’s why Indian consumers will be among the first in the world to snag the brand’s newest flagship devices.
Samsung unveiled three Galaxy S21 devices at the Galaxy Unpacked event yesterday. It marks a slight deviation from last year’s Galaxy S20 trio. The S21 and S21+ are aimed at consumers who are seeking serious bang for the buck in a post-COVID world. The S21 Ultra with its pro-grade camera is clearly for the traditional flagship consumer who doesn’t mind paying a premium for the best in class. We’ve already seen this with the newest iPhone that has clearly segregated the iPhone 12 devices and the 12 Pro duo. Aside from the S21 flagship devices, Samsung also showed off the new Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro (with a US retail price of $199; the India pricing and launch date hasn’t been announced yet) with improved ANC (active noise cancellation) features.
The hooks: the Samsung Galaxy S21 and the S21+ will be the devices that will draw consumers to retail stores or online platforms. Samsung has priced these devices quite aggressively (Rs 69,999 onwards) and hasn’t cut too many corners in the spec sheet. If you lean towards devices that are light on your hand, then the S21 – that’s also the lightest S21 device on your pocket, might be the one for you. The display sheds the curves from last year, opting instead for a big 6.2-inch Flat FHD+ display with an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. The larger S21+ sports a similar display in a larger format – 6.7-inches and packs 394 pixels per inch (PPI). Samsung has refreshed the colour palette – we dig the new Phantom Violet shade.
The Pro cam: the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (Rs 105,999 onwards) sits at the top of the tree. Just like the S21 and S21+, it’s powered by the new Exynos 2100 processor that Samsung unveiled earlier this week. That’s one of the only features it shares with its inexpensive siblings. With 12GB or 16GB of RAM, this will leave many laptops in the shade. Samsung has opted to ditch the Micro SD slot but with up to 512GB of internal storage, you’re covered. The other change is Samsung’s decision to leave out the power brick as part of its environmental initiatives. But it’s the camera that’s the big upgrade from last year’s S20 Ultra. With four lenses including a 108 primary lens and dual telephoto lenses, the S21 Ultra looks set to become one of the smartphone cams to beat in 2021. The S21 Ultra also becomes the first Galaxy S flagship device to offer S-Pen support (sold separately) And then there’s the Phantom Black colour variant that is bound to make heads turn.
Pre-bookings for the Samsung Galaxy S21 series opens on January 15, 2021, across online and retail platforms. You can take advantage of cashback offers (up to Rs 10,000) on HDFC Cards.
