Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G

This phone is coupled with Bixby is extremely intuitive. Bixby has gotten a lot of bad press lately. But let's face it, no one is good at everything. So I let Bixby work to it's strengths. Watching movies or just TV on my phone is great. The clarity is better than our 50" flat screen. The camera is a miracle, but I'm not a shutterbug. The pictures it takes are excellent. This is going to be a difficult phone to top. Keep up the good work!

I could go on about all the sick features this phone has, but honestly we all know this phone has loads of them. I'm specifically coming here to write a review based on hot oil submersion factor. See, I work in a kitchen, and I accidentally dropped my phone straight into completely hot fryer oil and let it sit there there at least a minute between being completely shocked, and trying to get it out. Got it out, and the worst that happened was all my apps shut down to avoid overheating. Hours later, it is still working 100% fine with no issues whatsoever. Certified hot oil approved!

Just got the S21 Ultra today and so far I LOVE IT, unfortunately it's winter here so can't take too many photos. So far it takes better pics at night with Night Mode on that my S20 Plus, it's actually not as heavy as I thought it would be. I use my 6ft Charger from Anker I've been using with my previous phones without any problems, I'm so use to using a Micro SD Card that I got the 256GB. Other than being pricey I have no complaints so far, it takes great Sunset pics which was a make it or break it for me cus they're my ABSOLUTE favorite to photograph. It passed the test for me. You're gonna wanna get a Glass Lense Protector for the camera to be safe, even an Otterbox doesn't hide the camera enough.

I would say the pros outweigh the cons; it just depends on what you prioritize first when it comes to picking out a phone. I appreciate that they lowered the price and it's not crazy expensive like the Galaxy S20 Ultra because the S21 didn't include a charging block, nor Bluetooth earbuds. I already have all that stuff, so it was nice to be able to only pay for the phone. It allows you to choose from the different earbuds from Samsung, or even earbuds from a different company that is drastically cheaper if you wanted to. If you don’t like finding all these things separately, then this could be an inconvenience for you. I gave the style 4 stars because they only had certain colors for certain phones (I wanted Phantom Silver, but they only had that for the 128GB, and I wanted the 256GB which only came in Phantom Black). The phone is huge. If you take lots of selfies, you may need to start lifting some weights. You get used to it though (I always get the "plus" versions, so I'm used to a big phone, but if you are really switching things up, it might be really heavy to you). I was able to find some camera lens protectors that cover the whole camera which was nice; there were also some cases that slide and cover the camera which I thought was cool. The phone does not come with a micro SD slot, but it's 2021 and cloud/ online storage services are being used more, and it's not hard to transfer data over to a portable hard drive. I have stacks of micro SD cards that I haven't looked at in forever, or I have already transferred that data to my portable hard drive. I use them for my Nintendo Switch now. Also, I would only be able to store certain things on to the SD card anyways. Removing the micro SD slot is kinda like going paperless if you think about it. It's one of those things where it's nice to have the option, but it's not an issue, unless you use use them for a specific purpose and absolutely need that feature. In addition, the missing aux port isn’t great either, but I can live without it/ I don't really use it anymore anyways. You can get a USB-C to aux for fairly cheap if you need it. The reason I like Samsung over Apple is because you are able to customize it in greater detail. I'm glad they got rid of the Bixby button and you are able to disable the app so it doesn't bother you (although, I do wish we could uninstall it). There are only volume buttons and a power button which you can customize- super simple. I use widgets a lot. Changing all these settings and displays can be time-consuming, but it's nice to be able to set up your phone to fit your wants, needs, and personality. I believe Samsung phones cater more towards tech-savvy people (not that people with iPhones aren't tech-savvy, just when people make the switch from an iPhone to Android, it can be overwhelming and there is a lot to learn). They do have an "easy mode" you can switch to if you want it to be simpler though. No issues with overheating. The battery isn't as amazing as I thought it would be; it's still good and better than my old phone. Your battery life will depend on how much you use your phone and your phone/ display settings. However, it does charge incredibly fast. The camera definitely needs a review of its own. In a nutshell, they fixed the focusing issues they have had with their previous phones (at least for me it seems that way, and it does have a focusing sensor). My pictures come out insanely well and I feel like it has elevated my Instagram. There’s a lot you can do with the cameras, so I believe this would be great for content creators. You can tell the video stabilization is better as well. Although the ability to shoot in 8K isn’t necessary, it is a nice feature to have when 8K TV’s are the norm- making this phone more relevant for the long run. Overall, very happy with this phone and glad I took advantage of the pre-order specials. If you're picky, thinking of switching from Apple to Samsung, or this phone is a big financial investment for you, I would maybe go over some YT videos on people doing tests or comparisons to see if they have what you’re mostly looking for. Hope this helps.

My Samsung journey started with the Note 4. Then we S7 Edge, S9+, then Note 9. I was really hesitant to leave the Note 9, because the capacitive finger print scanner on the back was so great, the pen, and the haptic "button" on the front screen that you could press and get to the home screen. But after a few days with this phone, I don't miss any of it. The in-display fingerprint scanner is excellent. Make sure you get SEVERAL different angles when you register your prints, and you will have zero problems unlocking your phone. The cameras are fantastic. The software just keeps getting better and better; I honestly can't think of how Samsung could make their One UI any better at this point. It's perfect. Regardless of what other people say, S Pen support on the phone is excellent. I swap from my Tab S7 + to this phone with the S Pen seamlessly, and I forget that I'm not using a Note when I use the pen. The screen is flawless; I love that Samsung has decided to go back to a "flatter" screen, with less aggressive curves. The screen no longer "melts" down the edges, but still has a gentle curve that keeps that traditional Samsung ergonomics that they've worked hard to perfect. This phone is lighter than the Note 9, which was weird at first. I like my phone to have a little weight to it; but I quickly adapted, and feel that the weight is perfect. The camera bump is not as bad as I expected it to be. I rarely notice it. It does interfere with my old stand-up style wireless charger. I will need to get one with a lower back to it so my phone will charge properly. I also love the matte back. As a user that prefers an un-cased phone, the matte back is NOT a fingerprint magnet. THANK YOU SAMSUNG. THANK YOU. now I don't have to carry a cloth everywhere I go to wipe fingerprints from my phone all day. This is the best of the best.. do not hesitate to purchase this phone. It is worth the price tag.

The S20 Ultra was my first Samsung phone after many years of buying LG. I loved the S20, but a couple of issues were really annoying. The worst was the fingerprint sensor, and less bothersome were a couple of camera quirks. To my delight, the S21 Ultra solves both and provides several other upgrades. The S21 Ultra fingerprint sensor (by Qualcomm) is larger, faster and more sensitive than its predecessor by Samsung. Finally!!! I can unlock the phone without all those re-tries and failures. The S21 camera laser assisted focus really rocks and solves some annoying bad focus effects (especially close-ups) on the S20. The additional nice features of this phone are the much speedier Snapdragon 888, which has an embedded 5G modem and should therefore run more efficiently on its 5nm-based chip. Tests I've read have this processor neck-and-neck with the best Bionic from Apple. The smooth contours of the phone are better thought-out, and I simply just LOVE the camera options as I'm a major camera geek and think the photos from these optics really do rival my DSLR. Sad too, since I have a lot invested in those big clunky camera bodies and lenses... Oh well. They will just have to stay home when I travel and collect dust.