digestVidSign in
summary

Marques Brownlee - Galaxy S21 Review: Would You Notice?

Thumbnail of the video “Marques Brownlee - Galaxy S21 Review: Would You Notice?”
Community upload. AI output has not been independently verified.
Author: Marques Brownlee
Categories: Science
Tags: science
Views: 2 · Last viewed: 2026-10-16 10:04 UTC

Short Summary

Main recommendation: The Samsung Galaxy S21 is a strong buy at its $200-lower price, since it keeps the flagship chip, screen, fingerprint reader, and most camera capability while dropping features most buyers are unlikely to miss. It trades some display resolution, zoom range, storage expansion, and niche features for that lower price, making it, in the reviewer's view, likely the best value in the lineup compared with the Ultra and rival phones around $600 to $800.

Key Points

  • The phone keeps the same Snapdragon 888 chip as the Ultra, and the reviewer noticed no lag or multitasking problems despite having 8 GB of RAM instead of 12 or 16 GB.
  • The display is still a strong Samsung panel: bright outdoors, good color and HDR certification, and flatter edges than the S21 Ultra, though it drops from 1440p to 1080p while keeping 120 Hz.
  • The camera system is essentially the same three cameras as the S20 (main, ultra-wide, and 3x telephoto, up to 30x zoom), with an ultra-wide that is noticeably wider than the Ultra's and portrait mode praised as the best in any smartphone.
  • The battery is 4,000 mAh rather than 5,000 mAh, but it still lasted all day with more than five hours of screen-on time.
  • Samsung cut expandable storage and MST (magnetic card-emulation payments), which the reviewer identifies as the most-missed features for enthusiasts.

Details Worth Noting

  • Concrete instructions: The reviewer gives no step-by-step setup or usage instructions. The only actionable advice is to upgrade to 256 GB storage for an extra $50, since expandable storage is gone and heavy photo or 8K video users may need the room, and to compare the phone against rivals at similar prices.
  • The S21 has no S Pen support, no laser autofocus, no built-in macro mode, and a variable refresh rate of 48 to 120 Hz instead of 10 to 120 Hz.
  • The back is mostly plastic with only the camera plate in metal, though the reviewer says the coating and texture make it hard to notice.
  • The gold rails visible around the edges in the gold-tinted colorway can make the phone look slightly cheaper, according to the reviewer.
  • The reviewer says the S21 costs $400 less than the Ultra, and the Ultra's features like 100x space zoom and 1440p at 120 Hz simultaneously are the main gaps.

Bottom Line

The S21 is the sensible pick for buyers who want flagship performance and a strong camera without paying for the Ultra's extras, provided they accept the lower resolution, missing expandable storage, and fewer zoom features.