The Samsung Galaxy S21 are official. They are the benchmark in the high-end of Samsung for this year, waiting for folding, a possible Note 21 and other surprises. From the trio of Samsung Galaxy S21, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the top model. The high end of the high end.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is one of the first powerful phones of the year and, like every time we have a powerful mobile, we can’t help but wonder how it is compared to the rest of the high-end. To find out, we face it against other recent mobiles such as the Xiaomi Mi 11, he Huawei Mate 40 Pro +, he OnePlus 8T, the Realme X50 Pro, the Sony Xperia 1 II and the OPPO Find X2 Pro.
OLED and 120 Hz: the new standard

It seems that it was yesterday when all the screens of mobile phones worked at 60 Hz of all life, but since 2019 they began to be imposed higher refresh rates. First, the 90 Hz entered our lives timidly and today the standard, at least in the high range, is a 120 Hz soda. This is the case for the panel of the Galaxy S21 Ultra, in addition to the Xiaomi Mi 11, OnePlus 8T and the OPPO Find X2 Pro.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the only one in its series that retains the QHD + resolution, thanks to which it equates to the resolution of the rest of the mobiles in our comparison. The only ones that retain the FHD + resolution are those with a somewhat smaller screen, such as the OnePlus 8T, with its 6.55 inches, or the Realme X50 Pro, with 6.44 inches.
If all high-end mobiles agree on something, it is to mount an OLED screen and include perforated front camera. The notch is officially a thing of the past among the high-end, and the only terminal that does not pierce the screen is the Sony Xperia 1 II, which mounts the camera on the upper frame.
Snapdragon, Exynos 2100 and a Kirin
In the high-end, the most powerful Qualcomm processor of the moment is still the most common choice. This is exactly what happens in the bets of OPPO, Sony, Realme and OnePlus, with Snapdragon 865, and Xiaomi Mi 11, the first to include the new Snapdragon 888. Huawei, veto in between, juggles to mount its own Kirin 9000 in the Mate 40 Pro + and Samsung announces the return of Exynos with its Exynos 2100.
It will be the benchmarks who have the last word on the actual performance of the Exynos 2100, although on paper it seems to be quite even with the Snapdragon 888. As for RAM, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is well served, with 12 or 16 GB of RAM to choose. No other mobile in our comparison reaches 16 GB of RAM.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is a strong mobile, with 165 mm wide, 8.9 mm thick and 228 grams of weight. Only the Huawei Mate 40 Pro + comes close, a little smaller but heavier. The good news is that this larger size comes hand in hand with a larger battery, of 5,000 mAh capacity, which is relatively common in the mid-range and entry-level, but not among the most powerful mobiles.
This battery includes 25W fast charging and 15W wireless. They are somewhat short figures when compared to the competition, where OPPO, OnePlus, Realme and Huawei are already including charging at 65W. With wireless charging at 15W, three-quarters of the same: it knows little when compared to the 50W wireless charging of the Xiaomi Mi 11.
108 megapixels and spatial zoom
One of the main of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra with the rest of the models in its series is in the cameras. Same design, but a lens, a ToF, and a handful of megapixels more. There is a sensor for all tastes: 108 megapixel main, two 10 and 12 MP telephoto and a 12 megapixel wide angle. Putting them together, the “spatial zoom” of 100x is achieved.
Being a sensor created in collaboration with XiaomiIt is not surprising that the Xiaomi Mi 11 also includes it, although in a triple and not a quad camera. The rest of the mobiles in our comparison bet on 64 or 48 MP triple or quad camerasAlthough the case of the Huawei Mate 40 Pro + is noteworthy, which has a 50 + 12 + 8 + 20 + ToF five-fold camera.

Ahead, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra takes the award for resolution thanks to its 40 megapixel sensor for selfies. Well above the 8 MP of the Sony Xperia 1 II, although with a lens, unlike the Realme X50 Pro and the Huawei Mate 40 Pro +.
In connectivity, and to no one’s surprise, all terminals are 5G, although the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra scores some points in other connectivity technologies by incorporating UWB and Wi-Fi 6E, not present in the others.
Comparison table
As always, we leave you with the comparison table with all the main specifications of the terminals. In this way, you can see at a glance what has and what is missing from the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra compared to its direct rivals.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra |
Xiaomi Mi 11 |
Huawei Mate 40 Pro + |
OnePlus 8T |
Realme X50 Pro |
Sony Xperia 1 II |
OPPO Find X2 Pro |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
screen |
AMOLED 6.8 “ |
AMOLED 6.81 “ |
OLED 6.76 “ |
AMOLED 6.55 “ |
AMOLED 6.44 “ |
OLED 6.5 “ |
AMOLED 6.7 ” |
Dimensions and weight |
165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9 mm |
164.3 x 74.6 x 8.06 mm |
162.9 x 75.5 x 8.8 mm |
160.7 x 74.1 x 8.4 mm |
158.96 x 74.24 x 8.9 mm |
166 x 72 x 7.9 mm |
165.2 x 74.4 x 8.8 mm |
Processor |
Exynos 2100 |
Snapdragon 888 |
Kirin 9000 |
Snapdragon 865 |
Snapdragon 865 |
Snapdragon 865 |
Snapdragon 865 |
RAM |
12/16 GB |
8/12 GB |
12 GB |
8/12 GB |
8/12 GB |
8 GB |
12 GB |
Storage |
128/256/512 GB |
128/256 GB |
256 GB |
128/256 GB |
128/256 GB |
256 GB |
512 GB |
Frontal camera |
40 MP f / 2.2 |
20 MP |
13 MP |
16 MP |
32 MP |
8 MP |
32 MP |
Rear camera |
108 MP |
108 MP |
50 MP |
48 MP |
64 MP |
12 MP |
48 MP |
Drums |
5,000 mAh |
4,600 mAh |
4400 mAh |
4,500 mAh |
4,200 mAh |
4,000 mAh |
4,260 mAh |
Others |
IP68 |
Infrared |
Infrared |
Fingerprint reader under the screen |
Facial rec. |
IP65 / 68 |
IP68 |
Starting price |
1249 euros |
500 euros to change |
1,399 euros |
599 euros |
599 euros |
1,199 euros |
1,199 euros |
was originally published in
Xataka Android
by
Ivan Ramirez
.
