Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00It's finally here. This is it the new Galaxy S21 Ultra
00:04I'm Tom the tech chap and I want to give you guys a quick unboxing
00:07Walk through of all the new features and also my first impressions of Samsung's latest flagship
00:13The first thing you'll notice even just as we look at the box is how much thinner it is
00:18Because despite making fun of them only a few months ago
00:20Samsung's now following Apple's lead with not actually giving us the power adapter or headphones in the box
00:27And if we put the phone just to one side this bit won't take long at all
00:32So all we actually get in the box is a USB C cable
00:35So you can plug this into your old charger or a new one if you buy it
00:38It's also helpful if you're transferring your data from an old Android phone to this one as well
00:43And that is literally it. Oh and also we are getting a sim ejector tool completely free
00:48We didn't even have to pay for this at least for now
00:58So here it is the Galaxy S21 Ultra
01:02This is a big phone and actually although I've got the phantom black color here, which isn't the snazziest in the world
01:08I think I would have preferred the phantom silver
01:10It does look quite good actually
01:12Plus we've got this massive camera module at the top with a quad lens setup plus the laser autofocus and a flash
01:18But as you can see, it just kind of melts away into the edge of the phone
01:23I'll tell you what though the first time you pick this up. It does feel like a big dense phone
01:28I mean, this is actually slightly thicker and even just a little bit heavier than even last year's s20 ultra
01:33I think it's about 228 grams and 8.9 millimeters thick the camera bump itself doesn't stick out as much
01:40They have reduced that but then the whole phone itself is a little bit thicker
01:44You can see we've got this curved edge screen
01:46The ultra is actually the only model with a curved edge the s21 and the plus are flat
01:51Which I know a lot of you guys do prefer. There's nothing at all on the left side or on the top on the right
01:56We've got the volume rocker and also the power button at the bottom
01:59We've got one speaker grill USB C port and also the SIM card tray
02:03Which actually if I just pop this out while this is still dual SIM and of course supports all the latest 5g networks
02:10Sadly though the s21s no longer support micro SD cards
02:13So you can't expand the storage beyond the 128 256 or 512 gigs of install store and still storage
02:20Internal storage that you get with this which is a bit of a shame because before you could pop in up one terabyte micro SD
02:26So you'd have one and a half terabytes of storage
02:29But it is a bit disappointing and it does feel like a bit of a downgrade losing that feature
02:33We're still getting IP 68 water resistance
02:36We get stereo speakers one at the top one at the bottom and while I'm not actually allowed to bring in other Samsung devices
02:42Just yet to compare there's an embargo on sort of reviews and comparisons
02:46I have to say this is one of the nicest phones
02:48I've seen in a long time and this matte glass really does go a long way to you know
02:52Reduce fingerprints and smudges and just keep it looking, you know premium
02:56I think for me though one of the standout features of this phone is that screen?
03:01This is a massive six point eight inch display
03:04But if we jump into the display settings, you'll see that not only is this
03:11WQHD so 3200 by 1440 the only phone of the s21 lineup to come with a quad HD res
03:17But as well as that if we jump into motion smoothness, you can see I've got it in adaptive mode
03:23So this will actually dynamically scale between 10 and 120 Hertz
03:27I can't force it to 120
03:30But we are for the first time on a Samsung phone getting quad HD and up to 120 Hertz at the same time
03:36Does it make a difference?
03:38Well, if you look closely then yes, you can tell it's sharper than the full HD resolution
03:43But I haven't really had any issues using the note 20 ultra for the last six months or so
03:47Which was capped at full HD when he wanted 120 Hertz
03:50But it is a nice extra and something you don't have the option with on the regular s21 or the plus
03:56Because they're stuck at full HD now as well as the resolution and the high refresh rate. Yes 21 ultra also boasts a
04:0425% brighter screen. So if you're watching HDR content and if you're in a really bright environment, this will go all the way up to
04:101500 nits, which is actually 200 it's brighter than the other s21 phones
04:15So the ultra is not only the biggest but it's also the sharpest and also the brightest screen of the new s21 series
04:21If we jump back into the display settings another new feature is this eye comfort shield now
04:27We've had a blue light filter for a couple of years
04:28But this is taking it sort of a step further and then it will just help reduce the blue light
04:33Emitting from the screen depending on the ambient lighting and the time of day. Another new feature is the improved fingerprint reader
04:39This is now using Qualcomm's 3d sonic sensor the generation 2 version
04:44Which is 50% faster 70% bigger and takes in more biometric data
04:48You still have to get your finger pretty much bang on the center
04:51But it does seem to be a little bit more reliable and also don't forget the s21 ultra now supports the s-pen
04:57I actually just stole this from my note 20 ultra and it does actually work with it
05:01It doesn't come with the phone
05:02You have to pay an extra
05:03$40 to get this
05:04S-pen and you may want to get a folio case as well to store it because there's no room internally to hold it
05:10But it does bring over one of the key selling points of the note series onto the ultra
05:14So this becomes a bit more all-round productivity device
05:18Now if you're a regular on the channel
05:20You know that I've made a bunch of videos talking about the differences between the Qualcomm and the Exynos versions of Samsung's phones
05:27Historically Qualcomm Snapdragon models have been faster offered longer battery life and even improved the camera
05:33So we've always felt a little bit shortchanged here in the UK and Europe and wherever they sell the Exynos variant now
05:39Unfortunately, I can't run any benchmarks just yet on this
05:41But I will be doing that my full review and also doing a versus video with the Qualcomm version
05:46But I've got the Exynos 2100 here, which is a 5 nanometer chip and from some of the leaks and reports
05:52I've read it does suggest the Exynos is a lot better than before
05:55So hopefully fingers crossed will actually have some parity between a different s21 models
06:02So I've got the Exynos 2100 here paired with 12 gigabytes of RAM only the
06:07512 gig storage option of the ultra comes with 16 gigs of RAM
06:11I'll need to spend a bunch more time with this. But yeah first impressions very good now along with the hardware
06:17We've got Android 11 shipping with the ultra
06:19We also have Samsung's latest one UI and it's nice and fast as you'd expect nothing really that different
06:25I had Android 11 updated to my note 20 ultra a few weeks ago
06:29So I'm used to this slight redesign, which I do quite like actually
06:32So I've got 12 gigs of RAM 256 storage and as for the battery the s21 ultra packs in a massive
06:395,000 million power cell
06:41so this actually has the same size battery as the s20 ultra and actually a
06:45500 million power bigger battery than the note 20 ultra because they haven't had to squeeze in the s-pen as well
06:50and I think with the adaptive refresh and also the more efficient new chips a day and a half of batteries should be
06:56Easily doable and even though there's no charger in the box
06:59The s21 ultra supports the same 25 watt charging as the s20 ultra as well as 15 watt wireless and also reverse
07:07Wireless charging so you can top up your new Galaxy Buds Pro
07:11We're also getting faster Wi-Fi with this because the ultra supports the brand new Wi-Fi 6e standard
07:17You will need a compatible router or router for my American friends to support it
07:21But in theory, it's kind of like adding more lanes to a highway and maybe even some dedicated carpool lanes
07:26The speed limit may be the same but there should be less traffic
07:30So hopefully you should have more reliable or even faster Wi-Fi with this as I say if you have a supported router
07:36Okay, let's talk about this camera and we're getting a quad lens set up with a 108 megapixel main sensor
07:42Which Samsung says now offers much better dynamic range and also 50% more contrast
07:47We're also getting a 12 megapixel ultrawide 3x optical telephoto lens and a whopping 10x periscope lens
07:55It's a similar setup to the Huawei P40 Pro Plus
07:58And it should mean that zooming in all the way up to a hundred times space zoom as they call it will be even better
08:05Quality than before
08:06It's also a lot more stable as when you zoom in by 30 times and beyond you can now tap the little viewfinder that pops
08:12Up to lock the zoom and it gives you a kind of digital stabilization to help reduce the vibrations
08:17As usual Samsung seems to hide a whole bunch of your camera options in this more tab
08:22But what you can do is just a long press on them and bring them down to the main carousel
08:27Makes them a little bit easier to access and we've got some new features including directors mode
08:31Which gives you a live preview of all the three different lenses
08:34So you can see if you want to switch between them how it would look
08:37This is picture in picture mode as you can see
08:39So the front camera is also being captured at the corner here
08:41But we can switch that to split view if you want 50-50
08:45Front and rear camera or just go full single view with the rear one and then as you can see jump between the lenses
08:52I'm not sure how often I would use this but it's a neat little extra as for video
08:56It still tops out at 8k 24 and same as last year with the s20
09:01You can record some 8k video and then from that you can capture high-res 32 megapixel
09:06Photos or screenshots essentially from that in the camera app. We're now getting single take 2.0
09:13This is where it will capture 5 to 15 seconds of well everything really a big thanks to my wife Sarah for this fantastic
09:20Demonstration and after 30 seconds or so of processing you get a whole bunch of photos videos slow-mo portraits
09:27It doesn't seem to be a whole lot different than the first gen version
09:30But Samsung say it should be a little bit smarter and also higher quality
09:34Switching to the selfie camera and we now get a 40 megapixel front camera
09:38Which is off from 10 megapixels on the s20 ultra and you can shoot in the full resolution if you want to but by default
09:44You'll get a pixel binned 10 megapixel image and actually one new feature
09:48I haven't touched on yet is the new portrait studio mode
09:52Definitely not at all borrowed from the iPhone, but it adds a range of lighting background bokeh options to your portraits
09:58So if you want that extra pop for your Instagram, then it could be fun
10:01But I'm old and boring and kind of prefer more natural photos. I
10:06I
10:07Will need to spend a bunch more time with this for my full review coming up and also let me know in the comments below
10:12What phones you'd like me to compare this against? So what do you guys think of the s21 ultra my first impressions?
10:19Well, there is a lot new, you know, we got the faster processor
10:23We've got the quad HD 120 Hertz screen this redesign support for the s-pen
10:27slightly faster Wi-Fi the improved cameras particularly the laser autofocus and also the
10:33Second periscope lens and actually it is a little bit cheaper than the s20 ultra was at launch by about 30 or 50 pounds or
10:39So it is still very expensive starting at eleven hundred fifty pounds or twelve hundred dollars. But what do you reckon?
10:45Do you think it's a pretty big upgrade or just a bit meh?
10:48Let me know in the comments below and also let me know if there's anything you'd like me to test or try out on
10:52This as I'll have my full review coming very soon as well as camera comparisons battery tests all that good stuff
10:57So make sure you have hit that subscribe button below and I'll see you guys next time right here on the tech chat
11:02You