While ‘CES 2021’ was going on, Samsung decided to steal the thunder by announcing their range of flagship premium smartphones for this year at an ‘Unpacked’ event. So let us filter out the hyperbole and see what is so great about the Galaxy S21 series based on what Samsung has officially announced so far.

Love it or hate it, that signature traffic light look that Samsung calls ’Contour Cut Camera’ and the selection of colours stands out. Although more colourways would be welcomed. A green hue instead of white perhaps. The lack of any gold tones is a surprise to me, but that could change (for marketing reasons).

A better processor and latest phone equal a better camera performance. I expect the pictures and videos taken on the Galaxy S21 series phones to be excellent.

I was, however, surprised that Samsung highlighted an AI-powered stabilisation solution. It will most probably be more than good enough for the average user.

Last but not least, the Galaxy Ecosystem. Some of its features overlap with Google’s offerings. But when they don’t, it is pretty good. I just wish Samsung would talk more about the privacy in their ecosystem, which a lot of people use, instead of Knox, which only a few people do.

Now to the not so great stuff about the Galaxy S21 series.

The Ultra is basically a Note. When asked about it, the answer given by TM Roy of Samsung is so coy, even a politician would blush. My take is that there will be a Note, just like how gaming consoles have half steps.

Smartphones in the Samsung Galaxy S21 series come in large, larger, and largest. The Ultra gets a few more features, sure but the difference between the S21 and the S21+ is half an inch, colour options, and RM600.

In their material, Samsung touts 4K, 8K, and RAW formats. They are great tools for a small section of creators. But, for most consumers, these are unwieldy file formats. And besides, the Galaxy S21 series does not have expandable memory.

Isn’t 5G and cloud storage is the solution, no? No. Our 5G infrastructure is still non-existent. It will take 3 to 5 more years before it is mainstream. Also, 4K, 8K, and RAW files are too huge for most free cloud services

That ability to take videos and photos using all the cameras is just an app solution. Nokia had a similar feature when they started using Android. It is fun, but the use case is limited.

Speaking of more features with a limited use case, ‘Space Zoom’. Not the sensible built-in 3x optical zoom, but that hilarious 10x, 30x, and 100x ‘Space Zoom. For what? Spying on neighbours and birdwatching during the lockdown?

This idea is not novel, and smartphones less than half the price of these Samsung premier flagships have touted the feature before. And even if Samsung’s implementation is excellent, I can’t see this being more than just a party trick.

Finally, privacy. I wish Samsung talks more about privacy not in the context of their Knox, but in their actual apps and services. With the Samsung Galaxy S21, they tout basic stuff like removing GPS metadata, file sharing with access control, and the ability to locate devices. That’s basic stuff, Google and Apple have that.

On and one more thing: No charger and headphones included.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Jokes aside, you will be hard-pressed to find another premium flagship Android smartphone as well made, fully-featured, and well thought out as a Samsung Galaxy S21 series phone. To me, the only contender is Google’s own Pixel series and Samsung’s smartphones has better availability, after-sales service, and always comes with a few treats at launch.

For the latest information on availability, prices, and promotions for the Samsung Galaxy S21 series, visit their website.