The specs of the new Galaxy S21 leave a lot to be desired. Compared to the Galaxy S20, the newer Galaxy S21 may be cheaper, but there’s several reasons for that, and I’ll go through them one by one:
No charger in box
Firstly, after mocking Apple for not shipping phones with chargers, Samsung has now also decided not to ship its new flagships with chargers.
Remember when Google, in promotional material for its brand new Google Pixel phone, mocked Apple for ditching the 3.5mm headphone port on the iPhone 7 – before they, too, subsequently ditched the 3.5mm port on the Pixel 2? Hypocrisy at its worst.
Samsung is also guilty – not just on the 3.5mm headphone jack/port, but for not including a charging adapter in the box with its new Galaxy S21 phones.
Apple cleverly argued it was a move to save the environment, as most adapters included with new phones weren’t needed and were almost always binned with the rest of the packaging – as people still had, and used, their old plugs.
That may be the case, but it was also a clever move by Apple to increase sales of its iPhone accessories, and it seems like Samsung – as well as many other Android OS manufacturers – are going down the same route, for the same reasons. Copycats…
For me personally, this change means that in order to take advantage of the new 25W Super Fast Charging, I’d have to buy a new wall adapter myself.
It’s definitely a disadvantage, but to be fair it’s also not such a bad thing. I haven’t yet used the proprietary charger that came with my Galaxy Tab S5e. It’s still wrapped up, in its original packaging, in the box. It has been for over a year.
I’d have to buy a new plug anyway, since the Aukey dual-port USB plug that I use every day, is currently limited to just 18W. It would still charge the Galaxy S21, but not as fast as advertised.
Only a 1080p screen
On the Galaxy S21, the screen resolution has dropped. My Galaxy S9 Plus has a 1440p screen, the Galaxy S20 had a 1440p screen, and the Galaxy S20 also shipped with a 1440p screen.
Not just the base models of those generations, but all models. The S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra all shipped with a 1440p display, and that’s now gone with the Galaxy S21 series, where the 1440p screen can only be had on the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Not even the middle of the range Galaxy S21 Plus has a 1440p screen. It, along with the base S21 5G, comes with only a 1080p display.
Granted, the base S21’s screen is a Dynamic AMOLED, and it’s 1080p resolution means I wouldn’t have to manually drop from 1440p at 60Hz to 1080p to use 120Hz – like I would’ve had to have done have on the Galaxy S20.
It can also vary the refresh rate, meaning that battery life will be much improved, as it won’t necessarily be fixed permanently at 120Hz.
However, I’m not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, the other devices I’m considering only have 1080p screens: the Pixel 4a, Pixel 5, and Xperia 5 II. The only difference between these 3 devices is the refresh rates: only 60Hz on the Pixel 4a, 90Hz on the Pixel 5, and 120Hz on the Xperia 5 II.
But, on the other hand, on a platform that’s so centred around customisation (that being Android), having one less resolution is unfortunate.
Over the past 2 years, when I’ve been at home, I’ve enjoyed the full 1440p on my Galaxy S9 Plus. But to increase the battery life while out & about, I had the option to reduce the resolution to 1080p, or all the way down to 720p.
Of course, to maximise battery life without compromising too much on performance, I used to put it all the way down to 720p.
I’ve heard a few reviews that say this doesn’t make any difference at all, but from personal experience I’d say it does. Whilst on holiday in Prague in April 2019, I managed to squeeze out 3-4 more hours of Screen On Time from the battery each day, just by dropping the resolution of my S9 Plus down from 1440p to 720p.
Okay, ideally it’s not what we want to do. Why pay for a 1440p phone, if you need to drop it to 720p to get longer battery life? There’s loads of users on Reddit who say they won’t do it, because why would they? It’s madness!
But, I’m not of that disposition. I’m happy to drop the resolution down to 720p if longer battery life is the result, knowing that the full 1440p is there if and when I need it.
The problem with the Galaxy S21, is that 1440p wouldn’t be available at all. It would be an option on the Galaxy S20, but not on the newer S21.
No 3.5mm headphone port
To be fair, neither the Galaxy S20 nor the Galaxy S21 have a 3.5mm headphone port, but I’ve added it to this list, as it is a consideration.
I currently have one on my S9 Plus, and if I got either the Pixel 4a or the Xperia 5 II, I’d get to keep this feature.
The only phones in my shortlist that don’t have the 3.5mm headphone port are the Pixel 5, Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S21.
I’ve got used to using my Sony WH-XB900N’s, so I’m used to using Bluetooth headphones with my phone. Although my Galaxy Tab S5e also doesn’t have a headphone port, my phone acts as my main source of portable media.
With the ability to play music, videos, games, capture photos & access the Internet, having a smartphone has effectively replaced my need for an MP3 Player. I no longer need an iPod or a Walkman, as my phone doubles as an all-in-one media player.
Although I already own & use a great pair of Over-Ear Bluetooth headphones, losing the 3.5mm port on my phone is something I’ll have to get accustomed to, even if I’m not entirely happy about its loss.
No Micro SD card slot
Finally, the loss of expandable storage is – for me personally – the main downside to the new Galaxy S21.
To be fair, I’d also lose it on the Pixel 4a and Pixel 5, but to lose it on a Samsung flagship is more of a big deal. It’s one of the only features that was keeping me glued to Samsung’s Galaxy S series phones, but now it’s gone.
To offset the loss, Samsung are at least offering a 256GB version as well as the base 128GB model, but I would still prefer a Micro SD card slot.
The main reason for keeping the slot, is that it would enable a very simple switch of phones: eject my current 128GB card from my S9 Plus, and insert it into my new phone. No need to copy files over, and no lengthy transfer process.
It would also mean the ability to keep & use various Micro SD cards for different applications – a main one for personal use, and a secondary Micro SD card for photography/professional purposes.
If I went with either the Galaxy S21, the Pixel 4a or Pixel 5, this functionality would be missing. Also, a lengthy set up process would be in store for me.
A lengthy set-up process isn’t really something I’ve had to worry about since my full-time transition from Windows Phone to Android in 2015.
It’s not the end of the world, and because of how the Android file system works, it wouldn’t be that difficult to transition from my S9 Plus to a Galaxy S21, Pixel 4a or Pixel 5.
It’s not like an iPhone, where I’d have to connect it up to my PC and sync all my music across via iTunes – as most of my music is from CD’s – and then also need to keep that music permanently stored on my PC.
And with the help of Quick Share or Nearby Share on Android – similar to Apple’s AirDrop – the transfer should be even easier.
But, the Micro SD card slot is one feature I was hoping to have on my Next Phone. I was okay with giving up the 3.5mm headphone jack, but really not okay with giving up the Micro SD card slot.
However, as I explained in my blog post about the iPhone 12 series, I understand why they’ve done it: less local storage options hopefully means more investment in cloud storage.
That latter point makes sense on the Pixel 4a and Pixel 5, but it doesn’t really make sense on the Galaxy S21: why offer a 256GB model, if Samsung or Google wants you to invest in cloud storage?
Conclusion
And this is where I’m at, and the dilemma I’ve got: there’s quite a few compromises I’d have to accept, but if I can get over them – particularly, the loss of the Micro SD card slot and the 3.5mm port – then the Galaxy S21 fits the bill in terms of its compact size.
It’s not quite as compact as the iPhone 12 mini, nor the Pixel 4a, but at least it can still offer flagship performance in a relatively small package.
I don’t feel like this is the best place to end this blog post, and feels a bit abrupt. But it is a perfect moment to pause and reflect.
At this point, I think I’ve already decided that, going forward, the Samsung Galaxy S21 is now a serious contender.
This is despite some of the compromises I’ve talked about thus far, and it has now replaced both the Galaxy S20 and S20 FE on my shortlist of devices.
Why? The Galaxy S20 is now hard to find on a contract, and although the larger Galaxy S20 ‘Fan Edition’ is available, I’m not sure I’d be willing to compromise on hardware quality or a much bigger screen size than my S9 Plus.
Also, as the Galaxy S21 is a direct successor to the Galaxy S20, it shares the S20’s small size while improving on its features. Maybe that doesn’t stretch to its screen resolution, but overall it’s taking a leaf from the S20 FE’s book, minus the huge screen.
It now means that my shortlist is down to just four phones: Galaxy S21 5G; Google Pixel 4a; Google Pixel 5; and, the Sony Xperia 5 II.
– Chris JK.
KPH tech blog 
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