It’s been a good long while since we’ve posted a review on any Samsung devices, mainly because we haven’t been able to get one sent to us in years. Not that we haven’t tried, but they’re currently more concerned now with Youtubers and “influencers” than actual written reviews. So with that said, we actually picked up our own Samsung Galaxy S21 thanks in part to an insane $800 trade in deal with AT&T and a $200 off sale from Best Buy. If you can believe it, we were able to trade in a really old Samsung Galaxy S7 and paid pretty much nothing for this one. If you’re interested in one, I’d suggest seeing what deals your carrier has right now.
Anyways, now on to some first impressions. In terms of design, I really like what Samsung did here with the Galaxy S21. This is the smallest of the Galaxy S21 series and also the least expensive. While they compromised in some areas, such as the polycarbonate back instead of glass and the lower resolution display. These are fair tradeoffs to bring the price down for a phone that is just as powerful as its more expensive siblings.
Aside from that, I love the size of it. Phones these days are getting way too large and the regular Samsung Galaxy S21 is just right. It fits nicely in your hands and is easy to hold and this is one of the few phones I’ve used lately that I can actually use one-handed. I should also note that without the glass back, the phone seems noticeably lighter, which is another plus as my current phone I feel is just too heavy.
I also like that the screen is flat and doesn’t waterfall off the edges which decrease accidental palm presses. The rear camera hump is nicely integrated into the top-left edge and I think looks pretty cool and different. There are stereo speakers here with one that is bottom-firing and the other is integrated with the earpiece.
Now what I do not like about the Samsung Galaxy S21 is that they have completely removed the option to use expandable storage via SD Card. That means if you want more storage than the standard 128GB, you’ll have to upgrade to the 256GB option.
You’ll also notice how small the box is when you get it because, like Apple, this new device no longer comes with a charging plug. It only comes with a cable.
I’m interested in checking out the cameras as I’ve heard that they’re supposed to be really good. Same goes for the display. Despite it being just a 1080p display, it has a refresh rate of 120Hz, so that should provide a buttery smooth experience. I”m also curious about Android 11, as I do not currently have any devices on Android 11. Lastly the Snapdragon 888 should provide some really great performance for apps and games.
That’s pretty much it for first impressions. I haven’t played around with the device yet to really say much about it, but once we get a week or two of time with it, I’ll be able to post a full review soon.
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