The Galaxy S series has been around for over a decade but this year we’re starting to see some major changes as the company reshuffles its portfolio. The division between the S Ultra and the other S-phones has become quite stark, at the same time the division between the S Ultra and Note Ultra has blurred.
Samsung introduced the Ultra badge a little under a year ago. Back then, the camera was the major difference between it and the Plus model. That is true this year as well, but the display has emerged as another important distinction.
Easily the most impressive of the three new models is the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which marks a number of firsts for the Galaxy line (the S family especially). And as we said, it’s all down to the screen and the camera.
The 6.8” Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel is a tad smaller than last year, but still has curved sides and now Gorilla Glass Victus protection. And it kept its 1440p+ resolution while the other two S21 models dropped to 1080p+.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra announced with S Pen support on the 120 Hz screen, dual telephoto lenses
This is Samsung’s first display able to run at 120Hz refresh rate while rendering at the full 1440p+ resolution. And it’s an Adaptive Refresh Rate (ARR) display, which can drop to 10Hz, when you don’t need the extra refreshes. This will reduce power usage, especially for static screens (think Always On Display). This also the brightest display of any Galaxy so far, with a peak of 1,500 nits.
The other major change is that the S21 Ultra supports the S Pen. Or rather any Wacom stylus. You can get a big, comfy one or a small, easy to pocket one. Which is important as (unlike the Note), there’s no place to stash the stylus – some Samsung cases have a compartment for it, but it’s that or your pocket.
That hurdle aside, the S Pen offers the same true to life experience of taking notes and sketching your ideas, plus handy shortcuts that we’re used to. This version of the stylus doesn’t have a battery, so the Bluetooth functionality you’ve seen on the Notes (remote camera shutter key, motion gestures) is not available.
