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    3 major changes Samsung made to the Galaxy S21 to get that $200 price cut

    Drew Evans/CNET
    Samsung’s much-awaited Galaxy S21 lineup arrived in January — and the standout characteristic is not discovered on its software program or {hardware}. It’s its price ticket. The next-gen flagship lineup begins at $800 (£769, AU$1,249) for the baseline Galaxy S21, rises to $1,000 (£949, AU$1,549) for the Galaxy S21 Plus, and maxes out at $1,200 (£1,149, AU$1,849) for the Galaxy S21 Ultra, representing a $200 worth lower for the trio of fashions from final yr’s S20 household.Samsung guarantees its new S21 lineup works higher than its predecessors, regardless of its cheaper price ticket. But Samsung is a publicly listed enterprise in any case, and it wanted to make a bunch of calculated compromises to permit the S21 to hit that lowered worth, even when element prices are trending decrease. Here are just a few methods Samsung did precisely that.Read extra: The greatest telephone to purchase for 20211. Removed bundled charger and earphonesOne of probably the most controversial omissions is the in-box wall adapter and earphones. Samsung is pushing its prospects to reuse older equipment within the identify of the surroundings, identical to Apple did with the iPhone 12 household. Samsung has been utilizing standardized USB-C kind charging ports since 2017, so older chargers will nonetheless be suitable with the S21 telephones.

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    We evaluation the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G and its bonkers cameras

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    2. Memory, storage and backbone diminished or eradicatedThe S21 line additionally misplaced expandable native storage, becoming a member of final yr’s Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Z Flip foldables in ditching the microSD card slot as a result of “usage has markedly decreased,” in response to the corporate. One of the opposite trade-offs getting much less consideration is: a discount in RAM on the bottom S21 (it has 4GB much less RAM than the S20); the discount of the display decision (by half) on the S21 and S21 Plus.3. S21 telephone loses glass backingFor its base S21, Samsung changed the Gorilla Glass from the again with a high-end plastic referred to as polycarbonate, going within the path of its extra professional Note 20 line. The S20 Plus and Ultra nonetheless, every have Victus glass on each the back and front.  If you want extra particulars, learn CNET’s Galaxy S21 evaluation for extra or check out our specs chart under.Samsung Galaxy S21 lineup vs. S20 lineup

    Galaxy S21

    Galaxy S20

    Galaxy S21 Plus

    Galaxy S20 Plus

    Galaxy S21 Ultra

    Galaxy S20 Ultra

    Display dimension, decision

    6.2-inch Flat FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x, (2,400×1,080 pixels)

    6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X; (3,200×1440 pixels)

    6.7-inch Flat FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x, (2,400×1,080 pixels)

    6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (3,200×1,440 pixels)

    6.8-inch Edge WQHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, (3,200×1,440 pixels)

    6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (3,200×1,440 pixels)

    Pixel density

    421 ppi

    563 ppi

    394 ppi

    525 ppi

    515 ppi

    511 ppi

    Dimensions (Inches)

    2.80×5.97×0.31 inches

    2.72×5.97×0.31 inches

    2.97×6.35×0.3 inches

    2.9×6.37×0.30 inches

    2.97×6.5×0.35 inches

    2.99×6.57×0.35 inches

    Dimensions (Millimeters)

    71.2×151.7×7.9mm

    69.1×151.7×7.9 mm

    75.6×161.5×7.8 mm

    73.7×161.9×7.8 mm

    75.6×165.1×8.9 mm

    76.0×166.9×8.8 mm

    Weight (Ounces, Grams)

    6.03 oz; 171g

    5.75 oz; 163g

    7.12 oz; 202g

    6.56 oz; 186g

    8.07 oz; 229g

    7.76 oz; 220g

    Mobile software program

    Android 11

    Android 10

    Android 11

    Android 10

    Android 11

    Android 10

    Camera

    64-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)

    12-megapixel (wide-angle), 64-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide)

    64-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)

    12-megapixel (wide-angle), 64-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), time-of-flight digital camera

    108-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto), 10-megapixel (10x telephoto)

    108-megapixel (wide-angle), 48-megapixel (telephoto), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), time-of-flight digital camera

    Front-facing digital camera

    10-megapixel

    10megapixel

    10-megapixel

    10-megapixel

    40-megapixel

    40-megapixel

    Video seize

    8K

    8K

    8K

    8K

    8K

    8K

    Processor

    Snapdragon 888 64-bit octa-core processor 2.8GHz (max 2.4GHz + 1.8GHz)

    64-bit octa-core processor (Max 2.7GHz + 2.5GHz + 2GHz)

    Snapdragon 888 64-bit octa-core processor 2.8GHz (max 2.4GHz+1.8GHz)

    64-bit octa-core processor (Max 2.7GHz + 2.5GHz + 2GHz)

    Snapdragon 888 64-bit octa-core processor 2.8GHz (max 2.4GHz + 1.8GHz)

    64-bit octa-core processor (Max 2.7GHz + 2.5GHz + 2GHz)

    Storage

    128GB/256GB

    128GB

    128GB/256GB

    128GB/512GB

    128GB/256GB/512GB

    128GB/512GB

    RAM

    8GB

    12GB (5G), 8GB (LTE)

    8GB

    12GB (5G), 8GB (LTE)

    12GB, 16GB

    12GB, 16GB

    Expandable storage

    None

    Up to 1TB

    None

    Up to 1TB

    None

    Up to 1TB

    Battery

    4,000 mAh

    4,000 mAh

    4,800 mAh

    4,500 mAh

    5,000 mAh

    5,000 mAh

    Fingerprint sensor

    In-screen

    In-screen

    In-screen

    In-screen

    In-screen

    In-screen

    Headphone jack

    No

    No

    No

    No

    No

    No

    Special options

    IP68 ranking, 5G-enabled, 30x Space Zoom, 10W wi-fi charging

    5G enabled; 120Hz refresh price; waterproof (IP68)

    IP68 ranking, 5G-enabled, 30x Space Zoom, 10W wi-fi charging

    5G enabled; 120Hz refresh price; waterproof (IP68)

    IP68 ranking, 5G-enabled, 100x Space Zoom, 10W wi-fi charging, 10x optical zoom

    5G enabled; 120Hz refresh price; 100X zoom; waterproof (IP68)

    Price off-contract (USD)

    $800 (128GB)

    $999

    $1,000 (128GB)

    $1,199, $1,349

    $1,200 (128GB)

    $1,399 (128GB), $1,599 (512GB)

    Price (GBP)

    £769

    £799, £899 (5G)

    £949

    £999 (5G)

    £1,329

    £1,199 (128GB), £1,399 (512GB)

    Price (AUD)

    AU$1,249

    AU$1349 (4G), AU$1,499 (5G),

    AU$1,549

    AU$1,499 (4G), AU$1,649 (128GB), AU$1,899 (512GB)

    AU$1,849

    AU$1,999 (128GB), AU$2,249 (512GB)

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