Samsung Galaxy S21 rumour roundup: Everything we know so far (Updated)

1) How many models are there?

Since 2019, Samsung has consistently unveiled three models for the Galaxy S lineup at launch. We've seen the Galaxy S10e, S10 and S10+ in 2019, and the Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra earlier this year. As such, it's likely that Samsung will be going down the same path for the Galaxy S21 lineup next month. 

Tipster @OnLeaks, who has a solid track record on phone leaks, shared in October that the Galaxy S21 lineup will consist of three models: Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra. 

2) New design philosophy

Like every other unannounced phone, the Galaxy S21 lineup has been leaked multiple times before the official launch event. There are three main waves of leaks on the design of the phones, which corroborate one another. 

While there is nothing to shout out about the front of the phone, it's the rear of the phone that deserves special mention. Aside from the variety of colour options, the new design of the rear camera module is what captured our attention. 

The rear camera moudle appears to extend from the edge of the chassis of the phone, which is a more elegant implementation than the one on the Galaxy Note20 models.

Leaked teaser clips of the Galaxy S21 phones show close-up views of the the rear camera housing and the new, refreshing colour tones that Samsung has opted for the Galaxy S21 models. There are two distinct colour tones on the phone's rear; the phantom violet of the chassis is in contrast with the mystic bronze housing of the camera module. 

Earlier this month, high resolution renders of the Galaxy S21 renders were published which give us a clear look at the design and colour tones. LetsGoDigital claims that these colour options will be available for the respective Galaxy S21 models: 

• Galaxy S21: phantom gray, phantom white, phantom violet, and phantom pink
• Galaxy S21+: phantom silver, phantom violet, phantom black 
• Galaxy S21 Ultra: phantom black, phantom silver

@evleaks also provided a set of purported press images of the Galaxy S21+. 

3) S Pen for the Galaxy S21 - a first? 

Speculation of the S Pen coming to the Galaxy S series surfaced in August when Korean publication TheElec claimed that the Galaxy Note lineup will be discontinued next year. In addition, only one of the three Galaxy S21 models will support the S Pen and it is likely to be the top-end model, the Galaxy S21 Ultra. 

Multiple sources such as Android Central, Android Police, @OnLeaks, @UniverseIce, and AjuNews have said the S Pen will be coming to the Galaxy S21 Ultra, but there will be no slot (unlike the Galaxy Note series) on the device to house the stylus. Android Police added that Samsung may sell official cases that can store the S Pen. 

Samsung basically confirmed on its U.S blog that these rumours are true. TM Roh, the President and Head of Mobile Communications Business, said that the company has been "paying attention to people's favourite aspects of the Galaxy Note experience" and is "excited to add some of its most well-loved features to other devices" in the lineup.

And just recently, official leaked images have surfaced to confirm where the S Pen will be housed on the Galaxy S21 UItra's case cover.

4) Camera upgrades 

The camera has always been a major selling point for Samsung's flagship phones and the redesigned camera module looks to house new hardware and features. 

TheElec reported in September that the Galaxy S21 Ultra will have four rear cameras which consist of a 108MP primary sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide lens, and two telephoto lenses. One of the telephoto lenses is expected to offer 3x optical zoom while the other is said to be a periscope-styled module to deliver more than 5x zoom. The front-facing camera is stated to be a 40MP shooter. 

Android Police has slightly more information on the camera hardware of the Galaxy S21 Ultra; the 108MP primary sensor is said to be an improved version. The second telephoto lens is described as a "super telephoto" with 10x optical zoom. In addition, there will be laser autofocus. Tipster @UniverseIce tweeted that the second-generation 108MP sensor is the ISOCELL Bright HM3 sensor with 0.8μm pixels.

WinFuture reported recently that the two telephoto lenses are 10MP and there is phase detection autofocus alongside laser autofocus. 

The Galaxy S21 and S21+ are believed to come with the same camera hardware as its predecessors; 12MP main sensor, 64MP telephoto lens, and 12MP ultra-wide lens.

Leaked infographics have also further confirmed the above camera hardware for all three Galaxy S21 models.

Across all three models, 4K 60fps video recording will be supported alongside Super Steady Stabilisation. There is also an option to toggle between 30fps and 60fps depending on lighting conditions. Other new features include 8K 30fps video recording, a dual-recording mode, improved night mode with more manual controls, and an enhanced moon mode.

5) Exynos or Qualcomm

Samsung's choice of processors for the Galaxy S models has always come under fire from consumers and reviewers. As a quick recap, Samsung usually equips the U.S and Korean models with Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile platforms while the international models get the in-house designed Exynos processors. For the Galaxy S21 lineup, things are unlikely to change.

The South Korean company is holding a launch event on 12 January to announce the next-generation Exynos chipset. This Exynos 2100 chipset is said to have adopted the standardised solutions instead of Samsung's Mongoose custom cores. In theory, this should result in better performance and less aggressive throttling of the CPU. It' also the first Samsung mobile chipset to have an integrated 5G modem supporting both sub-6GHz and mmWave spectrums. For more details, check out our Exynos 2100 debut article.

Samsung is likely to continue using Snapdragon mobile platforms for some markets. A recent GeekBench entry revealed the Galaxy S21 to have Snapdragon 888 and 8GB RAM. 

6) Charger 

Following the announcement of iPhone 12, Samsung was quick to mock Apple for not including a power adapter/charger on social media. In a now-deleted Facebook post, Samsung boasted that its Galaxy devices give what consumers are looking for: the charger, best camera, battery, performance, memory and even 120Hz screen. Well, it seems now that Samsung is likely to follow suit with the Galaxy S21 lineup. 

ETNews claimed in July that Samsung is planning to remove the charger from the retail box of some phones in 2021. South Korean media has a similar report in October and claims that the Galaxy S21 models will not come with a charger and earphones. A regulatory filing with the Brazilian regulatory agency ANATEL is among the first official set of evidence that confirms the above rumours. Lastly, leaked official images also confirm that we're saying goodbye to the charger in the box.

Samsung is also believed to be launching a new 30W charger alongside the Galaxy S21 and it is expected to be sold separately. 

In terms of battery size, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is rumoured to come with a 5,000mAh battery while the Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 are believed to be equipped with 4,800mAh and 4,000mAh battery respectively. All three models will support a minimum of 25W fast charging.

7) Other specs

Display sizes will differ across the lineup with the Galaxy S21 Ultra said to have a 6.8-inch WQHD+ LTPO 120Hz curved display, the Galaxy S21+ having a 6.7-inch FHD+ LPTS 120Hz flat display, and the Galaxy S21 sporting a 6.2-inch FHD+ LPTS 120Hz flat display. The Galaxy S21 Ultra is also tipped to support 120Hz refresh rates at QHD+ resolution. The current Galaxy S20 Ultra only supports 120Hz refresh rates at FHD+ resolution. 

Wi-Fi 6E, which offers twice the speeds of the standard Wi-Fi 6, is expected to be exclusive to the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Ultra Wide Band (UWB), which can be used to track Samsung's upcoming SmartThings tags, are said to be available on the Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy S21+.

8) Launch event 

The launch timeframe for the Galaxy S series has always been between February and March each year, but 2021 will be the earliest yet for Samsung. 

Production of the Galaxy S21 models is said to be ongoing and TheElec believes the launch could be a month earlier. Tipster @jon_prosser has more specific dates to share; he claims the Galaxy Unpacked 2021 event will be held on 14 January and pre-order is expected to start on the same day.

Retail availability is stated to be on 29 January. These dates are also confirmed by store executives from Samsung's biggest mobile experience store in India. The Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ models are recently registered with IMDA in Singapore, which indicates a launch is near.

The earlier-than-expected launch is speculated to be for two reasons: Samsung hopes to grab more market share from Huawei as the latter is struggling under intense U.S trade restrictions. The stellar sales of the iPhone 12 models is probably another reason to jump in earlier and offer a newer phone upgrade option.

9) Retail pricing 

European retail prices of the Galaxy S21 models are revealed by tipster @ishanagarwal24. 

In comparison, the Galaxy S20 (128GB), Galaxy S20+ (128GB) and Galaxy S20 Ultra (128GB) launched with retail prices of S$1,298, S$1,498 and S$1,898 respectively. If the above European prices are accurate, this would mean that we are looking at price increases across the board.

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