Tag: samsung galaxy s21

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Mark the date: S21 will launch on January 14

Samsung today surprised the media by droping an invitation to their virtual presentation of their new flagships.

At January 14 Sumsung plans to hold the Unpacked 2021 press conference, meaning that we will see their new 5G phones and accessories.

The keynote will start at 10 EST time, around 5pm Cyprus time. All of the latest Samsung Galaxy S21 leaks point to the three new phones – the S21, Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra

Of course, Samsung’s event invite doesn’t name any of the phones we mentioned. It bills this invite for its semi-annual Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2021 showcase, with the tagline ‘Welcome to Everyday Epic’. But the event invite image clearly shows the recently leaked rear camera module in an opaque cube.

The virtual event invitation

The specs are all confirmed by daily articles found on the net ahead from the official launch. We know that the tech giant is going to unvail three phones with three screen sizes – 6.2, 6.7 and 6.9 all with 120Hz adaptive displays and smaller bottom bezel.

The Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus rear cameras seem to be getting special treatment, according to several renders of the refined camera module. All with three lenses – presumed to be a 12MP main, 12MP ultra-wide and 64MP telephoto – appear in a flatter module this year, resulting in a slightly less pronounced camera bump. 

A twist or two

In a twist, the Galaxy S21 Ultra may also include an S Pen, the stylus that’s previously been exclusive to Samsung’s Galaxy Note series. If true, that would be a big reason to buy the most expensive version of the phone – and less of a reason to wait for a new Samsung Galaxy Note 21 presumably will launch in August 2021.

This weekend we also got insight into a novel accessory that Samsung may launch on January 14: a Tile-like Bluetooth tracker called Samsung Galaxy SmartTag. It may be helpful for finding items like keys, backpacks and luggage that constantly go MIA. If the SmartTag tracker does get announced, Samsung will beat to market the yet-to-be-revealed Apple AirTag tracker that’s been rumored for more than a year.Advertisement

A different leak outed a second Unpacked 2021-bound accessory this weekend: the Galaxy Buds Pro may put Samsung on equal footing with the AirPods Pro when it comes to true wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation and support for Dolby Atmos. The source of the leak? Samsung’s own website.

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Samsung confirms stylus support is coming to Galaxy phones like the S21

The Note seems not long for the world, and cheaper folding phones are coming

Samsung’s president of mobile, TM Roh, dropped several hints about the company’s product roadmap in a blog post today. He confirmed Samsung will hold an event in January — presumably for the Galaxy S21. He also implied that S Pen support will come to more phones and that Samsung intends to broaden its line of folding phones with less expensive options.

The hint that’s likely to have the biggest impact on the greatest number of customers is stylus support for Galaxy phones beyond the Note line. That’s been rumored for some time now, but Roh also claims that Samsung intends to “add some of its most well-loved features to other devices in our lineup.”

It may mean that the other half of those rumors will also come to pass: that the Note line itself may soon be coming to an end, at least as a premium flagship in Samsung’s lineup. The Note hasn’t been that differentiated from the regular S line of phones for a while now. The main difference beyond design language has been that silo for the stylus.SAMSUNG WILL HAVE AN EVENT IN JANUARY TO ANNOUNCE NEW PRODUCTS

With S Pen support on Galaxy S phones like the upcoming Galaxy S21 line and Z phones like the Z Fold (and maybe even a Z Flip), Samsung probably figures it’s just as easy to store a stylus in a case as it would be inside a phone.

Roh also confirmed that Samsung will be providing more details in January. That’s when Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S21 line, a month or two ahead of when it usually does.

The S Pen wasn’t the only thing Roh hinted at in the post. He also said that Samsung intends to have a “portfolio of foldables” and that it wants to make the category “more accessible to everyone.” “Accessible,” in this case, is likely a reference to the price of folding phones, which clock in anywhere from $1,300 to $2,000 for a new phone right now. The rumor here is that there will be a Z Fold “Lite” sometime in 2021. If folding phones are ever going to be more than a curiosity, they’ll need to come down significantly in price. That appears to be what Samsung is aiming for.

The Z Fold 2 can support itself at different angles now.
The next version of the Z Fold will likely include support for stylus input.

Roh says that Samsung will put more emphasis on “pro-grade camera and video capabilities” on its phones. That’s not really much of a revelation, but it may mean that Samsung hopes to get back into a camera quality race with Apple and Google — a race Samsung has yet to definitively win. Roh promised an “epic new year” and specifically mentioned using AI to improve image quality. Computational photography is precisely where Samsung has traditionally fallen a little behind its competitors.

He hinted that it would begin to do more with UWB in 2021 as well. Like Apple, he’s promising that your phone will open your car door. Unlike Apple, he’s willing to talk about using it to locate objects and “even your family pet.”

That’s a lot of teases for Samsung’s January event, which we currently expect to happen on the 14th. That’s when we’ll see the Galaxy S21 announced and perhaps a bit more, an earlier start than usual to a new year of phones.

Source: The Verge