Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra: All of Android for somewhat less

You’re also getting a much better screen, Wi-Fi 6E, S Pen support, and way more RAM.

- MICHAEL SIMON

The Galaxy S21 Ultra is a new kind of value proposition from Samsung. It’s not just bigger than the lower-end models with a better camera, like last year’s Ultra. You’re also getting a much better screen, Wi-Fi 6E, S Pen support, and way more RAM. Whether you need those things is still up for debate, but if you want them, the S21 Ultra is well worth the upgrade from the S20 Ultra or the $200 step-up from the S21+.

That’s mainly because the Ultra’s premium price comes at less of a premium this year. Where last year’s price tag put the S20 Ultra firmly in the upper end of the stratosphere, the S21 Ultra starts at $1,199. You can max it out with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $1,380, $20 less than both last year’s entry-level S20 Ultra (go.pcworld.com/s2ul) and a fully loaded iPhone 12 Pro Max (go. pcworld.com/imax).

Even if it cost the same as the S20 Ultra, the S21 Ultra would still be one of the best phones ever made, maybe one worth spending upward of $1,700 on. But Samsung’s aggressive pricing makes the S21 Ultra’s spec sheet even more attractive and proves that you can have it all without actually spending it all.

UPGRADED ELEGANCE

The S21 Ultra has the same design as the S21, which I reviewed recently (