Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Australian review: Can its camera upgrades defeat the iPhone 12?
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has five cameras and an extra zoom lens. But there’s one reason it can’t beat the iPhone.
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Samsung’s biggest fans right now? Upwardly mobile photography nerds.
The smartphone giant’s latest top model seems designed exclusively for them, with five cameras, laser autofocus, a resolution up to 108 megapixels and a raft of new features to get the most of out big zoom power and multiple lenses.
But does the Galaxy S21 Ultra take a big enough leap forward for other potential buyers?
What about those elements it leaves out?
And how does it compare to its rival iPhone?
We’ve road-tested Samsung’s new $1849 handset to help you decide whether to make the upgrade.
ARE FIVE CAMERAS BETTER THAN FOUR?
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra was always going to have an industry-leading camera.
The model that came before it set a seriously high benchmark with a 108-megapixel sensor, RAW capture, and a digital zoom reaching up to 100x magnification.
In many ways, its successor refines that kit.
The new model does add an extra camera lens to the rear of this smartphone, of course. Rather than one zoom lens, the S21 Ultra now features two telephoto options at 10x and 3x magnification.
They work together, switching automatically, and promise to deliver a steadier, sharper result at maximum magnification.
In our tests, the zoom double-act did improve results. It’s still tricky to capture decent photos at a 100x magnification, but this new feature made photos at 30x zoom easier to snap and sometimes indistinguishable from those captured at a closer distance, without digital zoom.
For capturing birds in high branches to distant landmarks and performers on a stage, this is a useful addition.
Another is the arrival of laser autofocus to find focus quickly, replacing last year’s time-of-flight camera. The new take is impressively snappy.
Most camera additions to this smartphone are software-based upgrades, though.
They include a powerful extra called Director’s Cut that lets you preview what the other three rear camera lenses look like while you’re capturing a video with the other. You can swap between perspectives by tapping them.
There’s also a picture-in-picture option that will let you film your reaction simultaneously (in a move keen Samsung fans may remember from the Galaxy S4).
Another new feature called 8K Snap will let you capture clear photos from an 8K video and, similarly, Samsung’s Single Take mode now feature more post-processing options for important moments that you want to capture in multiple ways simultaneously, like birthdays.
And, of course, this camera will also capture photos as RAW files in Pro mode, and with a 108-megapixel resolution.
It still gets a little hot to touch after using the latter feature, though the detail in the photographs it takes is worth it.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE WITH THE IPHONE CAMERA?
Samsung’s top smartphone packs in a lot more camera hardware than the fanciest Apple iPhone, making it a winner on paper.
The real-world winner is a lot harder to judge, however.
Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra certainly has a much longer reach than Apple's iPhone 12 Pro Max, thanks to that 10x optical zoom lens with 100x digital boost.
Apple’s top telephoto camera only features an optical magnification power of 5x.
And Samsung’s 108-megapixel resolution compares favourably to just 12 megapixels in its competitor.
However, the iPhone 12 Pro Max features an image sensor with larger pixels than Samsung’s model, tends to produce warmer images that may be more pleasing to some viewers, and recording RAW files using Apple’s system is easier.
After enabling ProRAW capture, users can snap a photo with greater detail using any of its three lenses and can turn it on and off with a persistent icon.
Samsung snappers can only use RAW in Pro mode and with the wide or ultra-wide options.
Ultimately, Apple offers a more accurate, slicker camera experience; Samsung a more versatile, powerful kit. Buyers will have to judge which approach suits them best.
SMARTPHONE STYLE OVERHAUL
Samsung’s newest smartphone looks like a second generation smartphone. Its design is obviously more mature.
The island of cameras on the rear of the S20 Ultra has become a more subtle raised corner on the S21 that looks like it was a deliberate design choice rather than a workaround.
Also, the matte finish of Samsung’s new top smartphones should not be understated. Yes, this phone is black but it’s anything but basic. In person, it looks undeniably suave, like Fonzie in his prime.
It’s worth noting that the S21 Ultra, unlike some of us in 2020, has lost weight. Its screen now measures 6.8 rather than 6.9 inches, which makes it slightly shorter and lighter than its predecessor. Some may miss the display real estate, of course.
WHAT ELSE HAS CHANGED?
Other changes include some good additions and not-so-good omissions.
The S21 Ultra is the first Samsung smartphone outside its Note series to be compatible with a stylus.
Testing an S Pen on its screen, we were surprised at how responsive it was. It doesn’t quite match the experience on a Note — and it won’t deliver Bluetooth features like acting as a remote camera button — but it’s a useful and long-awaited extra.
The in-screen fingerprint scanner is also larger in this model and quicker to respond. Side-by-side, you can see the speed boost and it’s a particularly good move at a time when so many of us are wearing masks that impede facial recognition.
But there have been some casualties in this upgrade too.
There’s nowhere to add a memory card on this Samsung phone — an addition the brand had been famous for retaining after an earlier, ill-timed experiment removing it.
It also arrives without a charging plug, following Apple’s lead. It feels a little premature, however, particularly following the fiery Note 7 problems.
SAMSUNG GALAXY S21 ULTRA VERDICT
There’s no doubt that Samsung’s latest Ultra device represents another advance for smartphones, and particularly for their cameras.
The addition of a second telephoto lens is helpful, and new features make more of its existing photographic hardware.
Its style overhaul, stylus compatibility, and speedier fingerprint recognition are also welcome additions, and particularly in a handset that is notably cheaper than the previous model.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra isn’t a revolution, though. Those who bought last year’s model haven’t been given a compelling reason to upgrade it here. And iPhone photographers, unless they yearn to capture faraway subjects, may not be convinced.
Samsung’s new top model is certainly a step forward but not a giant leap.
Originally published as Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Australian review: Can its camera upgrades defeat the iPhone 12?
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