Samsung unveiled its next generation of Galaxy smartphones today along with a couple of other products. The Galaxy Unpacked was mainly focused on the S21 series, especially the S21 Ultra, but also the next Galaxy Buds, and a competitor to the rumored Apple AirTags, also to Tile, was announced going by the name “Galaxy SmartTag.”
Products
There are three variants of the Galaxy S21, particularly the Galaxy S21, the S21+ and the S21 Ultra. On paper the S21 and the S21+ don’t have that big of a difference, but hands-on videos from influencers have already started dropping and those can terminate the confusion. The colors are great, especially on the S21 and S21+ variants. Also, there is an optional S Pen for the S21 Ultra, which is a first for the S series—it used to just be for the Note series.
Here are some specs.
For the S21 Ultra:
Well, after Apple removed the charger and EarPods from the iPhone box, Samsung mocked Apple about it, saying “Included with your Galaxy” and had a Samsung charger photo on a post on social media. A few months later, it was deleted. Yup, there’s no charger or earphones included with any of the S21 models.
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Moving on, Samsung also announced the Galaxy Buds Pro, which have improved but their case is similar to the Galaxy Buds Live, and their design is similar to the Galaxy Buds+.
Some specs for the new Galaxy Buds:
| Galaxy Buds Pro | |
|---|---|
| Color | Phantom Violet, Phantom Black, Phantom Silver |
| Dimension & Weight | Earbud: 19.5 x 20.5 x 20.8 mm, 6.3g Charging Case: 50 x 50.2 x 27.8 mm, 44.9g |
| Speaker | 2-way (11mm woofer + 6.5mm tweeter) |
| Microphone | 3 mics (2 outer + 1 inner) + Voice Pickup Unit + Wind Shield |
| ANC & Ambient Sound | ANC: Cutting external background noise by up to 99%, 2 adjustable levels Ambient Sound: Amplifying up to +20dB, 4 adjustable levels Voice Detect |
| Battery Capacity6 | Earbuds: 61 mAh Charging Case: 472 mAh |
| Play Time6 | 5 hours / Total 18 hours (ANC on) 8 hours / Total 28 hours (ANC off) |
| Talk Time6 | 4 hours / Total 14.5h (ANC on) 5 hours / Total 17.5h (ANC off) |
| Charging | 1-hour play time / 5-minute quick charging Qi-certified wireless charging |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.0® Codec: Scalable (Samsung proprietary), AAC, SBC |
| Sensor | Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Hall, Touch, Voice Pickup Unit (VPU) |
| Compatibility12 | Android 7.0 or higher with more than 1.5GB of RAM |
| Water Resistance | IPX7 |
Finally, we’ve got the Galaxy SmartTag. It is similar to Tile—the Galaxy SmartTag is a tracker you can just clip on or attach to some belonging of yours and you’ll be able to locate it using the new “SmartThings Find” app, similar to the “Find My” app on iOS. The Galaxy SmartTag comes in two simple colors, Black and White.
Pricing
The Galaxy S21 starts at $799, $200 lesser than the Galaxy S20. The Galaxy S21+ starts at $999 and the S21 Ultra starts at $1,199.
The Galaxy Buds Pro cost $199, which is some good value. Finally, the Galaxy SmartTag costs a mere $29.99. You can get the Galaxy SmartTag, 4 months YouTube Premium (new accounts only) and $100 Samsung Credit to spend toward accessories by pre-ordering now (Limited-time offer).
