The Galaxy S21 series was released in 2021. As expected, the Galaxy S21 Ultra was the best-equipped phone in the series.
It's been three years since then, and during this time Samsung has launched two amazing Galaxy S Ultra models. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is the latest and greatest high-end phone from the company, and many Galaxy S21 Ultra owners were naturally drawn in when the S24 series debuted in January.
However, not all Galaxy S21 Ultra owners have found the right reason to upgrade to a newer model in the past three years. But what about now? Is it time to ditch the Galaxy S21 Ultra and look to newer models?
Well, we can't say that upgrading to the Galaxy S24 Ultra or even the Galaxy S23 Ultra is a bad decision. But there are plenty of reasons to stick with the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra's cameras are still great
The Samsung Galaxy S Ultra smartphones represent the best the company has to offer in the camera department. Three years after its launch, the Galaxy S21 Ultra still has one of the most powerful camera systems among high-end smartphones.
The phone's zoom capabilities are great, thanks to the 3x and 10x zoom cameras. Even today, the Galaxy S21 Ultra's imaging performance and versatility can only be surpassed by newer Ultra phones.
Other high-end Samsung phones can't compete. This includes the expensive Galaxy Z Fold models. Even the Galaxy Z Fold6, which will be released in July, comes with a weaker camera system, and is not as powerful as the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra's camera system is unlikely to become obsolete next year. Smartphone camera development has slowed significantly over the past few years, so there's nothing on the horizon that would represent a significant upgrade to the Galaxy S21 Ultra's camera quality.
You're eligible for another major Android upgrade
Another aspect of the Galaxy S21 Ultra that won't get old anytime soon is the software. The Galaxy S21 series is eligible for four major Android OS updates, so it will receive Android 15 with One UI 7 this year. In 2025, it will receive One UI 7.1, while security updates will arrive regularly until 2026.
Additionally, not all of the new software features are coming to the Galaxy S21 series. For example, with One UI 6.1, the Galaxy S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra didn't get most of the Galaxy AI features. But unless you're craving those AI features, there's no reason to give up the Galaxy S21 Ultra just yet.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra still has powerful hardware
Whether you buy the Galaxy S21 Ultra with the Exynos 2100 processor or the Snapdragon 888 version, you can be sure that the phone's performance won't look weak anytime soon. And if you have the 16GB RAM variant, buying any high-end phone launched after the Galaxy S21 series will be a step backwards. Even the Galaxy S24 Ultra only offers 12GB of RAM in its highest memory configuration.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra's thermal management also holds up well, although the newer Ultra phones are better at thermal management when pushed to their performance limits.
Of course, the performance of the Galaxy S21 Ultra may have degraded during long-term use, but you can fix this by doing a factory reset without buying a new phone. Just make sure you back up your data properly if you decide to do so.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra has a great display and stereo speakers
Samsung improves its displays with each new high-end device, but we don't see significant improvements anymore. Brightness is the one area where Samsung makes giant leaps. Samsung's high-end phone displays have always been perfect in every other area, including the Galaxy S21 Ultra's display.
The same goes for the Galaxy S21 Ultra's stereo speakers. You'll only get better speaker quality by upgrading to the Galaxy Z Fold, as Samsung's premium foldable devices feature two dedicated tweeters instead of a dedicated woofer that works with the earpiece as a second channel.
The design is perfect
The Galaxy S21 Ultra was a masterpiece of how to design a large phone without feeling uncomfortable when using it with one hand. This was the last Galaxy S Ultra smartphone to feature rounded corners. The Galaxy S22 Ultra, S23 Ultra, and S24 Ultra have wider bodies due to the built-in S Pen and are roughly rectangular in shape, which can be an issue for one-handed use.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra, on the other hand, has rounded corners and is approximately 2.5mm narrower than the newer Ultra phones. This doesn't sound like much in theory, but it makes a big difference in practice.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra's design is also visually stunning. This is partly due to the fact that the camera island wraps around the device's metal frame. Samsung ditched the camera island entirely in 2023, and while the latest flagships don't look bad without them, they don't look particularly unique either.
Supports S Pen
The Galaxy S21 Ultra's lack of an S Pen is one of the main reasons why its design is so good for a large phone, but you can still take advantage of the feature if you purchase the S Pen separately. Want to store the S Pen on your Galaxy S21 Ultra? Just buy a case that includes an S Pen holder!
Any S Pen will work with the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Just make sure you don't buy the S Pen Fold Edition, as it's designed specifically for the bendable screens of Samsung's high-end Galaxy Z Fold devices.
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