So, my S10 broke, and I decided to get the S21. I have to say, I’m surprised at how well it works. The battery lasts over 7 hours on a full charge, and it’s way faster than my last phone. The camera is amazing! I never thought I’d see a phone that can record in 8K24. I bought it for about $350 used, and there’s not a single scratch on it. Is anyone else impressed with their new Samsung device?
Also got an S21 coming from a flawless S9+
Corey said:
Also got an S21 coming from a flawless S9+
That’s awesome! How’s the experience so far?
Corey said:
Also got an S21 coming from a flawless S9+
That’s awesome! How’s the experience so far?
It’s getting delivered later this week!
Charley said:
Corey said:
Also got an S21 coming from a flawless S9+
That’s awesome! How’s the experience so far?
It’s getting delivered later this week!
Hope you enjoy it when it arrives!
Corey said:
Also got an S21 coming from a flawless S9+
Looks interesting. Considering it myself
$350? No offense, but Best Buy and Amazon have great deals for newer flagship phones. Before Black Friday, I got an S23 open box for $400 from Best Buy.
Hollis said:
$350? No offense, but Best Buy and Amazon have great deals for newer flagship phones. Before Black Friday, I got an S23 open box for $400 from Best Buy.
True, but this one is basically brand new. The seller listed it as “New condition” but not sure if that meant new or just in good shape. Still, great deals are out there!
If yours has the Exynos 2100, then you have AV1 decoding.
AV1 means less data use for YouTube videos. Even low-res videos (like 360p) look much better.
Finley said:
If yours has the Exynos 2100, then you have AV1 decoding.
AV1 means less data use for YouTube videos. Even low-res videos (like 360p) look much better.
I got the Exynos version! It works great, but I’m not sure how it compares to the Snapdragon version.
@Charley
Mr. Whoistheboss has some good comparisons between the S21 Ultras with both chips. The Exynos 2100 is a bit weaker than the Snapdragon 888, but it’s a huge improvement over the Exynos 990. I think the Exynos will hold up well even after 2026. One downside is that the base S21 won’t get the UI 8 update, unlike the FE model. Also, your phone might get warm with apps that need heavy modem use (like Instagram or YouTube). Mali graphics still have their issues, but that’s a problem across several chipsets.
@Finley
Thanks for the info! So the Exynos 2100 isn’t as good as the Snapdragon 888 but still pretty solid? My S10 had an Exynos chip too, and I noticed huge battery drain when it was on standby, but I fixed that!
@Charley
Don’t worry too much about benchmark scores. All chips are fast enough now, so the differences don’t matter much. The main issue with the Exynos 2100 is heating during modem-heavy tasks.
If you like movies, try downloading a few AV1 videos (don’t ask me how!). Top Gun Maverick, Inception, or The Dark Knight look amazing on Dex mode. Watching movies on your phone will feel like going to the theater.
@Finley
I don’t use my phone for emulation much, but my S10 used to get super hot when playing games while connected to a 32-inch monitor. I could get around 60fps at 720p, but I wasn’t emulating anything at the time.
Finley said:
If yours has the Exynos 2100, then you have AV1 decoding.
AV1 means less data use for YouTube videos. Even low-res videos (like 360p) look much better.
I never knew about this. Should I turn it on manually, or does it work automatically?
@Kellen
It’s automatic. It only works if the video is encoded with AV1. If not, it will default to VP9, or even H.264 sometimes.
You can check by enabling “stats for nerds” in YouTube. If it shows as “av01,” you’re watching an AV1 video, and you shouldn’t see dropped frames.
I love my S21 too. Just got the December Security Update today. No issues, and it’s been running strong for two years.
Owen said:
I love my S21 too. Just got the December Security Update today. No issues, and it’s been running strong for two years.
That’s awesome! One thing I didn’t like was having to update from One UI 4 to One UI 6.1, so I had to go through 4 or 5 updates. But the phone is fantastic!
@Charley
Make sure to protect that screen! I got a case for mine because the screen’s so easy on my eyes, especially since I suffer from migraines from blue light.
