The Galaxy S21 Ultra packs two telephoto lenses and supports the S Pen

One of the S20 Ultra’s more controversial features was Samsung’s Space Zoom feature that let you get super up close to faraway subjects. In our review, we found the tool to be problematic and flawed, mostly due to the low quality of images at beyond 10x. The company wants to fix some of that with the S21 Ultra, introducing a new dual telephoto lens system to provide “greater clarity with every shot.” One of these offers 3x optical zoom while the other goes up to 10x optical and the phone will automatically switch between them depending on the range you’re shooting at.

Samsung

Samsung also introduced a software feature called Zoom Lock to help you keep your subject in the frame even if your hands shake at high zoom level. It also improved its Night mode and made it possible to shoot 4K video at 60 frames per second out of all the sensors, including the selfie camera up front.

At 6.8 inches, the S21 Ultra’s screen is a tad smaller than last year’s model (6.9 inches) but you likely won’t notice the difference. What’s more eye-catching is Samsung’s new design, featuring what it calls a Contour Cut Camera housing for the four sensors on the back. Instead of a black rounded rectangle module hanging in the top left corner of the phone’s rear, the entire corner is distinct from the rest of the surface. It looks as if someone slid a protective rectangular cap onto the the phone.

Samsung

Unlike the smaller S21 and S21+, the Ultra is only available in Phantom Black and Phantom Silver color options, though Samsung said colors like Phantom Titanium, Phantom Navy and Phantom Brown will be “available exclusively on Samsung.com” depending on the market. The other flagships also offer additional pink and purple variants, and on them the “contour cut” are in eye-catching blush hues. On the silver and black units, the corner sections are more subtle since they’re in matching shades with the rest of the body.

Beyond the surface, the S21 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 888 chip in the US and the Exynos 2100 in other parts of the world. Those who’ve used non-US versions of Samsung’s previous flagships have long complained about the performance delta in Exynos models and this continues to be a point of frustration for them. Fortunately, Samsung announced this week that the Exynos 2100 will be an ARM-based 5nm system-on-chip that will consume 20 percent less power than its predecessor. If those claims are true, the Exynos models of the S21 might not be as disappointing as previous models.

The S21 Ultra is also one of the first smartphones to support the new WiFi 6E standard for greater bandwidth and faster internet connections. It also has ultra-wideband capability which allows it to unlock compatible car doors or send messages to UWB-friendly phones nearby. Finally, the S21 Ultra starts out with 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and if you want more of each, you can only pick the Phantom Black model. The silver edition is stuck at that configuration, while you can go up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage on the black flavor.

If you pre-order the S21 Ultra by Jan 28th, you’ll get a free Galaxy Smart Tag and $200 Samsung credit. Otherwise, the new flagship will be available through retail and carrier channels as well as unlocked via Samsung on Jan 29th.