To no one’s surprise, it seems like Samsung doesn’t want to give Apple too much time in the limelight. At least, that’s one possible reason the company could be gearing up to launch its new Galaxy S21 line in January, which is earlier than expected. If you’re curious as to what the Galaxy S21 and S21 Ultra could look like, keep reading.
Noted leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer (@OnLeaks) revealed the purported launch date as well as some photos of the Galaxy S21 and the Galaxy 21 Ultra on Sunday. It should be noted that there is no official name for the new line yet, with some speculating it could also be called the Galaxy S30 line.
When it comes to what is supposedly the Galaxy S21, the first thing that pops out is its new rear camera layout. Hemmerstoffer reports that the phone will have three vertical camera lenses stacked on top of each other. They appear to literally protrude a bit from the device. Meanwhile, the flash is right beside the camera lenses.
Per Hemmerstoffer, the phone will reportedly come with an approximately 6.2-inch flat display and a selfie camera and will measure 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9mm (or 9.0mm with the camera bump). You can check out more photos on his blog on the S21 here.
Now let’s move on to what is purportedly the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Since this is Samsung’s more premium phone, it makes sense that the company would want the display to appear sleeker as well. Hemmerstoffer states that the S21 Ultra appears to have slightly curved edges on its screen. Like the S21, it has a selfie camera in the center.
By now, it’s pretty obvious that it’s all about the cameras, right? Because the S21 Ultra apparently has a humongous camera module and a whopping four camera lenses. It’s nearly twice the size of the S21’s camera module, Hemmerstoffer says, and includes the flash in the module instead of on the outside. Like its sibling, it also sticks out a bit from the phone itself.
In terms of dimensions, Hemmerstoffer states that the S21 Ultra’s screen will be between 6.7 and 6.9-inches and measure roughly 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9mm (or 10.8mm with the camera bump). In addition, there is apparently no slot for the S-Pen, although this doesn’t mean that Samsung won’t support it. Check out more photos on Hemmerstoffer’s dedicated blog about the S21 Ultra here.
As for the release date, the folks at Android Central also say that Samsung will launch its new line in January. This release would be a month earlier than the company’s usual yearly launches in February, and very close to the recent launch of rival Apple’s new iPhone 12 line. The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are slated to start shipping this week, while the iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max will begin to ship in mid-November.
If this release date proves to be true, Samsung is clearly betting that the early bird will get the worm (in this case, the worm is customers from Apple who haven’t upgraded yet). But who knows. As with all rumors, until we know more, converse to your heart’s content, but take them with a grain of salt.