I ditched Google Pixel 4 for Samsung Galaxy S21 — what I like (and hate)

I ditched Google Pixel iv for Samsung Galaxy S21 — what I like (and hate)

(Image credit: Future)

Equally far as nosotros're concerned, the Samsung Galaxy S21 is a hitting, so I decided to put my trusty Pixel 4 XL to rest and accept up the S21 Plus as my new daily driver. Though I plan to utilize my iPhone 12 likewise, Android works better for me and my needs. Nonetheless, I hesitated about going all in with Samsung.

Come across, I've used Nexus, OnePlus, and Pixel phones for years. I've reviewed others from the likes of Asus and Huawei, but I always come back to Google or OnePlus for my personal device. Samsung has normally rubbed me the wrong way, especially back in the days of its erstwhile Android skin chosen TouchWiz. To be honest, the last phone I used regularly from the Korean phone maker was the Galaxy S5, which showtime debuted in 2014.

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But Samsung has matured since the S5, and the new Galaxy S21 is a fantastic device. Long gone are the days of TouchWiz — all hail One UI, the new king. Superciliousness aside, I actually found myself liking Ane UI on the S21 and S21 Plus I've tested. It'due south clean, intuitive, and full of useful tweaks and features.

The spartan take on Android that you'll find on the Pixels and Android One devices still appeals to me, but Samsung's additions actually do stand out. However, as much as I like the S21 and S21 Plus, a few things go along to bug me. Let'south discuss.

Milky way S21: What I like

In that location's a lot to dear virtually the Milky way S21. From the display to the raw power, it's one hell of a telephone. I observe that I prefer the 6.2-inch model for almost everything except gaming, where the 6.7-inch Plus shines with its larger screen and bigger battery. 2021 is still young, only these devices are going to exist difficult to beat when nosotros round up the all-time phones.

The S21 brandish: Samsung has long been the king of smartphone displays. Though information technology oftentimes supplies them for other phone makers, it keeps the best screens for itself. Each Galaxy South and Notation phone in recent retentiveness has had a beautiful display, rich with vibrant colors and deep blacks. The Galaxy S21 is no different, but the addition of a loftier refresh rate merely makes information technology better.

The Galaxy S20 introduced fast display refresh rates to Samsung phones concluding twelvemonth, merely the S21 ratchets things up with an adaptive 48Hz - 120Hz mode too as locked 60Hz one. The former is not bad if you lot like Android to be as smooth every bit possible, though the battery does take a substantial hitting from this. If battery life is more than of a concern, lock it at 60Hz and you'll still have an incredible AMOLED display.

Brightness is another highlight with this year'south Samsung phones. Both the S21 and S21 Plus get plenty bright plenty outdoors, fifty-fifty in straight sunlight. Coming from my Pixel 4 Forty, which was barely legible in the sun, I thought this was great.

The S21 cameras: Samsung has made a lot of headway in recent years with its mobile photography. Though they face vehement competition from the likes of Google and Apple tree, Samsung'southward phones tin concord their own in a lot of situations. The Milky way S21 Ultra is certainly ane of the best camera phones right at present, and the regular S21 and S21 Plus aren't too far behind.

In my experience, Samsung has typically brightened its images a little likewise much in the past, so I was hoping things would exist different with the S21. While not completely toned downward, both of my review units put out mostly accurate shots. I still notice the Pixel and iPhone to be more truthful to life, but I retrieve most people volition exist happy with what they'll get with the S21's cameras.

The forepart camera on the S21 also puts out decent selfies, opting for softer, warmer shots. Again, they're not as accurate as, say, the iPhone 12, but I recall many people will prefer them for posting to social media. All told, while I like other phone cameras improve, I was really impressed with the Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus' photography performance.

The S21's design: The Galaxy S21 serial is just a really pretty trio of phones. From the new contour on the camera module that blends seamlessly with the frame of the phone to the beautiful color options, the Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus expect fashion better than my panda Pixel four Xl. Both of them fit wonderfully in my hands, versus the sharp edges on the iPhone 12, and I love simply looking at them.

The S21's extremely slim bezels simply add together to the experience. I get excited to testify people how much screen in that location is relative to the residuum of the phone. I call back the last time I wanted to show off my phone was with the cerise OnePlus six, which I still retrieve is a beautiful device to this day.

Samsung did an excellent job designing the Galaxy S21 series. Even though the S21 Ultra is a bit wonky with its overabundance of cameras, all three phones expect amazing. I was fortunate enough to receive the purple S21 and S21 Plus and, beingness a sucker for fun colors on phones, I dearest them.

The S21'south performance: Using the new height-tier Snapdragon 888 processor from Qualcomm, the Galaxy S21 family unit is currently the most powerful series of Android phones bachelor. While yet trailing the iPhone 12 by a slim margin, you won't find anything the Galaxy S21 can't practice. Gaming, photography, mirroring to Windows, using DeX, the phones do everything seemingly effortlessly.

I've noticed the S21 Plus, which is my new gaming phone, heats up a fleck in enervating titles similar Call of Duty: Mobile or when streaming PC games via Steam Link. That said, it'south by no means unmanageable, especially if you utilize the incredible Razer Kishi (on games where the controller is supported).

All told, I retrieve the S21 and S21 Plus rank as the most fun phones I've used in a long time. While my previous devices weren't slouches by any means, I find that Samsung'southward latest devices exercise everything meliorate. There is no lag beyond the system, no dropped frames in local games (there are some in Xbox Game Pass and Stadia, only that could be downwards to network issues), and enough battery life to go through the solar day with no bug, even with the adaptive refresh mode enabled. Even my Pixel 4 Forty would hiccup in the official Twitter and Reddit apps and when opening apps from the Recents menu.

Galaxy S21: What I don't like

My list of complaints for the Galaxy S21 is not very long, which surprised me. I plant that I was able to adjust to One UI very easily coming from my Pixel. However, at that place are a few things that I'd like to mention.

I UI features turned on by default: Samsung is well known for its habit of throwing a ton of features into its phones. If you go all the way back to the Galaxy S3 and S4, those devices were brimming full of weird tech experiments, like Smart Stay. Near of these didn't piece of work so well and were easily ignored. The visitor has toned things down a bit in recent years, opting to offer truly unique experiences, like the S Pen on its Milky way Note devices and now the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

galaxy s21 vs iphone 12: software — (Image credit: Tom'south Guide)

When I was setting upwards the Galaxy S21 for the start time, thought the process was pretty simple. But as I got into the system and started getting going, I noticed that there was this annoying dock that would pull out from the right side right where I trigger the back gesture. Or, Autofill wasn't popping up to sign me into my apps.

To fix these things, I had to go earthworks in the settings — you can relieve yourself some time by checking out our S21 tips and tricks. The Edge Panel was in Brandish, Autofill was buried in General Management. I would take preferred there be options during setup — do yous want Edge Panels enabled, do you want to utilise Samsung or Google Autofill, practice you want the nav bar or gestures, and so on.

I had to get off on my own to become these things sorted out. Granted, I came from a non-Samsung device, simply the experience was still irritating. Setting upwardly my Milky way S21 Plus later wasn't so bad. I knew what things to tweak, and it brought over a lot of the settings I had on my S21. Only if you're new to the Samsung universe, you may run into some frustrations.

Some S21 camera complaints: I know, I talked nigh how I liked the S21 cameras before, but that doesn't mean they're perfect. Samsung has long had a tendency to blow things out in its mobile photography. Some people similar this expect, the bright and cheery rendition of an otherwise grey day, the sometimes aggressive face up smoothing in portraits or selfies, and so on. That's fine, but I'g used to Google'due south spectacular Pixel cameras and switching over to the S21 was a flake of shock in this regard.

On one overcast twenty-four hour period, I took out the Galaxy S21, iPhone 12, and Pixel four XL for a photoshoot. The latter two phones reproduced the lighting and colors correctly, which were rather drab. A blue car that blazes in the sunlight was rather muted, the red of a fire hydrant a bit more than somber than information technology would exist under straight sunlight. I adopt that, since the phone is capturing something that's almost true to life. For perspective, my DSLR does this, too.

Only the S21 cameras brightened up the scene considerably. A bush in the foreground was made a deep, almost vibrant greenish. The bluish automobile, boring and very dark to the naked eye, was suddenly bright and the fire hydrant, while still quite red, popped more than in the groundwork. As I looked at the paradigm this phone put out, I didn't like it. That'south non what my eyes saw and I found it rather inaccurate.

Galaxy S21: Outlook

The things I like about the Galaxy S21 far outweigh the things I don't like. In fact, I simply take ii major complaints with the phones and later on years of resisting Samsung, that's really non too bad.

I've only had about a calendar week with the Galaxy S21, and then time will tell if I still enjoy using the phone in the long-term. However, I recall my opinion will remain the same.

Jordan is the Phones Editor for Tom'south Guide, covering all things phone-related. He's written about phones for over five years and plans to continue for a long while to come up. He loves nothing more than relaxing in his home with a book, game, or his latest personal writing project. Jordan likes finding new things to swoop into, from books and games to new mechanical keyboard switches and fun keycap sets. Hashemite kingdom of jordan tends to lurk on social media, merely you can all-time reach him on Twitter.