Galaxy s21 Ultra vs. Note 20 Ultra - Which is the Best Samsung Phone?? By JSL Review

What is going on everyone Jason here, and today we're taking a look at two devices that some peers consider the only true pro level phones in the smartphone market. Today, the new Samsung Galaxy s21 ultra and last year's Galaxy Note 20 ultra Samsung debuted, the ultra devices back in 2020 and true to the name. These phones are absolute beasts in virtually every way, shape and form. The new galaxy s21 ultra is a perfect example of that sentiment, as this phone in my opinion, has firmly positioned itself as one of the most powerful feature-rich smartphones available today, and I was thinking about what competitor puts up a good fight against this powerhouse of a phone and oddly, I came up with this guy last year's Galaxy Note 20 ultra, even though this is Samsung's quote-unquote older device, after really thinking about it and putting it to the test. There's a strong argument to be had that the 2020 note20 ultra is just as good, if not better than the new s21. So today, I'm going to be doing a side by side comparison between these two beautiful phones going over key similarities and differences, and really focus on why you shouldn't rule out the note 20 ultra in 2021 now before we jump into the review in case you're new here, I'm Jason.

I would really appreciate it if you give this video a thumbs up, it really does help me out and don't forget, to subscribe to the channel if you're a tech junkie like me, so you don't miss out on any future reviews. Okay. First, let's talk about physical design because, let's face it, both the note 20 ultra and the new s21 ultra are absolutely gorgeous devices. The new, bold design of the s21 underscores Samsung's commitment of being a trailblazer in the smartphone landscape, and this to me is an extremely successful new look. The matte finish on both the back panel and the camera.

Housing gives the s21 a more mature and refined look than its predecessors, and this phantom black has got to be one of the stealthiest phones. I've ever seen it's such a dope look. I love the wrap around camera. Housing, that's an extension of the frame. It's a bold and original design direction.

That's a hugely forward from a year prior. You get gorilla glass figures on both the front and back as well as an ip68 dust and water resistance, certification and the curve on the display has been reduced to make the phone less prone to unintentional screen touches, but not at the expense of impulsiveness, and despite this phone being massive, I've been surprised at how comfortable it's been using and there's virtually no component of this phone that isn't premium now something that I kept thinking about. The more and more I used this phone was how much it reminded me of the Galaxy Note.20 ultra Samsung has always been bold when it came to the design of this phone and to me the note, 20 ultra is the most refined version of this aggressive aesthetic. It maintains that boxy form factor with those pointed corners and flattened frame on the top and bottom, and the note 20 alters takes this blueprint to the next level. This was the first Samsung flagship device that deviated from the ultra reflective glossy back panels.

To this beautiful satin finish, and it's still to me one of the best looking phones to date, the mystic bronze colorway is especially stunning. The way this phone shimmers when it catches the light it really never gets old. This is also, in my opinion, the first time Samsung really embraced the camera housing as its design element. They didn't try and hide what it was and instead integrated it really well with complementing build materials and colors. You get the same: gorilla, glass, thickness on the front and back and the same ip68 dust and water resistance rating, and even though the display has deeper curves than the s21, it's way less aggressive than what Samsung has had in the past, and it's also, surprisingly, a comfortable phone to use, despite being the long-standing phablet device.

Ultimately, when it comes to look and feel both phones are fantastic, and probably the best looking best put together devices available today to me, it's pretty clear that Samsung borrowed a lot of design cues from the note 20 ultra and I think it's neck and neck with the s21, despite it being an older device. Now, when it comes to displays both are rocking Samsung's, class-leading, dynamic, AMOLED panels- and these are some of the biggest and immersive screens you can get in the market today. The note 20 ultra is just slightly bigger, but both only have single hole, punch cutouts for the front-facing camera and virtually no forehead or chin to be seen. The notes display does come off a bit more immersive due to the more aggressive infinity curve design, but the s21 edges out a slightly higher screen resolution, but both of these devices give users an enormous amount of screen real estate and as to be expected, the quality of these Samsung panels is best in class. The displays can get really bright.

The colors are vibrant. You get fantastic contrast, this being an OLED and Samsung does a really great job calibrating the display settings to make HDR content consumption extremely enjoyable. Now, one of the best features associated with both displays is the 120 hertz variable refresh rate, something that Samsung introduced last year in the ultra lineup, giving users a noticeably smoother user experience. Both phones allow you to leverage this feature. Majority of the time when you have it turned on and automatically clocks the refresh rate down when not needed in order to save on battery life.

Now the biggest difference between the s21 and the note 20 ultra is that the null required users to reduce their display resolution to 1080p in order to take advantage of the higher refresh rate. It wasn't a big deal for most, as it's almost impossible to discern a difference with the display, this small, and it really didn't, have an impact on day-to-day use. The new s21 ultra is not the first Samsung flagship phone that can take advantage of this high refresh rate at the full 1440p resolution, allowing users to have the best of both worlds and as nice as that is. This is an advantage that looks way better on paper than it does in day-to-day use. I stand by my statement I made earlier, but not being able to tell the difference in display resolution when talking about panels this small and I would venture that most people won't know that the note has a lower PPI when side-by-side with the s21.

At the end of the day, the display is quote-unquote better on the newer Samsung phone, but not in a way that makes it a must-have over the note20 ultra okay. Next, let's talk about performance and unique features that set these phones apart. The s21 ultra is packing the newest snapdragon chipset, the powerful, triple a processor, and it's quite a beast. Everything on this phone loads up superfast. You get no lag or stutters when navigating around the UI, and it can take advantage of all the advanced camera features that the s20 on ultra offers without any issues.

Now the note 20 alters comes equipped with a slightly older, snapdragon, 865 plus, which was the cr?me de la cr?me processor at the time, and it's still a powerhouse, I haven't noticed any significant performances used whatsoever and for the here, and now it performs just as good as the newer device, even though the s21 ultra will likely have a longer shelf life in terms of future proofing. The note isn't slowing down anytime soon when it comes to battery life again, both do very well. The s21 comes with a bigger five thousand William hour battery in comparison to the note's 4500, but performance is about the same when it comes to day-to-day use about six and a half to seven hours of screen on time. But if you blast the max resolution and high refresher in the s21, the battery performance does take a hit. They both can support 25 watt fast charging, and 15 watt, fast wireless charging bonus to the no tony ultra because it actually comes with the charging brick in the box and both support reverse wireless charging as well.

Now, interestingly, the new s21 ultra does have s pen support which at one point was exclusive to the note lineup. This is great for all of you, power users who actually leverage the stylus in your day-to-day workflow, but the s21 ultra doesn't come with one in the box and there's no integrated way to store it. The note 20 ultra comes with its signature s pen and has this very nice slot at the bottom of the phone to store and charge it, which is all together a far superior integration of hardware. Now, although the s21 ultra and the note have embedded in display fingerprint readers, the one on the s21 ultra has been modified to make the sensor larger and a bit faster in terms of authentication, it's not a complete night and day difference, but it is a noticeable improvement, but one area where the older phone really has the advantage is storage, though they both start with 128 gigabytes of base internal storage. The note 20 ultra is still equipped with the micro SD card slot for expanding externally, while the s21 ultra sunset, the micro SD card slot, completely which kind of sucks- and that leads me to my last area of comparison, the cameras, but the s21 and the note20 ultra are packing some serious hardware.

When it comes to cameras, the s21 does have an additional camera on the back, giving it a total of four. You have your standard primary wide angle, an ultra-wide, three times: optical zoom and a 10x zoom periscope lens as the new addition. While the note only comes with the first three focal lengths, the sensors themselves are very similar, particularly the main wide angle sensor. That comes in at a ludicrous 108, megapixels and image quality is extremely comparable. They both produce very sharp stills that are virtually the same color calibration.

The dynamic range is great and both offer users a wide variety of shooting ability, with all the cameras being made available. It's the same when it comes to video both can shoot at a crazy 8k resolution at up to 24 frames per second, and the quality coming out of both phones is exactly the same. It's a similar story with the 4k video as well. Both produce class-leading footage, but nothing that makes one stand out more than the other. Now, when it comes to the front-facing cameras, there are some differences that I noticed.

The s21 ultra comes with a beefier 40 megapixel sensor. While the notes only comes in at 10 megapixels and though they both do really well with selfies, the ones coming out of the s21 are a bit sharper and not as processed this might just be a software update. That needs to happen on the note, but there's noticeably more beautifying going on here, and it makes the photos look not as natural as the s21s, but the difference isn't as noticeable when comparing the front-facing 4k video shooting ability, but at the end of the day I do think that Samsung made some solid improvements to the front-facing camera on the s21 ultra. So when you break it down, yes, I will say that the s21 is quoted unquote the better device it has the newest processor, a beefier camera suite and the phantom black is just so nice. That said, I wouldn't say that it's much better than the note 20 ultra.

I actually feel, like the note, has a better overall design, it's more refined, in my opinion, and so much of what the s21 is boasting in terms of features was already on the note. So if you already have the note 20 ultra, I would definitely pass on upgrading to the new s21. It is a nice phone, but totally not worth, in my opinion, that scenario and if you can find the note for a cheaper price tag, it's definitely something you should consider it's still a fantastic device that looks and performs great and more than holds its weight against the newest flagship in Samsung's lineup. Okay, that's about it for this review, don't forget to leave me a thumbs up if you guys find it useful again. I'd really appreciate it check out these dedicated reviews of both the s21 ultra and the note 20 ultra if you're looking for more.

Let me know your thoughts below, and I'll see you guys in the next one. You.

Source : JSL Review