The Samsung Galaxy S21 launch date is January 14, according to the South Korean company’s official Galaxy Unpacked 2021 invite, and we fully expect to see its new 5G smartphones and even some novel accessories show up virtually.
The Thursday, January 14 launch event starts at 10am EST / 7am PST / 3pm GMT (and Friday 2am AEST). Specifically, all of the latest Samsung Galaxy S21 leaks point to the three new phones – the S21, Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra, offering refreshes of the 11-month-old trio: the Galaxy S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra.
If January 14 seems earlier than normal, that’s because it is by a month and a half. Samsung is moving its usual late February announcement window up – perhaps due to the fact that MWC 2020 has shifted to late June, or the Qualcomm 888 and Exynos 2100 chipsets are ready to go. It’ll clash with the last day of CES 2021, too.
Of course, Samsung’s event invite doesn’t name any of the phones we mentioned. It bills this invite for its semi-annual Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2021 showcase, with the tagline ‘Welcome to Everyday Epic’. The invite image shows what appears to be the new camera module in an opaque cube.
Samsung Galaxy S21 specs all but confirmed
Samsung’s shift to an earlier launch date matches the tempo of the Galaxy S21 leaks we’ve been seeing almost daily. There’s almost nothing left for Samsung to reveal.
We’re expecting Samsung to deliver phones in three screen sizes – 6.2, 6.7 and 6.9 inches – all with 120Hz adaptive displays and a smaller bottom bezel (goodbye chin). Inside, rumors point to either the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 (US) or Exynos 2100 chipsets (everywhere else) and at least 8GB of RAM. We’re still waiting to hear if it’ll have expandable storage via a microSD card slot.
The Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus rear cameras seem to be getting special treatment, according to several renders of the refined camera modules. All with three lenses – expected to be a 12MP main, 12MP ultra-wide and 64MP telephoto – appear flatter with a slightly less pronounced camera bump.
Samsung’s Galaxy S12 Ultra is thought to have slightly a different rear camera, with the 108MP main camera making a return along with either a 5x or 10x optical zoom, depending on which rumors you want to believe. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 really impressed us with the 5x optical zoom, so you should be happy either way.
A twist or two
In a twist, the Galaxy S21 Ultra may also include an S Pen, the stylus that’s previously been exclusive to Samsung’s Galaxy Note series. If true, that would be a big reason to buy the most expensive version of the phone. You might not have to wait until August 2021 to wrap your hands around a new S Pen.
This weekend we also got insight into a novel accessory that Samsung may launch on January 14: a Tile-like Bluetooth tracker called Samsung Galaxy SmartTag. It may be helpful for finding items like keys, backpacks and luggage that goes MIA. If the SmartTag tracker does get announced, Samsung will beat the yet-to-be-revealed Apple AirTag tracker that’s been rumored for more than a year.
We’ll have a Samsung Galaxy S21 live blog during the January 14 announcement and point you to the official Samsung Unpacked 2021 live stream. Until then, we’re sure there are a half-dozen more S21 leaks between now and the launch date.