Find out if you continue to buy the Samsung Galaxy S20 from last year, or wait until the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S21 arrives.
Sarah Tew / CNET
This story is part of CES, where our editors will bring you the latest news and the most popular articles from the all-virtual CES 2021.
If you are looking for a new Android phone, you may want to consider Samsung Galaxy S20 5G – last year’s flagship phone from the Samsung Galaxy line. But with the Galaxy S21 probably revealed at the Samsung Unpacked Event tomorrow on the last day of CES (here’s how to watch the event live), you may be wondering: What are the differences between the two Galaxy phones? Should I buy a Galaxy S20 now, or is it worth the wait for the S21?
We broke all the different rumors Galaxy S21 specifications here, en compared them here to the Galaxy S20. The base Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S21 seem pretty on the surface: both have 6.2-inch screens with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 4000 mAh battery, 5G connectivity and the like camera features (including a 12-megapixel ultra-large lens).
The bigger differences come when you upgrade to the Galaxy S21 Ultra, but even then the features look a lot like those of the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Both premium phones feature a more advanced camera and a large 5,000 mAh battery. However, the S21 Ultra is rumored to feature a higher resolution WQHD Plus screen and especially a stylus.
Read more: Galaxy S21’s cameras: What we know and think so far
Here are the main differences between the two Galaxy models, based on rumors and leaks, of which no Samsung has confirmed or commented.
Price
The Galaxy S20 started at $ 999, though the price has since dropped to $ 800 at Best Buy (and even lower at Amazon) at the time of publication. The Galaxy S20 Plus starts at $ 1,199 and the Galaxy S20 Ultra starting at $ 1,399.
It is rumored that the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra will start at $ 850, $ 1,050 and $ 1,250 respectively. The price drop is probably due to a decline in cell phone sales during the pandemic. Read more about the Galaxy S21 price rumors.
Processor
The Galaxy S21 reportedly has a new Snapdragon 888 processor, which claims to offer faster 5G performance and extended battery life. The Galaxy S20 runs on the older Snapdragon 865 chip.
Show
While the Galaxy S20 has an HD Plus dynamic AMOLED screen, the Galaxy S21 apparently includes an FHD Plus LTPS screen, which should have a higher resolution and better image quality.
The Galaxy S21 is reportedly coming in some new colors.
@OnLeaks
Colours
You can buy a Galaxy S20 in cosmic gray, cloud blue, cloud pink and cosmic black (although not all models offer all colors). The Galaxy S21 will reportedly come in phantom violet, phantom rose, phantom gray, phantom white, ghost silver or ghost black (but again, not all models have all colors).
How to decide which Galaxy phone to buy
As with any phone purchase, it depends on what you are looking for. Since the price of the base Galaxy S20 has dropped to $ 800, it’s not a bad phone for the money if you need it now – especially since it probably has many of the same features as the new Galaxy S21. However, we do not yet know whether the price will fall further once the S21 is released. If this is not the case, and if you are planning to spend around $ 800 anyway, you might as well upgrade to the Galaxy S21 for the rumored starting price of $ 850 as it will give you a better processor and give another screen.
Look for more information every rumor we’ve heard so far about the Galaxy S21 phones.
Look at this:
The Galaxy S20 failed our drop test
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