S21 Ultra vs Note 20 Ultra

[HippY]

After 3 years of daily driver duties it is time to retire my trusty Note 8, as the battery dies at 20% and the screen is cracked a bit.

So I was thinking about my next phone, and I realised that my favourite feature of any phone I have used is the pen, its bit of a gimmick, but I use it regularly and it is useful.

Naturally I looked at Note 20 Ultras, but then I heard about the S21 Ultra supporting the S-pen as well.. which confuses things.

Price is very similar, on one week there is better deal on the Note, on the other the S21, so it is not really a factor, and the 128GB model would be plenty for me

 

I know that the S21 is slightly better as per technical specs, but I am just worried that the case with the S pen holder would be too bulky, and I like my Note hence I am leaning towards the Note.

 

So my questions to you, is which one do you prefer, if you have the Note 20 Ultra, are you happy with it, if S21 Ultra are you happy and is the case with the pen too bulky?

 

[dizmo]

S21 supports the pen, but it's not really the same. I'd wait to see if they release a new Note this summer before buying the 20.

[Commodus]

44 minutes ago, HippY said:

After 3 years of daily driver duties it is time to retire my trusty Note 8, as the battery dies at 20% and the screen is cracked a bit.

So I was thinking about my next phone, and I realised that my favourite feature of any phone I have used is the pen, its bit of a gimmick, but I use it regularly and it is useful.

Naturally I looked at Note 20 Ultras, but then I heard about the S21 Ultra supporting the S-pen as well.. which confuses things.

Price is very similar, on one week there is better deal on the Note, on the other the S21, so it is not really a factor, and the 128GB model would be plenty for me

 

I know that the S21 is slightly better as per technical specs, but I am just worried that the case with the S pen holder would be too bulky, and I like my Note hence I am leaning towards the Note.

 

So my questions to you, is which one do you prefer, if you have the Note 20 Ultra, are you happy with it, if S21 Ultra are you happy and is the case with the pen too bulky?

 

If the pen functionality is important to you, get the Note 20 Ultra. The S21's pen support is decent, but doesn't include the full functionality or a dedicated pen slot.

 

I wouldn't wait for a possible Note 21 Ultra. There are signs Samsung might not introduce a Note this year due to various factors, and that the S21U's pen support was a stopgap.

[jwwagner25]

As an owner of both...(s21/n20 both refer to the 'ultra' models)

 

21 is considerably heavier and thicker. I have now gotten used to it, but every time I go back to note, I am shocked at how thin it is. s21 has significantly more powerful camera system. dedicated 3x and 10x zoom, compared to note which only has 4x zoom. also, the ultrawide on s21 is better in low light and less grainy, it's a different sensor than in n20. also main camera sensor is different than n20, although between the two phones, both cameras (main) look near-identical. 

 

the fact that the s21 supports the spen is a complete joke unless you want to get the case which adds 1CM of width to an already huge phone. even then, it's passive, no button on the side for triggering camera, etc. 

 

the s21 has 500mah bigger battery than n20, but they both get around the same battery life for me, lasting a whole day just fine.

 

the android 11 update for n20 added much wanted features in the camera UI such as being able to change video recording resolution+frame rate with one tap from the main preview screen...no more having to dive into menu system to make basic changes!! horray. 

 

other than that I can't think of anything. technically the s21 has better peak brightness, but to me both screens look largely the same. keep in mind the s21 is taller and thinner, the n20 is shorter and wider. 

 

they are both great phones! 

 

edit: s21 = NO MORE SD card!!! so you better get the higher storage capacity outright! this is probably the biggest drawback of the phone. 

[nithinjoe]

S21 ultra obviously!!