UPDATED 22:09 EDT / JANUARY 03 2021

EMERGING TECH

Samsung sets Jan. 14 Galaxy S21 ‘Unpacked’ event to debut new smartphones

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has officially scheduled an “Unpacked” event for Jan. 14 to launch its latest line of flagship smartphones.

The naming of Samsung flagship phones is open to speculation given that the Korean giant abandoned its previous consecutive numbered naming convention in 2020 with the launch the S20 range. But the company is expected to launch the Galaxy S21, the S21 Plus and the S21 Ultra at the event.

The event has the tagline “Welcome to the everyday epic” in the newly released teaser video, which appears to show a folded device, possibly a new Galaxy Flip:

“Over the past year, mobile technology has taken center stage in everyday life as people are working remotely and spending more time at home,” Samsung said today. “The accelerated transition to a mobile-first world brings with it the need for devices that can transform everyday life into an extraordinary experience.”

As previously reported in December, based on a teaser trailer the new Galaxy S range will feature a reduced number of cameras on some of the devices. The S21 has three cameras, as was the case with the S20, but the S21+ also appears to have three cameras as well, whereas the S20+ had four. The S21 Ultra appears to have four cameras versus the S20 Ultra’s five.

S21 and S21+ are expected to get a 12-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 64-megapixel telephoto sensor. The S21 Ultra is expected to have a 108-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide, a 10-megapixel three-times optical zoom camera and a 10-megapixel 10-times optical zoom camera.

The new flagship phones will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 in the U.S. and some other markets and by Samsung’s latest Exynos chip in the rest of the world.

Where things may become interesting is that reports of the S21 Ultra possibly including support for Samsung’s S Pen. Reports started in December that Samsung may abandon its Galaxy Note range this year because the market for the premium phones is in decline. Moreover, over the years the differences between the Galaxy S and Note ranges have been declining.

Excluding a few specs, the S20 Ultra is nearly the same phone as the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. The only real standout feature between the two is support for S Pen. Support for it on the S21 Ultra could provide evidence that Samsung may abandon the Note range.

Given that the new trailer appears to show a folded device, the event may well also see the debut of the Galaxy Z Flip 2. The initial Flip debuted at the Samsung Unpacked event alongside the S20 range in February, so the idea that a successor phone will debut alongside the S21 range is reasonable.

Image: Samsung

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