The Samsung Galaxy S21+ is a good phone but one totally overshadowed by a far better model that is very similar in dimensions – the S21 Ultra. The S21+ has a good 120Hz screen covered by the latest in hardened glass, excellent performance, premium build, solid battery life and good software support...

Pros: 120Hz screen, 5G, good camera, dual sim, One UI 3.1/Android 11, wireless charging and powershare, good performance, long battery, fast fingerprint scanner, four years of software support.

Cons: big, no headphone socket, only 2x optical zoom, a little unwieldy, screen lower resolution than some rivals.

For the last several years, Samsung's flagship Galaxy S phones have been split into three variants: a kitchen sink smartphone at the high-end, an entry-level device, and that phone in the middle you probably don't think about.

Flat display A flat OLED is more comfortable to use than a curved one, and this is a very good panel., Thin and light The S21+ is substantially thinner and lighter than the S21 Ultra.

No microSD You'll have to make do with the included storage on Samsung's latest phones., Software Samsung's One UI has improved a lot, but there are still more ads and bloatware than there ought to be on a $1,000 phone., No real telephoto camera Samsung's fancy "hybrid" zoom is digital, not optical.

This Galaxy sits in a middle position in the S21 range, looking fairly costly for a device that's not Samsung's top offering. There's plenty on offer here, however, and it will make a great phone for many - but, that said, it has plenty of close rivals to consider too.

Great display, Plenty of power, Good battery life, Great quality finish, Refined software experience, Good speakers

Camera is not Samsung's top offering, Closely rivalled by other Samsung devices, No microSD expansion any more

Camera functionality very impressive. Overall great phone with great features, happy with the upgrade.

“The Galaxy S21+ 5G is a classier, bigger version of the S21, and while it has excellent quality, it doesn't drastically improve on the S20+, or reach the heights of the S21 Ultra.”

The middle model in the Galaxy S21 family, is the Samsung S21 Plus smartphone the sensible compromise?...

A s a "middle" model w ithin the Galaxy S21 lineup, the Galaxy S21+ sits between two chairs. While the flagship smartphone shares all the features with the Galaxy S21 , it also has some common characteristics with the Galaxy S21 Ultra top model.

bright AMOLED display with 120 Hz, fast Exynos SoC, very good camera, 5G, Dual-SIM and eSIM, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, ultra-wide band chip (UWB)

only FHD+ despite the 6.7-inch display, charger not included, storage cannot be expanded, throttling under load

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus is likely all the 2021 flagship you'll need, offering great performance, improved battery life and a premium design, but with a downgrade in the display department and minor camera upgrades, S20 Plus owners may want to stay away.

Premium design; Huge improvements to Exynos performance; Lower starting price;

Very similar to the Galaxy S21; Some downgrades compared to S20 Plus; No charger in the box;

The best features are the camera & larger screen

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus is a great Android phone with one of the best screens available right now. The only notable downside is that it doesn't offer a significant upgrade on last year’s S20 Plus, making it a hard sell for those who have bought a new handset in the past few years.

Variable refresh rate screen is one of the best on the market ; Reliable camera for casual users; Solid gaming performance; Decent build quality;

Not a huge upgrade on the Galaxy S20; Exynos version offers average battery life;