At $1,199 / £1,149, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra needs to be excellent, and it is. Powerful internals, a class-leading 10x zoom and a number of fun value adds, not least of all S Pen support give it some standout charm.

The Galaxy S21 is a tank. It’s a big, heavy (8.04 ounces versus its predecessor’s 7.7), blunt instrument of a phone. It’s quintessential Samsung, really — the handset you purchase when too much isn’t quite enough.

Fresh design with Gorilla Glass 7 in front and back; huge 10x optical zoom cam; great battery life; brilliant high-refresh rate display; bigger and faster fingerprint sensor; built-in stylus support

Base storage a bit low; 4K and 8K video sometimes looks oversharpened; no more microSD card slot; still no headphone jack; not cheap

It's big, powerful and very capable. If you're after the very best Samsung Galaxy S21 model and money is no object, the Ultra is the one for you. It's a big upgrade over the S20 Ultra, fixing the focus issues and improving battery life.

Great screen thanks to WQHD+ and 120Hz; Much-improved design with an attractive finish; Far more versatile camera than the iPhone 12 Pro Max

Expensive; with many cheaper phones offering the same features; Big and heavy; No charger included

Pockets beware, the giant smartphone is back with a sleeker camera and a super processor...

If you want something better on the Samsung Galaxy S21 series, then you should go for the Samsung S21 Ultra 5G. The new phone is the advanced version of Samsung S21 and Samsung S21 Plus 5G.