Tech
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Note 20 Ultra: Which flagship should you buy? – XDA Developers
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra represents the absolute best Samsung has to offer in smartphone display and cameras. But the not even half-year-old Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is still plenty powerful, and since it’s almost certainly going to see discounts, it may be the better value for consumers who don’t need the absolute latest but still want something powerful. What are the key differences, what’s new in the Galaxy S21 series, and which Samsung flagship should you buy if you’re on the market today? Read more to find out.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Note 20 Ultra: Specs Comparison
Specifications | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra | Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra |
---|---|---|
Build |
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Dimensions & Weight |
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Display |
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SoC |
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Ram & Storage Options |
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Battery & Charging |
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Security | Ultrasonic In-Display Fingerprint Scanner | Ultrasonic In-Display Fingerprint Scanner |
Rear Camera(s) |
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Front Camera(s) | 40MP, f/2.2, 0.7µm, Dual Pixel PDAF | 10MP, f/2.2, 1.22µm |
Port(s) | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
Connectivity |
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Software | Samsung One UI 3.1 based on Android 11 | Samsung One UI 2.5 based on Android 10 |
Other Features |
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Pricing | Starts at $1,299 | Starts at $1,399 |
Where does the Galaxy S21 Ultra improve on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra?
The big question for consumers deciding between the Galaxy S21 Ultra and Note 20 Ultra is likely “what are the improvements made by the Galaxy S21 Ultra improve over the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra?” There are two major areas of noticeable improvements: the processor and the camera zoom system.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888, a 5nm SoC that represents the best Qualcomm has to offer right now. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra’s Snapdragon 865+ is no slouch, however. Still, whether it’s benchmarks or real-world performance, the Snapdragon 888 is the superior chip — although you won’t really see the difference until you’re really pushing the phone, like shooting a video using both front and back cameras, or shooting 4K/60fps with every lens, which the Galaxy S21 Ultra can do but the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra cannot.
The camera system is where most of the tangible improvements are found. The Galaxy S21 Ultra camera introduces a new Periscope zoom lens that can achieve 10x optical zoom compared to the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra’s 5x optical zoom. Truth be told, the difference in zoom shots quality is subtle if kept at a reasonable range (10x) — though if you pixel peep you can see the difference in quality — but at longer zooms, the difference becomes much more apparent.
For example, in the above 10x zoom image of the soccer ball, both images looked similar if viewed on a phone. It’s only if I really crop in and pixel peep on a larger screen did I see that the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s 10x shot captured more texture and details.
At longer zoom, it’s easier to see. The set below contains 20x and 30x zoom by both phones. Notice that the Galaxy S21 Ultra shot is much sharper.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra also has an additional 3x optical telephoto zoom lens with a focal length of around 70mm, which is ideal for portraits. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, because it lacks that shorter zoom lens, uses digital zoom up to 4.9x. However, the difference between the 3x shots is very hard to figure out. You can see the keyboard in the Galaxy S21 Ultra shot below has more details, and has more texture on the collar around the neck.
The main 108MP camera and 12MP ultra-wide hardware remain mostly the same as before – although the Galaxy S21 Ultra uses a newer sensor in the main camera – but the Galaxy S21 Ultra should produce superior photos due to the combination of the superior Snapdragon 888 ISP and Samsung’s own fine-tuning.
Moving around to the front, the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s selfie camera is also more pixel-dense at 40MP — which Samsung then pixel bins into a 10MP selfie, while the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has a straightforward 10MP selfie camera. Other than differing color science, I couldn’t quite tell any substantial difference in selfie image quality.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra’s screen is also technically superior, with the ability to run at 120Hz while maintaining 1440p resolution; the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra must downgrade to 1080p – although to be honest, I’m of the belief that the human eye can’t quite tell the difference between 1440p and 1080p on a relatively small mobile screen anyway. Both screens look equally gorgeous to my eyes.
Where users will likely feel the difference is endurance – the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s 5,000 mAh battery is significantly larger than the 4,500 mAh in the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, so the S21 Ultra will surely go longer before needing a charge.
There are more subtle improvements across the board, such as the Galaxy S21 Ultra having a larger in-display fingerprint scanner and support for WiFi 6, but these are relatively minor improvements that most people won’t even notice. For most consumers, it will be the SoC and camera zoom prowess that set the two phones apart.
What areas are similar between the Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra?
The Galaxy S21 Ultra has more in common with the Galaxy Note series than any previous S phones before because it supports the S-Pen stylus that’s long been a staple of the Note series. This means more than ever, the lines between the two phones have blurred.
While it’s worth noting that the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s S-Pen support does not include the Bluetooth remote controls, using it as a pen to jot notes or sketch will feel identical, as the latency and software features mostly remain the same. And while the S21 Ultra has a newly designed camera module, the overall construction between the two phones are similar — they both have a matte glass finish and slightly curved screens. The software experience should also be similar, as are all the other bonus Samsung features such as DeX.
Which one should you buy?
If money is no object, then it’s a no brainer to go with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra since it has a much better zooming lens, a brighter screen, and a newer processor – unless you really want an S-Pen that’s included free of charge and is stored inside the phone.
But since the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is an “old” phone now, there is bound to be regular discounts that will knock several hundred dollars off its original $1,399 price tag. So if you want to save some cash and still get a very premium Samsung experience, the Note 20 Ultra keeps up well in many areas to not feel outdated. It’s still a beast of a phone even in 2021.
Tech
The Ultimate Recap of Sea Otter 2024 – Pinkbike.com
Vittoria Releases New Peyote & Mezcal XC Race Tires
Maxxis Team Spec Aspen ST Tire
New DT Swiss 240 DEG Hubs
Kali Protectives’ New Full Face Helmets
Industry Nine’s SOLiX M Hubs & Wheelsets
Michelin’s Aggressive New Wild Enduro Tires
Praxis’ New Flat Pedals, Stem, & Carbon Bottle Cage
Transmission Cage Upgrades from Kogel, Ceramicspeed, and Cascade Components
Randoms Round 1 – Sea Otter 2024
Madrone Cycles’ SRAM Eagle Repair Kits & Prototype Derailleur
Vorsprung’s New Telum Coil Shock
EXT’s Vaia Inverted DH Fork & Updated Coil Shocks
Randoms Round 2: New Tools, Goggles, Grips, Racks, & More – Sea Otter 2024
What’s New in Women’s MTB Apparel at Sea Otter 2024
Even More Randoms – Sea Otter 2024
Randoms Round 3: Dario’s Treasures
What’s New for the Kids at Sea Otter 2024
Deity Releases New Stems, Grips, & Pedals
Dario’s Final Sea Otter Randoms
Brian’s Randoms from Sea Otter 2024
Videos
With roots dating back to 1991, the Sea Otter Classic is one of the biggest biking events and tradeshows each year and brings together all sides of the biking industry from athletes to brands, spectators and consumers. Taking place in April in the sunny hills of Monterey, California, that means this event really feels like the official start to the biking season in North America. Christina Chappetta covers why it’s much different to an indoor European biking tradeshow, a World Cup racing weekend or even Crankworx mountain bike festival, in that it encompasses nearly ALL of the biking disciplines, including road cycling, enduro, downhill, dual slalom, XC, trials riding and more.
In the past fortnight, we have seen large amount of new tech releases. However, Sea Otter 2024 represents some of the first opportunities for many riders to see these things in the flesh, as well as take a deeper dive into what the product aims to do.
Welcome to a video summary from Day 2 of the Sea Otter Classic.
There are so many giveaways, interesting new products and colourful characters at Sea Otter Classic that it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. Ben Cathro takes a lap of the venue to find his favourites.
Tech
Apple iPad Air 2024: Insider Makes Hasty U-Turn On New Feature – Forbes
Well, that was quick. On May 18, a respected industry insider predicted a new display technology for the iPad Air that’s expected in the coming days—Apple just announced its latest special event.
The new 12.9-inch iPad Air, the report claimed, would have the same miniLED backlighting currently found on the larger iPad Pro, using the leftover inventory from the current Pro as that model switches to OLED. That was exciting news.
But now, Ross Young, the analyst who made the claim, has changed his mind. The new prediction, shared with paid subscribers only, is that the miniLED technology won’t be coming to the iPad Air, in either size.
While it made sense that the inventory could be maximized in this way, it now “makes sense” that it won’t.
Young says that while he’d heard from supply chain sources that it would, he’d now had contact from “even more supply chain sources” that it won’t.
And the reason this change of heart now makes sense is that this miniLED technology is expensive, so it would be surprising if it made it to the iPad Air, which is more affordable than the Pro.
That’s not quite all the analyst shared. He also said that there are now reports of a new iPad coming later in the year. This is a 12.9-inch iPad, with miniLED backlighting and it could arrive between October and December this year.
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This is intriguing. What could it be? Assuming that the iPad Pro and iPad Air are released in May, it’s extremely unlikely either will be updated later in the year. And if the iPad Air isn’t pricey enough for miniLED to be included, what tablet could Apple be introducing that is the same size as the bigger Pro, with a pricey screen tech, which would sit between the Air and the Pro, it seems?
Young is highly reliable, but this seems slightly preposterous to me. The only other iPad in the range due a refresh is the regular iPad (at 12.9-inches, the iPad mini is clearly out of the picture) and that doesn’t seem likely either.
It seems to me that any regular iPad will almost certainly have the same screen size as now, 10.9 inches. The regular iPad only grew to this size screen in the current generation, and Apple almost never changes designs after one iteration.
Perhaps things will become clearer as the year goes on.
Tech
Woman who left beaten dad on floor for 2 days was 'overwhelmed' with his care, judge told – CBC.ca
A Calgary woman who abused her sick, 77-year-old father was “overwhelmed” at the task of caring for him, a judge heard Wednesday at a sentencing hearing.
In January, Tara Picard, 52, pleaded guilty to charges of assault and failing to provide the necessaries of life after her father (whom CBC News is not naming) was found injured on a basement floor, where he’d been lying for two days.
On Wednesday, prosecutor Donna Spaner and defence lawyer Shaun Leochko asked the judge to allow Picard to serve her sentence in the community under conditions as part of a conditional sentence order.
Justice Indra Maharaj agreed to a two-year conditional sentence for Picard followed by a year of probation.
“There is no doubt she became overwhelmed,” said Spaner in her submissions. “There is no question Ms. Picard has remorse.”
Leochko told the judge that caring for her father “was really more than [Picard] could handle.”
Maharaj heard that Picard is Indigenous and was the victim of abuse growing up. She lives in a sober dorm-style facility and is working with a mental health and addictions navigator, according to Leochko.
A ‘willingness to give back’
As part of the sentence, Picard must complete 300 hours of community service.
Justice Maharaj commended Picard for “taking that on.”
“That shows me Ms. Picard sincerely does recognize what has happened here,” said the judge.
“What I interpret from that is Ms. Picard’s willingness to give back to her community.”
During Picard’s plea, court heard that in November 2021, Picard and her father fought over his drinking.
Nurses discover victim
The victim suffers from a number of medical issues, including diabetes, heart disease, dementia and alcoholism.
At the time, home-care registered nurses were assigned to help provide supplementary care.
Nurses found the victim wearing a soiled adult diaper and suffering from two black eyes with blood on his head.
He told the nurses who discovered him that he’d been there for two days.
Picard admitted she knew her father had fallen and she had “administered a number of physical blows.”
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