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      Samsung Galaxy S21 5G: Still Worth Buying in 2022?

      Robert Cerff / 26-09-2022 / Tech

      Although the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G was released at the beginning of last year, it’s still a popular smartphone in South Africa. It appeals to those looking for a premium flagship phone on a tight budget.

      But is it still worth your money in 2022? Let’s see how well it’s aged and why it remains one of the most in-demand smartphones in the country.

      The camera trifecta 

      The Samsung Galaxy S21 is the first standard phone from the tech company to match the camera on the Galaxy S series Plus since 2017. It boasts a 12MP main shooter, a 12MP ultra-wide camera with a 120-degree field of view, and a big 64MP telephoto zoom lens. Together, these are powerful imaging sensors for capturing detailed shots with amazing clarity. For selfies, the front has a vibrant 10MP snapper.

      The camera on the Galaxy S21 holds up pretty well against its successor, the latest S22, which was launched in February of this year. The 21 series offers a better experience when zooming in, while the new S22 series boosted its main camera to 50MP and dropped the telephoto lens to 10MP.

      A two-day battery 

      Packing a big and power-efficient 4000mAh battery, the Galaxy S21 has great endurance that can easily last two days with light use. You can squeeze out just over 8 hours a day on a single charge if you're a heavy user.

      Although it has the smallest battery in the series, it does beat the standard Galaxy S22, which features a slightly smaller 3700mAh battery. The Galaxy S21 also boasts high-end charging capabilities, including up to 25W charging speeds, and it supports fast wired and wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.

      Powerful performance

      Powering the entire Galaxy S21 series is the Samsung Exynos 2100, offering a speedy overall performance that’s getting quicker with updates. Alongside this, you get 8GB of RAM and internal storage of 128GB or 256GB. It's a snappy, responsive device that doesn’t lag or stutter even while multitasking.

      However, if you’re looking for the latest hardware, you’ll find this in the Galaxy S22. It’s powered by the advanced Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which is a notch above its predecessor.

      Display that still delivers 

      The display on the Galaxy S21 is still considered one of the best on the market. It features a brilliant Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel and an adaptive refresh rate of 120Hz. Colours are vibrant, and a 6.1-inch screen is big enough to immerse you while streaming movies, series, and while gaming.

      Keeps you within budget 

      The best part about buying a slightly older release is the incredible money-saving benefits. For bargain hunters who want a high-end phone without bending their budget, it doesn’t get better than the Galaxy S21. When it launched, it had a prepaid price tag of R17 999, and it now retails for around R15 000. Leading network providers like Telkom, Vodacom, and MTN are currently running fantastic deals on contracts through Mondo Mobile that combine minutes, data, and SMSs.

      Updates for three years 

      One of the biggest benefits of buying the Galaxy S21 is that it’s affordable without compromising on essential security updates. It was released on Android 11 and is currently running on Android 12, with plans by Samsung to update the range until Android 15. This ensures another three years of updates if you purchase one now. The tech giant has also rolled out a security patch this month to enhance system security and stability, as well as fix several bugs for a better user experience.

      The Samsung Galaxy S21 is a well-rounded, solid smartphone with an impressive camera, great battery, powerful internals, and superb software. Its premium specs combined with a modest price make it one of the best Samsung smartphones on the market.

      All these factors mean it's completely worth it more than one year later, even after the launch of the new flagship range.

      Check out Mondo Mobile for the best deals on the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G from SA’s leading network providers if you want to own one of the most in-demand smartphones right now.

      TECH NEWS

      Samsung’s 100 Megapixel Camera is Coming!

      It’s no secret that the camera has always been the smartphone’s strongest selling point. With the growing popularity of social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, users have become photo-centric, constantly chasing after the best cameras to produce the best pictures to share with their followers. In fact, digital camera sales have taken a dip since the rise of the camera phone, which allows users to carry one device that performs many functions rather than purchasing a specific device for each of their needs. The first phone with a built-in camera was manufactured by Samsung in the year 2000. This digital camera could take up 20 photos at 350 000-pixels, or 0.35-megapixels, but you could only access your photos by connecting to a computer. By the year 2003, camera phones were becoming more popular with better specs and lower prices. In 2004, Sprint released a phone with a 1.3-megapixel camera that could capture images, share them wirelessly and even allowed you to print them. Finnish manufacturer Nokia jumped on the bandwagon in 2005 and released a 2 megapixel camera on their N90 model. Shortly after, the world was introduced to Sony Ericsson, whose aim was to steal the crown from Nokia. They adopted Sony’s Cybershot digital camera branding, which earned them first place in the camera phone market. The Sony Ericsson K800i was released in 2006 with a 3.2-megapixel camera that had auto focus, image stability and a Xenon flash. The baton was passed back to Samsung when they released the first ever 5-megapixel camera and then the 8 megapixel camera in 2008. The smartphone camera race continued, with Samsung appearing to be the winner with their release of the M8910 Pixon 12, which had a 12MP camera, in 2009. However, they were soon bested by Nokia’s N8 in 2010 and then the 16MP Sony Ericsson S006 that came at the end of 2010. Fast forward a few years and Samsung are at it again! To maintain their position in the market, the technology giant has decided to partner up with Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi to create the world’s first 108-megapixel camera. Current high-end smartphones typically host cameras with between 12 and 16-megapixel resolutions, so a 108 megapixel camera would be a massive improvement to the conventional smartphone camera. The Isocell Bright HMX is designed to shoot incredibly detailed photos and is said to be comparable to a top DSLR camera. You can expect to capture better low-lit images as this camera will merge pixels to absorb more light. In terms of video recording, no smartphone camera will have better capabilities than this one. It will be capable of shooting up to 6K resolution at 30 frames per second which is very impressive compared to the 4K resolution at 60 frames per second limit of other smartphones. It’s been predicted that Xiaomi will release a smartphone with a similar camera before Samsung does, and even though Samsung has announced that production on these camera lenses begun at the end of August, they’ve remained tight-lipped about when we’ll be seeing a device with the 108-megapixel camera on the shelves.

      Read More...

      Samsung Galaxy A Series: Flagship Experiences on a Budget

      South Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung has blazed a trail in the local smartphone market with the launch of their mid-tier A series cell phones that give their more expensive flagship counterparts a run for their money. Most likely, this range was created in response to stiff competition in the mid-tier smartphone category from the likes of Chinese rivals Huawei and Xiaomi. The company launched the Galaxy A2 Core, A10, A20, A30, A50, A70 and the A80 in South Africa this year, with the A90 expected soon. The A Series is a welcome change in pace for the company’s mid-tier devices, as the range now offers you a premium look and feel at a lower cost, as well as upgrades to the internals to give these devices more power and features, such as triple-lens camera systems on selected models. Let’s take a quick look at each model in the Galaxy A range: Galaxy A2 Core A simple but powerful entry-level device, the Galaxy A2 Core features the Android Go operating system, which is designed to optimise performance through the device’s hardware. Android Go is a lite version of the OS but allows devices like the A2 Core to offer a smooth user experience at an affordable cost. The A2 Core also features 5 MP cameras on the rear and face of the device and can support an SD card of up to 512GB, complementing its 8GB or 16GB of onboard storage. This will allow the user to cram more music and pictures into the device. The A2 Core also comes fitted with a 5-inch display. Galaxy A10 & A20 The Galaxy A10 and Galaxy A20 smartphones have many similarities. While both come with the Android 9.0 operating system, one of the most distinct differences is the screen size, as the A10 features a 6.2-inch display, while the A20 features a slightly larger 6.4-inch AMOLED display. Both devices feature the same processor, with the A10 featuring 2GB of RAM and the A20 fitted with 3GB of RAM. Another major difference between the devices is that the A20 features a dual 13MP and 5MP rear camera, while the A10 offers a 13MP rear camera. The A20 offers an 8MP front camera versus the A10’s 5MP shooter. Both smartphones pack 32GB of internal storage. Galaxy A30 & A50 The A30 and A50 smartphones set a new benchmark for affordable smartphones in the mid-tier category. The A30 comes with 64GB of onboard storage, while the A50 offers a massive 128GB of storage. Both devices feature a gorgeous 6.4-inch AMOLED display, the Android 9.0 operating system, 4GB of RAM and all-day battery-life thanks to a colossal 4000 mAh battery, usually found in premium smartphones. The A50 smartphone features a triple rear camera setup with a 25MP, 8MP and 5MP cameras offering great wide screen shots, while the A30 features a dual 16MP and 5MP rear camera configuration. The A50 sports a powerful 25MP selfie camera and the A30 a 16MP front camera. Galaxy A70 & A80 Essentially competing in the premium smartphone segment, the A80 is set to become one of the most unique smartphones available on the South African market. The A80 will feature one of the first pop-up rotating camera modules, consisting of a powerful 48MP wide lens, 8MP ultra-wide lens and a Time of Flight (TOF) 3D camera to capture not only images from the rear but also for selfies. The device sports a 3700mAh battery and 128GB of onboard storage, with a 6.7-inch display. The Galaxy A70 features a slightly larger 4500mAh battery compared to the A80 but will run off the same processor and operating system – Android 9.0. The A70 smartphone features a triple camera module consisting of a 32MP lens, 8MP wide-angle lens and 5MP depth sensing lens with a 32MP selfie camera. Read the reviews: Galaxy A2 Core Galaxy A10 Galaxy A20

      Read More...