Samsung’s 5G Galaxy S21+ has been spotted on video for the first time

The Samsung Galaxy S21 pipeline of leaks has opened and there’s no stopping them now. A couple of days after the first live image of the Galaxy S21+ was published, and mere hours after extra details about the product emerged, the next Samsung flagship seems to have been spotted on video. 

Published to YouTube by Random Stuff 2, the 4-minute video below provides the first detailed hands-on look at the Samsung Galaxy S21+ and, more importantly, corroborates everything we have seen thus far. 

The most noticeable visual improvement when compared to the Galaxy S20 line are perhaps the razor-thin bezels. The upcoming phone sports a 6.7-inch 120Hz screen and, although it doesn’t offer too much in terms of specification improvements, particular attention has been paid to reducing the thickness of bezels. 

Several close-up shots corroborate recent rumors about Samsung adopting completely uniform bezels on its next flagship lineup. This is noteworthy because, on the one hand, uniform bezels are something that have only been available on the iPhone and Pixel 5 until now. But also because the thinness has been taken to a level that’s never been seen before. 

This premium look could be marketed to the public as ‘Blade Bezel’ once the new Galaxy S21 series hits shelves next month. It also puts Samsung one massive step closer to achieving a true edge-to-edge design on future devices. 

As revealed in past leaks, a new camera design is planned for the Galaxy S21 series. The Galaxy S21+ features three cameras on the rear, as shown in the video, that are understood to have been borrowed from the Galaxy S20. These should be coupled with a number of software improvements. 

The device shown off in the video is a pre-production PVT (Production Validation Test) unit, according to tipster Max Jambor. The final model will offer a matte black finish, but the one seen above and below could differ when compared to the final one. 

Nevertheless, the video gives us a good idea about what the Galaxy S21+ will bring to the table and how it compares to rival smartphones such as the iPhone 12 Pro Max or even the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. 

The person responsible for the 4-minute clip claims to have been using the next-gen device for 2-3 weeks at this stage. Max Weinbach believes the phone is a carrier unit, likely from T-Mobile or Metro, given out to test network connectivity before the launch.

The cameras weren’t tested on video, but the person said that he wasn’t too impressed with them. The main reason being that certain shots come out too saturated — the blues are too blue and the greens are too green, apparently. 

The one thing that was done on video was a Geekbench benchmark test. The unit in question seems to be using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 and managed to score a very respectable 1,115 points on the single-core test and an even more impressive 3,326 on the multi-core one. 

Samsung is due to announce the Galaxy S21 series on January 14. Shipments of the devices will kick off on January 29 and price cuts of between $100-150 over the previous models are expected.