Image: Samsung
There are three new Galaxy S21 phones from Samsung, and there are several features that are essential for business users, particularly with the most premium of the lineup, the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra is the follow-up to last year’s Galaxy S20 Ultra. The most impressive difference is the price. It’s cheaper. Last year, the Ultra started at $1,399. This year, the new Ultra starts at $1,199. That’s right, Samsung shaved $200 off the price of the phone. Actually, it did that with every phone in its lineup. The Galaxy S21 starts at $799 now, compared to $999 for the S20, and the Galaxy S21+ starts at $999, compared to $1,199 for the S20+ last year.
“You don’t just have a phone in your pocket or your apps, or even your data with Galaxy S21. You have your business in your pocket and you can do your work. Not only collaboratively, but seamlessly without disruption, Galaxy S21 was purpose-built, with seamless access and openness in mind. With links to Windows, Microsoft, your phone app is in it, integrated into the device,” said Bob Escalle, head of product, mobile B2B, Samsung.
Here are six reasons why business pros should consider buying the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra this year.
SEE: Samsung Galaxy S21 series: A guide to everything you need to know about the Galaxy S21, S21+ and S21 Ultra (TechRepublic)
Reason 1: The price is $200 less than the Galaxy S20 Ultra last year
Yes, it’s a deal. And that’s a reason to buy. At $1,199 for 128GB, it’s still $100 more than the starting price of the Apple 12 Pro Max, at $1,099 for 128GB, but it evens out as you top out at the largest capacity of 512GB. The Galaxy S21 Ultra is $1,379 and the Apple 12 Pro Max is $1,399 when you look at the top of the line, max capacity models. And most business people opt for at least a 256GB model (which is $1,249 for the Samsung and $1,199 for the Apple).
Reason 2: It works with the S Pen for the first time
The S Pen is a cool accessory that has only been available before on the Galaxy Note series of phones or Samsung tablets. Now it works with the Galaxy S21 Ultra smartphone. Last year, with the introduction of the Galaxy Note 20, there were several improvements made to the S Pen to reduce latency and add new Air Actions.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra phone users can add the S Pen as an accessory—it doesn’t come with the phone, as it does with the Note series—because customers want it for creativity and collaboration. “Whether it’s creating slides, signing forms for editing documents, more precisely. Workers need the flexibility to do their work anywhere. That’s what makes the S Pen and other Galaxy S21 innovations you can use it with so great for today’s workers,” Escalle said.
Reason 3: It has wireless DeX for PC
Now, admittedly, all of the Galaxy S21 smartphones have wireless DeX for PC, but it’s still a reason to make a purchase. DeX started as a productivity tool but now it’s used for collaboration, Escalle said. In August 2020, wireless DeX was introduced, and now with the Galaxy S21, there’s wireless DeX for PC.
“With this feature that DeX UI appears as a window on your PC or Mac. In that window, you can access all of your apps. Even the ones designed only for the phone. You can complete an email. You started on your phone or drag and drop files between your phone and PC. No need to email documents to yourself anymore. And if you have to switch location, there’s nothing to unplug. It’s wireless, it’s seamless,” Escalle explained.
Reason 4: It offers hyper fast Wi-Fi 6E
The Galaxy 21 Ultra is the first smartphone ever, according to Samsung, to support the Wi-Fi 6E network. It also supports 5G, of course, along with all of the other S21 devices.
“What makes all this innovation around connectivity really exciting, is what these technologies mean for how work is changing. As more and more businesses go wireless with new remote work and hybrid arrangements, saturated and congested networks are inevitable. Wi-Fi 6E and eventually indoor 5G can help solve that problem,” Escalle said.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra can be the interface for mobile edge computing, which is coming up for many workplaces, because it includes these technologies, he said.
Ultra Wide Band is being expanded on the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the Galaxy S21+. Steven Hawk, director of product management for Samsung, said, “Soon, you’ll be able to use Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy S21+ to automatically unlock your car doors without pulling out your keys. Thanks to our partnership with Google, we’ll be introducing another car integration as well. We’re combining the Android Auto experience with SmartThings, for a seamless and comprehensive connected-car experience. Before arriving home, you can turn on the porch lights and even raise the temperature of your thermostat for a warm welcome on your arrival.”
Reason 5: It has five amazing cameras
The camera count just keeps going up on these phones. The Galaxy S21 Ultra has five cameras. One 40MP camera on the front and four cameras on the back. There is an Ultra Wide 12MP, a 108MP Wide Angle and two Telephoto cameras. And it features a 100X Space Zoom and a Laser AF Sensor. This phone has 4K, 60 fps for filming across all five lenses, including the front camera.
Reason 6: There’s an enterprise edition
The Galaxy S21 has a version for enterprise customers. It’s ideal for anyone running large projects with distributed teams. It’s a version of Galaxy 21 with a complete package of mobile technology and services, including a year of Knox Suite free of additional costs, a two-year product life cycle with guaranteed SMR support for five years and four years of monthly updates, and one year of quarterly updates.
Learning to work in the new normal
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has a range of features for enterprise users. Samsung has always kept the business customer in mind when designing phones, but the past year has made the digital transformation of the enterprise faster than ever imagined. With distributed and remote work the new normal, improving functionality of teams scattered around the world is essential.
“There is no denying the amount of change in how and where people work or how rapidly it arrived. New practices are fast becoming our new normal. But there is so much opportunity for businesses equipped with a device it encourages more collaboration,” Escalle said.
