Samsung’s next flagship smartphone lineup, the Galaxy S21 series, will launch globally on January 14th, Android Authority is reporting. The date was revealed by Samsung’s largest mobile experience store in India, and SamMobile subsequently confirmed the date with a company official at Samsung’s local offices. Although Android Authority reports this as the global launch date, Samsung HQ has yet to confirm it.
Although a January launch is earlier than the February Unpacked events we’ve become accustomed to in recent years, this isn’t the first time this date has been rumored. Earlier this week, Android Police reported a January 14th launch based on its own sources.
The phones will reportedly go on sale on January 29th in India, according to employees at Samsung’s Opera House outlet in Bengaluru, Android Authority reports. The store is taking preorders for three upcoming handsets, the Galaxy S21, the S21 Plus, and the S21 Ultra, with a Rs 2,000 (around $27) deposit. Full pricing for the lineup is yet to be announced.
Along with confirming the launch plans, the new report from Android Authority has also revealed some of the upcoming handsets’ specs. They’ll apparently be powered by Samsung’s Exynos 2100 processor in India, and the three models will be available in the following colors: gray, pink, purple, and white for the S21; pink, purple, silver and black for the S21 Plus; and black and silver for the S21 Ultra. Android Authority says the S21 Ultra will have a 108-megapixel main sensor, alongside two additional 10-megapixel sensors, one of which will have a 10x optical zoom.
The latest report adds to a host of leaked details about the new handsets. Earlier this week we got an early look at the phones through a series of leaked teaser trailers, which show off their redesigned camera bumps. The trailers appear to confirm that the S21 Ultra will have a total of five cameras, compared to three on the S21 and S21 Plus.
The trailers followed a report in November which said that each of the phones will come with 120Hz displays, and will have screens ranging from 6.2 to 6.8-inches in size. Internally, they’ll reportedly have batteries ranging in size from 4,000 mAh to 5,000 mAh, and will be powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 888 processor in regions that don’t use Samsung’s own processors. The S21 Ultra is also expected to be compatible with Samsung’s S-Pen, which is important considering the rumors that the stylus-equipped Note lineup is being discontinued.
