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Galaxy S21 Ultra vs. Note 20 Ultra

Galaxy S21 Ultra: Note 20 Ultra: Galaxy S21 Ultra Cyrill Case: Which Samsung Galaxy phone should you choose? The latest S21 Ultra has an improved camera system including 3x and 10x optical zoom, but the Note 20 Ultra has better S Pen support. In this comparison, Lexy covers design, performance, battery life, camera quality and…

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Galaxy S21 Ultra:
Note 20 Ultra:
Galaxy S21 Ultra Cyrill Case:

Which Samsung Galaxy phone should you choose? The latest S21 Ultra has an improved camera system including 3x and 10x optical zoom, but the Note 20 Ultra has better S Pen support. In this comparison, Lexy covers design, performance, battery life, camera quality and how Samsung Pay differs between these two premium phones.

00:00 – Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Note 20 Ultra
00:45 – Design and Display
04:39 – S Pen Features
07:12 – Cameras and Image Processing
10:43 – Battery and Performance
14:51 – Samsung Pay MST vs NFC
15:35 – Lexy’s Pick

115 Comments

  1. Teddy Lion

    February 9, 2021 at 4:55 pm

    that music… hurting my ears 🙁

  2. Aggro-H

    February 9, 2021 at 5:05 pm

    Thank you for not posting silly and meaningless benchmark numbers. Very down to earth review.

  3. Seek the truth in all things. Reject the lie

    February 9, 2021 at 5:16 pm

    Great video but note 20ultra is better.i wasn’t fully convinced that you believe s21ultra is better considering the amount you went on about MST. But great vid

    • Lexy Savvides

      February 9, 2021 at 6:21 pm

      😂 I know MST isn’t that important for many people so overall, my MST love aside, S21 won for me

  4. Chase Matthew

    February 9, 2021 at 5:26 pm

    When Note 21u gets 1Ui 3.1 they will basically be the same phone

    • Renojan Spectra

      February 9, 2021 at 5:36 pm

      This comment confirms that the Note 20 Ultra is the last of it’s kind.

  5. Alfonso Faraj

    February 9, 2021 at 5:27 pm

    its worth picking the S21 U over N20 U.. but not worth it upgrading from N20 U to S21 U.. love my note 20 U

    • bob loblaw

      February 9, 2021 at 7:49 pm

      Um…wuh?

    • Alfonso Faraj

      February 9, 2021 at 8:00 pm

      @bob loblaw if you need to buy one, buy S21 ultra.. if you have a Note 20 ultra, stick with it, not worth the upgrade

  6. Ken Hou

    February 9, 2021 at 5:30 pm

    That’s what she said

  7. booptidyscoop

    February 9, 2021 at 5:33 pm

    I like the note 20 better , I mean look at the thing

  8. TeslaTidbits Know

    February 9, 2021 at 5:35 pm

    At 2:03, the Note 20 5G Ultra gets a phone signal way better than the one on the S21’s (1 bar only)

    • Lexy Savvides

      February 9, 2021 at 6:20 pm

      Different carriers!

  9. Lucas Panasski

    February 9, 2021 at 5:40 pm

    So you are surprised that older phone is not better this time and for you usually older phone is better? So for you technology was going backwards till now ???

    • Lexy Savvides

      February 9, 2021 at 6:19 pm

      No, it’s that usually the older phone presents better value and the improvements between old to new in many cases is not THAT significant, especially when I’ve compared Galaxy phones previously. E.g. Note 10+ to Note 20 Ultra.

  10. Lexy Savvides

    February 9, 2021 at 6:18 pm

    Thanks for watching! Let me know which phone is your favorite (and who else is team MST?)

    • bob loblaw

      February 9, 2021 at 7:50 pm

      Hey Mr prime Ministaaaa!

      Andyyyy!

    • hienho15

      February 9, 2021 at 7:54 pm

      I am team SD card slot. Nothing beats moving sd card to one phone to another without having to download or use the cloud to access my data. Still keep my old pictures and music in one spot to access it. I am able to upgrade to whatever storage and carry it around when I needed.

    • Vernon Lee Warren

      February 9, 2021 at 9:27 pm

      I’m team MST and I would choose the Note 20 Ultra all day everyday

    • Vernon Lee Warren

      February 9, 2021 at 9:27 pm

      @hienho15 agreed. No expandable memory is a deal breaker for me

    • Gina Z.

      February 10, 2021 at 12:37 am

      Note 20 Ultra is my device and will be for a couple years to come!

    • Cory Chang

      February 10, 2021 at 2:20 am

      MST is one of the reasons I continue with Samsung.

    • W kj.

      February 10, 2021 at 9:07 am

      Of course, the Note 20 Ultra is the best …. I used the two phones, there is no big difference between them, but the Note 20 Ultra is more beautiful and elegant.

    • Sandi Hermana

      February 10, 2021 at 9:51 am

      i am team Mst but now samsung is now gone mst on mobile payments, i am so sad about that😭

    • Yogesh shrestha

      February 10, 2021 at 11:02 am

      Lexy sounds sexy babe

    • Hanzo Aditya

      February 10, 2021 at 11:12 am

      I pick the phantom black baby!..👍🥷 it looks cool & lovely like, you.. ❤️

    • Kareem Neptune

      February 15, 2021 at 7:29 am

      Note 20 ultra hands down the last of a dying bread

    • Kareem Neptune

      February 15, 2021 at 7:29 am

      Breed*

    • Nicholas Hackett

      February 15, 2021 at 4:58 pm

      Can both fit in a normal pocket with a water bottle,twix in a zipped hoodie.

    • Kallolin Madrid

      February 16, 2021 at 11:06 pm

      @bob loblaw w

  11. Mohannad Abdul Jalil

    February 9, 2021 at 6:26 pm

    A comparison between Exynos variant vs Snapdragon one including battery an performance, please.

  12. DL Allen

    February 9, 2021 at 6:28 pm

    MST daily use here

  13. Ahmed Alansari

    February 9, 2021 at 6:31 pm

    Note 20 Ultra hands down 😎

  14. 892965

    February 9, 2021 at 6:58 pm

    What should I get the s21 plus the note 20 ultra or the apple 12 pro max I’m looking for battery since i use my phone for work

  15. bob loblaw

    February 9, 2021 at 7:40 pm

    12:06

    Confirmed: she’s not a size queen. She prefers the motion of the phone-tion.

  16. jamesgjt

    February 9, 2021 at 7:44 pm

    The thing is when do you even need a 10x zoom? 3x zoom or 5x zoom is already very good for most of the cases… The lost of the MST and MicroSD are definitely nightmare for any samsung user just like what happened to the S5….

  17. Michael Fryer

    February 9, 2021 at 8:15 pm

    Both phones are great. I purchased a Note 20 Ultra a few month ago. In my opinion the only real difference in the two phones comes down to processors and battery. The camera sensor should be identical and therefore comes down to the S21ultra just having updated camera and One UI software(correct me if I’m wrong). The S21 runs OneUI 3.1 out of the box, the Note 20 Ultra is on OneUI 3.0. These phones were realesed only six months from each other. To me the Note 20 Ultra is a far better value. I got mine at $1149 not the $1300, so they actually are costing about the same and you get more with the Note 20 ultra( sPen included)! Great review, awesome phones!

  18. Lee Beasley

    February 9, 2021 at 9:37 pm

    I wouldn’t mind an all in one case and s-pen for the note ultra to experience the larger spen

  19. Tommy Hermansen

    February 9, 2021 at 9:46 pm

    I don’t get most of these features, I am team Apple 🙂 These look like some fantastic phones though. By the way it is even obvious from the video that the lag on the s-pen is less on the Note.

    • Lexy Savvides

      February 9, 2021 at 10:00 pm

      Oh cool I’m glad you could actually see it!

  20. Jay Arthur

    February 9, 2021 at 9:57 pm

    I reckon by the time I have an 8K TV I will no longer have this phone, so I am fine off-loading those videos to a thumb drive or my SD card through the 7-in1 adapter I have.

  21. certainly smart

    February 9, 2021 at 10:13 pm

    Updated my s6 finally

  22. Chris Vizzini

    February 9, 2021 at 10:56 pm

    Def Note 20. I have 170 full length films on the sd card with room to spare. Wouldn’t trade that. S21 👎🏼

  23. Joshua Nf

    February 10, 2021 at 12:12 am

    I’m choosing the s21 ultra,I’m just waiting for more cases to come out.

  24. bad65dad

    February 10, 2021 at 12:19 am

    My note 20 ultra is the best having my 512gb card is it’s a no-brainer.

  25. Nezuko Kamado

    February 10, 2021 at 12:20 am

    Someone gift me a s21 ultra phone. I still have a s7 edge😭😭😭

  26. trielymo69

    February 10, 2021 at 5:00 am

    Note 20 ultra looks better to me both look good but love my note 20 ultra

  27. rohit.george thomas

    February 10, 2021 at 6:10 am

    Note 20 ultra exynos Waste phone of the year no battery back up

  28. Pashmotatoe

    February 10, 2021 at 6:33 am

    Ordered the s21 ultra a couple weeks ago. It’ll be here in 2 weeks 😍

  29. Tech Guy H-A Golden

    February 10, 2021 at 7:59 am

    I always go fall for the Note line but Quickly move back to the S line but I decided to skip the Note 20 and move to the S21 ultra and iam satisfied . The S series always wins my heart ❤️

  30. Ahmer Malik

    February 10, 2021 at 9:19 am

    Yet I was fussed up being high in the morning

  31. Anthony Robertson

    February 10, 2021 at 9:35 am

    Being one of the other 5 ppl who value MST I appreciate you recognizing this point in your review (especially that last line 😂😭) Wasn’t sure why Samsung took it away from their Smartwatch line in the Galaxy Watches and Definitely not sure why their doing the same to their flagship line but just as I have chose not to upgrade my Gear S3s I will be hesitant to upgrade from my Note20 Ultra 5G as well not only because of this feature but it is a major consideration in my decision making, along with expandable storage, and other features. I too love being able to boast, brag, wow, and educate ppl about MST surprisingly many places that I use don’t have NFC terminals including my job and a restaurant I frequent near my job also used to be Walmart until they started blocking Samsung Pay 🤬 For a while now From year to year Samsung has been removing features that I use on a daily basis which has caused me to upgrade less frequently (I waited from Note 8 to get the Note 20) when I used to be a yearly upgrade customer My pockets thank you Samsung but as a tech enthusiast I’m extremely disappointed in the decisions they’ve been making 😒😕

  32. Sandi Hermana

    February 10, 2021 at 9:50 am

    finally on video with lexy not with big man😁

  33. timone1423

    February 10, 2021 at 11:09 am

    Gosh i hate that camera module on s21 ultra! It looks ugly..

  34. Samuel Lawani

    February 10, 2021 at 11:30 am

    I choose the Note 20 Ultra

  35. guyferd1

    February 10, 2021 at 3:58 pm

    To me, micro SD card support is a deal breaker for me, not so much about the MST. Still sticking to my almost 2 years old Note 10+.

  36. Zuhair Reza

    February 10, 2021 at 4:18 pm

    6:21 “Bad, mad conductor.”

    I’m dead. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

  37. Roman moroni

    February 10, 2021 at 4:51 pm

    Im on the fence i have a note ten plus and i want a better camera .I’ve been a note user but don’t really use the pen..Is the size screen a huge change?plus I’m not sure if there will be a note 21 ultra

  38. davidblee819

    February 10, 2021 at 5:37 pm

    Sorry, being a pretty regular and heavy S-Pen user, I’m gonna have to say Note all the way.

  39. Sir Vee

    February 10, 2021 at 5:42 pm

    I love MST.. Samsung better bring it back.

  40. Sidney Skinner

    February 10, 2021 at 6:05 pm

    This seems an apple to oranges comparison. The Note 21 (not yet out) should be compared.

  41. Steven Chow

    February 10, 2021 at 6:08 pm

    I guess I am one of the 5 people who use MST regularly as well…. I think i will hold off upgrading from my s10 plus for now….

  42. Jose Calderon

    February 10, 2021 at 6:22 pm

    S21 Ultra is cheaper and newer… Note 20 Ultra got a built in S pen with real features. If I’m buying a phone today, the obvious choice should be the newer one, but the Note 20 Ultra is overall a better buy IMO.

  43. CatChaFreeMan

    February 10, 2021 at 7:18 pm

    MST will be missed. Although it stopped working at my usual spots I had a Note10+ got the 21ultra afterwards

    • Jason McKinney

      February 10, 2021 at 7:35 pm

      I had the same experience and upgraded to the S21 Ultra as well.

    • CatChaFreeMan

      February 10, 2021 at 7:47 pm

      @Jason McKinney thank you, I thought my NFC was working properly. good to know I wasn’t the only one.

  44. Jason McKinney

    February 10, 2021 at 7:45 pm

    Great review, Lexy. I traded in note 10 plus,  ordered the S21 ultra for a test run. So far, I am enjoying it.  The cameras are better than note 10, and the screen is crazy bright.  As for the spen, it’s pretty good; feels better than the regular spen.  It works as it does on note 10, minus the Bluetooth abilities. The Samsung case is not bad either, but the Spigen versions better. The downside is  SD card support and mst.  But so far, I am feeling it.

  45. secret supper star

    February 10, 2021 at 8:28 pm

    I don’t want this one but I need it so send me I am interested in buying this type of phone but I don’t have enough money to buy it.send me as gift

  46. Joe Lloyd

    February 10, 2021 at 10:15 pm

    I like my note 20 ultra better .

  47. Sayed Youssef

    February 11, 2021 at 12:00 am

    Where’s my Note 9 gang that had it since day 1??

  48. Mark Baker

    February 11, 2021 at 12:21 am

    Great review

  49. wilson ndebay

    February 11, 2021 at 12:36 am

    That 10x optical zoom is the thing. You can’t beat it and it’s real

  50. saroj lenka

    February 11, 2021 at 4:54 am

    Spen sad moment was nicely done 👏👏

  51. lccgfilm

    February 11, 2021 at 6:05 am

    I really think that the Galaxy S21U spent too much on hyping up the camera, and other bells and whistles, but when it comes to actually doing things on your phone, like productivity tasks, the Galaxy Note still remains king.

    • Kawan'u Lukama

      February 11, 2021 at 8:37 pm

      The s series line isn’t supposed to be marketed as a productivity phone, that is the Note’s territory. So it’s hype is quite justified.

  52. AHZHD

    February 11, 2021 at 10:03 am

    S20 looked so boring, nice to see the s21 has a fresh new standout design

  53. Laneo StayReal

    February 11, 2021 at 10:58 am

    Not a big upgrade to me love my note 20ultra

  54. hbgstorm

    February 11, 2021 at 12:14 pm

    I want to know where the s pro will fit what kind a case would i need for it couse this case now that comes with the s pen will not fit the s pen pro and i dont want to buy 2 cases

  55. Akash p Singh

    February 11, 2021 at 12:32 pm

    I like note 20 ultra

  56. Donald Chamberlain

    February 11, 2021 at 1:44 pm

    The way she says better is cute.

  57. Arrd Viloria

    February 11, 2021 at 2:52 pm

    I appreciate the entire shoot of the review. Cool, fun and informative. More like this, please!

  58. JLP Services Inc

    February 11, 2021 at 5:04 pm

    Love the review. I am coming from a Samsung Note9 with all the bells and whistles (cracked screen prompted upgrade)… It has HR and blood O2% and Bluetooth Spen. I’ve been a Note user since the very first model coming over from Palm pilot it was a huge step up..

    Anyhow, since you asked about gripes… No Micro SD nor HR or blood O2 reading is a total bummer. I too miss features that are standard and then are removed. I am always hopeful Samsung will keep up with the “Flagship” models as the top of the line, state of the art devices so anytime useful items are removed at the expense of a higher price tag just rubs me the wrong way.

    I do love the fact that the S21Ultra has Spen support but the idea of not having someplace to put it unless it’s cased is also a problem.

    Love the review.. Thanks

  59. Muscle Bro's

    February 11, 2021 at 6:42 pm

    The note lineup is Samsungs best series they have 🤷🏽‍♂️

  60. RS S

    February 11, 2021 at 11:47 pm

    I like the s pen but ultra is much more comfortable to hold and better battery.

  61. Richard A

    February 12, 2021 at 1:32 am

    It sucks that Samsung is removing so many of the things that made them unique and much better than Apple. It’s one thing to copy Apple on dropping the headphone jack or the charger, but losing SD card support and MST is really adding to the reasons why I may not choose Samsung in the future.

  62. P O T A T O

    February 12, 2021 at 1:45 am

    And nobody wants to break your $1200 phone

  63. Raven M.

    February 12, 2021 at 3:05 am

    I’m thinking of upgrading my S10 plus for the S21 ultra. Will I still be able to use MST on my Galaxy watch first gen paired to the new phone?

    • Cappy

      February 13, 2021 at 4:23 am

      Yes you will, its built into the watch. I still have my frontier and use it often.

  64. shshankk

    February 12, 2021 at 3:43 am

    Don’t go in the hype that you need 2k res on phone with 120bz else you’ll see pixels…. No, you won’t coz because of the resolution, the physical size of pixels are still very very tiny.
    And 120 with qhd is not worth the battery..
    Use vanced youtube to use videos upto 4k on 1080p display resolution coz only there it matters. Netflix only support 1080p on phone, and goes for prime, dusney plus..

  65. James Donaldson

    February 12, 2021 at 10:07 am

    No expandable storage, no pen, no charger, no MST, AND OH no expandable storage? No thank you!

    • Demia Mitchell

      February 16, 2021 at 12:01 am

      I agree. I love my Note 20 Ultra. Not worth the upgrade ro an S21.

  66. dean l

    February 12, 2021 at 6:32 pm

    This has been the most boring 😴 long drawn out review I’ve seen in a while.

    • Lexy Savvides

      February 13, 2021 at 12:38 am

      Sorry you feel that way but thanks for watching

  67. Beta Ray Bill

    February 13, 2021 at 2:27 am

    Great review! S21 Ultra for me though I like the boxy design of Note 20 Ultra.

  68. Count Swaguluh

    February 13, 2021 at 7:47 am

    Why is Samsung copying apple? Samsung has always given more to the user and now it has taken away the charger and additional storage. It also wants to release the spen pro separately? Not looking good for the future. Hopefully they keep the Note series

  69. Winston C

    February 13, 2021 at 10:05 am

    Actually only I disagree with video is the battery life it’s blows note 20 ultra out of the water based all the battery tests on youtube ,mrwhosetheboss, phonearena even though there sometime biased and gsmena

  70. Kareem Neptune

    February 13, 2021 at 12:15 pm

    Note 20 ultra is better to me key factor the SD slot

  71. Syed Ali Mohtashim Naqvi

    February 13, 2021 at 7:01 pm

    After watching this review for the forth time so as to grasp the full benifits of S21U over N20U i have reached on the conclusion that i donot need to upgrade as i am already using N20U…. Very little plus points just marginal benifits…. Thank you to the reviewer for doing a brilliant job as always….👍👍👍

  72. Rem X

    February 13, 2021 at 7:22 pm

    Is new note coming out this year and when?

  73. Batu Çağan

    February 13, 2021 at 8:45 pm

    İ think they both excellent i love both of them

  74. Batu Çağan

    February 13, 2021 at 8:54 pm

    İ bought S21 Ultra upgrading from S8+ i think i made a good choice maybe ı will buy a S pen Pro in the future for more productivity (i didnt go for note 20 because ı can only buy Exynos in my region

  75. Demonte Lambert

    February 14, 2021 at 5:03 am

    Nfc is still good

  76. Jonathan reid

    February 14, 2021 at 10:30 am

    What does it for me no sd card in s21 ultra big no no for Me that’s why I’ve got note 20 ultra just as good a phone with sd card slot

  77. MR.Techroid

    February 14, 2021 at 7:04 pm

    These phones have gorilla Glass they don’t break that easily you’re just a women.. women tend to be more clumsy

    • Praveer Ram

      February 15, 2021 at 11:21 am

      Amen🙏😂

  78. Oscar Shen

    February 15, 2021 at 10:30 am

    I know the S21 ultra can do almost everything the Note can do, but the boxy design and integrated S Pen always makes a Note more attractive.

    • Steven Harris

      February 16, 2021 at 6:47 pm

      Yes, I’ve always loved the more rectangular shape of the Note. Gives it a more professional, premium look for some reason.

    • Oscar Shen

      February 16, 2021 at 6:51 pm

      @Steven Harris Especially when almost every Andriod phone looks exactluy the same.

  79. K2_ FX

    February 15, 2021 at 2:43 pm

    Note forever

  80. Alex Segovia

    February 15, 2021 at 7:08 pm

    Note 20 ultra all day.
    I love the new features of the s21 but there’s nothing that would make me upgrade from the Note the s21 ultra, i mean no Expandable storage is a downgrade on my opinion. Not to mention that samsung is becoming apple by starting at 128gb forcing you to get the 256gb.
    I’ll have no problems waiting for the note 21 ultra, heck note 22 ultra if they don’t show me something worth upgrading

  81. StormerMusic

    February 15, 2021 at 10:12 pm

    Note 20 ultra everyday all day

  82. Sharjeel Shahzad

    February 16, 2021 at 6:54 am

    They s21 ultra is marginally better than they note 20 ultra SD card slot isn’t a big deal if u go 4 256 or 512 gb storage n well their r some pros 2 not having they spen slot in the phone one of them is battery life allows for a bigger battery and well note phones having smaller battery they spen charging inside takes away battery life. Second reason is that when u drop ur phone they spen falls out on the note on they s21 ultra with samsungs silicone case the spen clicks in the case and doesn’t fall when u drop it so it’s more secure. Third reason is that if they spen goes inside the phone has to be thinner meaning u would have to hold they spen at a certain angle 4 prociseness and not having they spen slot made they spen thicker and more comfortable to use. Final reason is water resistant by not having they spen slot there is one less area for water to get in. Those are the 4 advantages of not having they spen slot and since they are launching they spen pro later this month with Bluetooth functionality there is nothing 2 complain about they spen on they s21 ultra if u have a note 20 ultra it would be stupid 2 upgrade but if ur coming from an s8 or s9 going 4 they s21 ultra is a better deal considering price being slightly cheaper

  83. mr. Tarun

    February 16, 2021 at 1:09 pm

    Your smile nice 👍 note 20

  84. Steven Harris

    February 16, 2021 at 6:49 pm

    Until all the stores I frequent in my area have NFC-enabled terminals, MST will always be a necessity for me.

  85. Mighty Heart

    February 16, 2021 at 7:03 pm

    Note 20 ultra is available half of the price of S21 ultra in used mobile markets in India.

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