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Samsung Galaxy S21: Should You Buy it Now? Check Out the Price Drops

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Want to buy the Samsung Galaxy S21 but are waiting for a price drop? nextpit has verified the price history of Samsung's flagship with retailers to tell you if it's a good time to buy the Galaxy S21 now or not.

This article takes into account the major price drops of the Samsung Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, Galaxy S21 Ultra, and Galaxy S21 FE. The idea is to offer a "handcrafted" price tracker to inform you of possible price drops on particularly sought-after smartphone models (feel free to suggest models to watch out for).

Galaxy price drop: Is it the right time to buy the Samsung S21/S21+, FE, or S21 Ultra?

We checked the price drops on these 4 models via several online price comparison sites. Please note that this is not a change in the recommended or "official" price, but rather the average price of the Galaxy S21/S21+ or S21 Ultra. This price corresponds to the average of the lowest prices among all e-commerce platforms, including third-party sellers in the marketplace.

Galaxy S21 FE price drops

The Galaxy S21 FE was announced in January 2022, after months of rumors and (alleged) delays. The entry-level flagship was launched with an MSRP of $699, and weeks after the S22 range launch you can find some deals, making it an interesting option if you don't necessarily need the fastest flagship phone.

Galaxy S21 price drops

After the initial Galaxy S21 price drops after the S22 release, prices and availability of the previous generation are already spotty, especially at Amazon. But depending on third-party sellers, you can still find the phone at reasonable prices. But even so, we think you should consider going for the newer models...

Galaxy S21+ price drops

The stock situation with the S21+ seems even worse than with the vanilla model. It is still possible to find the unlocked phone on e-tailers, but back to the original MSRP, $999.99. For that reason, check for deals on the S23+, or save money by buying the S21 FE.

Galaxy S21 Ultra price drops

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the model that has arguably varied the most in price since its release. After being sold for as low as $900 around June, most retailers went back to selling the flagship model back at the $1199.99 MSRP in the third quarter. After that, the supply dried up and you can only find pre-owned or higher capacity models, with no expectations of further Samsung S21 Ultra price drops. With that availability, we recommend checking the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

  • Also read: Check the best Samsung Galaxy smartphones on the market

Galaxy S21 line technical specifications

  Samsung Galaxy S21 family
Product
Picture Samsung Galaxy S21 Samsung Galaxy S21+ Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Samsung Galaxy S21 FE
Display 6.2 inches AMOLED
1080 x 2400 pixels
120 Hz refresh rate
6.7 inches AMOLED
1080 x 2400 pixels
120 Hz refresh rate
6.8 inches AMOLED
1440 x 3200 pixels
120 Hz refresh rate
6.4 inches AMOLED
1080 x 2400 pixels
120 Hz refresh rate
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 (USA, China)
Samsung Exynos 2100 (international)
Memory 8GB RAM
128GB storage
8GB RAM
128 / 256GB storage
12GB RAM
128 / 256 / 512GB storage
6 / 8GB RAM
128 / 256GB storage
microSD
Câmera Main: 12 megapixels
Ultrawide: 12 megapixels
Telephoto: 64 megapixels
Main: 108 megapixels
Ultrawide: 12 megapixels
Telephoto: 10 megapixels, 10x zoom
Telephoto: 10 megapixels, 3x zoom
Main: 12 megapixels
Ultrawide: 12 megapixels
Telephoto: 8 megapixels, 3x zoom
Selfie 10 megapixels 40 megapixels 32 megapixels
Audio Stereo speakers
no headphone jack
Battery 4000 mAh 4800 mAh 5000 mAh 4500 mAh
Charging Wired: 25 W
Wireless: 15 W
Reverse charging: 4.5 W
Good
  • Comparatively compact form factor
  • Fast performer even when compared to Plus & Ultra models
  • Plastic back looks surprisingly good
  • Extended software support
  • 120 Hz AMOLED display
  • Improved Exynos 2100 SoC
  • New design
  • Well built
  • Good results from the triple camera
  • One UI with long term support
  • Daring, bold design
  • AMOLED WQHD+ 120 Hz screen is sublime
  • Improved Exynos 2100 chipset
  • Versatile camera module
  • Fantastic 10x zoom
  • Great battery life and performance
  • Fluid OneUI 3.1 interface is feature-rich
  • Bright, smooth and responsive 120Hz AMOLED display
  • Snapdragon 888 performance without overheating issues
  • Neat and modern design (despite all the plastic)
  • Convincing wide-angle and 3x zoom camera module
  • Night Mode works great
  • 3 major Android versions and 4 years of security updates
  • IP68 certification
Bad
  • Poor battery life
  • No S-Pen support
  • No UWB chip
  • No expandable memory
  • Telephoto camera disappoints
  • No expandable memory
  • Short battery life
  • No S-Pen support
  • Few innovations
  • Exynos 2100 does not outperform the Snapdragon 888 SoC
  • No charger included
  • No microSD slot
  • 25-watt fast charging only
  • S-Pen is nearly redundant
  • Expensive (although cheaper than the S20 Ultra)
  • Mediocre battery life
  • Archaic 25-watt fast charging
  • No microSD port or 3.5mm audio jack
  • Charger is not included in the box
  • Price is not competitive
Rating
Read the Galaxy S21 review
Read the Galaxy S21+ review
Read the Galaxy S21 Ultra review
Read the Galaxy S21 FE review
Offers*

How does nextpit track price drops of smartphones?

Starting from the launch price of each smartphone when it was released, we started by listing chronologically the first notable price drop followed by the lowest price ever, then the last notable price drop, and finally the current price.

For our listings, we compared prices between Amazon, the official stores, BestBuy and Google Shopping.

When the price observed on the day of the publication of this article and each update is lower than the "official" or recommended price by the manufacturer, we recommend you buy the smartphone via an affiliate link. If the current price is lower than the last price drop or even the lowest price ever, we will also recommend you buy the smartphone. Note that this data is manually extracted from the price histories of several online price comparison sites.

Other price trackers:

What do you think of this new format? Are there any particular smartphones you'd like me to keep an eye on for price drops? Tell me all about it in the comments.


Article updated in September 2023 with current deals.

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Antoine Engels

Antoine Engels
Senior Editor

Black belt in specs sheet analysis. OnePlus fanboy in (slow) remission. Average estimated reading time of my articles: 48 minutes. Tech deals fact-checker in my spare time. Hates talking about himself in the 3rd person. Dreams he was a gaming journalist in another life. Doesn't get the concept of irony. Head of editorial for NextPit France.

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