Samsung Galaxy M21 (Midnight Blue, 4GB RAM, 64GB Storage)

For those who are still using old Galaxy phones like the Galaxy J2, I think the Galaxy M21 would make logical sense. Samsung Galaxy M21: Although the phone excels on many fronts, my two favorite features remain the battery life and the quality of the display.A few months back, Samsung successfully made big-battery smartphones accessible with its M-series. But the mid-range is a tough segment to crack with the competition from the likes of Xiaomi and Realme. But Samsung knows how critical this segment is right now, given the current situation where consumers are more price-sensitive than ever. For these uncertain times, the new Galaxy M21 makes a lot of sense. Here’s a closer look at what it’s been like to use the Galaxy M21 over the past week. Samsung Galaxy M21 specifications: 6.4-inch FHD+ SAMOLED display|Exynos 9611 processor, 4GB/6GB RAM or 64GB/128GB storage|48MP main camera+5MP depth and 8MP ultra wide angle|6000mAh batery|20MP front camera|188grams, 8.9mm thick|Android 10, OneUI 2.0 Samsung doesn’t try to be different with the Galaxy M21, and that’s just fine. Let me be clear: I don’t have too many things to say about the Galaxy M21 because the phone looks exactly like the Galaxy M31. So, the Galaxy M21 has a polycarbonate back like the Galaxy M31. Some people may not find it interesting but it never felt like using a cheap plastic phone. For a phone with a 6000mAh battery, the design and build seem perfect. I also liked the fact that the phone doesn’t feel heavy or bulky, considering the massive battery inside the device. However, I do feel the Galaxy M-series phones have become a bit too dull in terms of design. To be frank, none of this matters to a user who is coming from the Galaxy J-series or any older generation Samsung phone. Although the phone excels on many fronts, my two favorite features remain the battery life and the quality of the display. The 6,000mAh battery in the Galaxy M21 goes on and on. It managed to last one and a half days with my standard usage pattern, which includes browsing the web, listening to Spotify, emails, checking Facebook and Twitter, and light gaming. Since the phone’s battery lasts for so long, you don’t want to worry about taking the charger with you. A quick-charge with the charger fills the phone’s battery in minutes. Another aspect of the M21 that I liked the most is the display. This is a big phone with a 6.4-inch Full HD+ display. And since the phone uses an AMOLED display, the contrast level is great and the black levels are absolute. Even though a lot of mid-range phones these days offer AMOLED displays, the ones made by Samsung have better displays somehow. I found the screen absolutely fine for reading eBooks, watching YouTube, and web browsing. By the way, the small U-shaped notch doesn’t annoy me anymore. It did annoy me a lot at the beginning but it soon becomes a part of the scenery. Speaking of performance, the Galaxy M21 is powered by the same Exynos 9611 chipset that you find on the Galaxy M31. Samsung has used this processor on many of its mid-range phones and going by my testing, the chipset gets the job done. I was able to open all of the popular apps like Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok on the device without any issues. But don’t try to run too many heavy games that could slow down the performance. The phone runs on Android 10, and Samsung has done a good job with OneUI 2.0. My review unit had 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage. You won’t get a great camera system, and that’s one area where I think the phone falls flat. You get a 48MP primary camera sensor alongside an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 5MP depth camera. The 48MP main sensor is a hit and miss. Sometimes the photos look great and other times the photos come out of focus. That’s not to say the camera is bad, it is just not consistent. The Galaxy M21 takes bright shots but in some cases, images lack richness. Even though the phone lets you take ultra-wide angle shots or bokeh shots I wasn’t too impressed. In comparison to the Galaxy M31, the Galaxy M21 pales in the camera department. For a change, though, the Galaxy M21’s 20MP front-camera surprisingly worked well both indoors and outdoors. The Galaxy M21 performs similarly to the Galaxy M31. I mean, both phones have a 6000mAh battery, identical processors and displays, and even the design is the same. What the Galaxy M21 noticeably lacks, however, is a camera that’s not at par to the Galaxy M31. Still, there’s a lot to love about the Galaxy M21. For those who are still using old Galaxy phones like the Galaxy J2, I think the Galaxy M21 would make logical sense.

If you are on a tight budget and looking for a phone that can pull off day-to-day tasks with minimal effort, Samsung M21 is the one for you. About three months ago, I have bought 6GB, 128 GB variant and my experience with this device is quite surprising I should say. What is exceptional in this device is its Super AMOLED display. Although Samsung displays are said to be the best in the business, it is quite generous that they bought this display into budget phone category which no other phone in the market in this price range offers. Exynos 9611 processor is not bad. It can pull of your regular tasks with ease and provides you a hassle-free experience. The major drawback however, in this processor is that it is not good for hard core gaming. However I have been playing big games like PUBG: Mobile and Call of Duty: Mobile for quite a while in this phone and I have observed some serious frame drops and stutter. In low graphic settings however, it performs well and surprisingly it gives you upto 45FPS! Battery life is good but not as good as I expected from a whopping 6000mAh capacity. It gives a typical 1 day under extreme usage and upto 2 days under normal usage. Camera is also pretty decent with good focusing, edge detection and colour reproduction. Samsung's image processing technology still needs a lot of improvements though (Time consuming). Talking about the drawbacks in this phone, we should first talk about the build quality. Samsung M21 comes with a plastic body which is way too sensitive to scratches and smudges due to a mere rubber or hard case. Ofcourse, it would be greedy if I expect a premium quality build in budget segment. But the quality of plastic can always be improved. The one most irritating thing in this phone is it's finger print sensor. If you're hands are just a little bit sweaty, you're a complete stranger to your phone. It's poor detection of fingerprints can be quite frustrating when you're in the middle of something and the phone doesn't open up. Apart from that, it's quite a good phone. If you are planning to buy Samsung M21, I suggest you to go with 6GB variant as the RAM management is better in 6GB variant that in 4GB one. Overall, this is the best phone in this price range with stunning display and surprisingly good performance and it is quite sad to see that this is the last phone in quite a lot of time that offers this sort of features including sAMOLED display under this price range. A definitely good value for money, indeed.