Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S21 series has already been featured in several concepts and leaked mockups. Now that we’re getting closer to the January launch, the protective cases for the Samsung Galaxy S21 have popped up on the web — not hands-on photos we typically see leaked, but more CAD renders.
It started with the Galaxy S9, and Samsung’s camera plates have been growing bigger every generation. In the new Galaxy S21, the camera not only takes up the top half of the phone but melts into the frame, enveloping the edges. You may love or hate the aesthetic (it is head-turning and not in any way recycled), but it poses a glaring design flaw — made even more apparent when you slap a case on the phone.
The protective cases shared by the phone leaker, IceUniverse, lop off the part that covers the chassis around the camera. In that corner, the cover can’t offer any protection from scratches or drops since a part of it is always exposed. Unless Samsung builds damage resistance into the housing, the design choice isn’t practical.
If you go by this leak, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra edition features four cameras, not five, as some rumors had claimed. You can make out three standard cameras, an LED flash, and a dedicated periscope-style telephoto lens. The standard S21 has three, just like this year’s model. As for the specs of the upcoming addition to the Samsung price list, it’ll be hard to top the optics hardware the current S20 Ultra has.
Speculation points to the return of the 108MP primary camera, but naturally, you can expect better image-processing and tweaks for the autofocus bugs that plagued the Exynos Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra variants. On that note, leaked benchmark scores suggest that the new Exynos chipsets might finally compete with Qualcomm’s processors. Granted, the Exynos name doesn’t have a great track record, but Samsung might surprise us after all.