S21 or S21+?

[Android Central Question]

Hello all,

I have an S9+ 128GB (with 64GB) SD card. They're both almost full, I was clearing out storage (4gb free on phone, and 12gb on the sd card atm), but I think it's pretty much done for. It kept saying earlier in the year the battery is deteriorating, and Samsung store won't replace it. Now the screen flickers a blinding white light, and gets extremely hot when it does it.

I've decided to just get the latest phone, since it's future proof (for at least 2 years). I'm doing monthly payments because I've recently lost my job due to covid, and I can only afford the monthly pay.

Basically I can get:
S21 128GB - £699
S21 256GB - £799
S21+ 128GB - £849
S21+ 256GB - £899

I ended up going with the S21 256 GB, but I have the choice to change if need be. Ultra is out of the question, due to it being out of my budget on monthly pay.

I also have an S8 64gb my sister had given me, but it does have a cracked screen, not sure if it has any other damages, and the storage is really low.

Short version:

Is the S21+ worth the extra money over the regular?

Thanks

 

[mustang7757]

If you couldn't get the ultra I would of chose the s21+ with 256gb


I'll leave a Link to register so you can communicate here as a guest account you can only post questions but can't reply

https://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=409154

 

[Zakjoe1234]

Ah I managed to get in again lol.

Yeah I had ordered the S21+ and changed it at last minute. My phone comes tomorrow, and currently using a 64gb S8+ temporarily for now.

I was wondering if going for the regular was worth it.

I had seen someone reviewing them, and the plus screen looked washed out compared to the regular but it could have just been that particular handset.

 

[Zakjoe1234]

Sorry for double post, but also, are the standard USB-A to USB-C Charger sufficient?

I have a battery pack that I use also when traveling, so I'd rather just use the same wires.

 

[mustang7757]

Hi, welcome to AC !

Yeah the USB-A to USB-C will work but to get maximum charging speed get the USB-C to USB-C PD cable and charging brick .

 

[mustang7757]

[Moved this to the s21 forums]

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

If you're skint at the moment, maybe something like an S20FE might be a better choice? Or even an A series?

 

[Zakjoe1234]

Hi, welcome to AC !

Yeah the USB-A to USB-C will work but to get maximum charging speed get the USB-C to USB-C PD cable and charging brick .

If I stick with it, maybe later down the line I'll get it. Possibly just for indoors. I currently have quite a few of the older plugs and USB-A to USB-C wires, along with 2 wireless charging docks. Just a bit of a bump to buy em all again.

If you're skint at the moment, maybe something like an S20FE might be a better choice? Or even an A series?

Currently looking as I read this lol.

It's a bit of a weird one, I'm just looking at reviews right now as I type this.

Some don't like the removal of the SD Card Slot, and no plug coming with the device.
Some also say the plus isn't worth it, just the regular or ultra.

I was happy with the S9+ (128GB + 64GB SD) but the screen is gone, it goes off, and when it does come on it flashes a blinding white light continuously, and overheating. I was gonna try and get it repaired later down the line, but I used to have messages saying the battery was also deteriorating. Maybe the device just isn't safe to use.

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

If I stick with it, maybe later down the line I'll get it. Possibly just for indoors. I currently have quite a few of the older plugs and USB-A to USB-C wires, along with 2 wireless charging docks. Just a bit of a bump to buy em all again.



Currently looking as I read this lol.

It's a bit of a weird one, I'm just looking at reviews right now as I type this.

Some don't like the removal of the SD Card Slot, and no plug coming with the device.
Some also say the plus isn't worth it, just the regular or ultra.

I was happy with the S9+ (128GB + 64GB SD) but the screen is gone, it goes off, and when it does come on it flashes a blinding white light continuously, and overheating. I was gonna try and get it repaired later down the line, but I used to have messages saying the battery was also deteriorating. Maybe the device just isn't safe to use.

Sounds like the S9+ is definitely on its way out.

 

[Zakjoe1234]

Sounds like the S9+ is definitely on its way out.

Kinda annoying, cause it was perfect until then. Just needed to clear my storage as it was only 2gb free on the phone.

I did plan to upgrade in 2 months time, and give it to a relative or something, guess I can't now. Couldn't even get the phone on a contract upgrade, as I renewed my sim only recently and have to wait 3 months lol.

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

Kinda annoying, cause it was perfect until then. Just needed to clear my storage as it was only 2gb free on the phone.

I did plan to upgrade in 2 months time, and give it to a relative or something, guess I can't now. Couldn't even get the phone on a contract upgrade, as I renewed my sim only recently and have to wait 3 months lol.

Sounds like a bit of a nightmare.

 

[Zakjoe1234]

Sounds like a bit of a nightmare.

A big one, I wasn't happy lol. Another reason I went with the cheaper option, although only £100.

I have another question, maybe best to keep in one thread.

As this phone hasn't got an SD card slot. I'm doing 2 backups via smart switch, the complete phone, and the sd card. So maybe about 180gb of storage to the 256gb phone (I'm actually in the process of deleting unnecessary pics/videos/screenshots before 1st June cause of Google Photos no longer being free).

ANOTHER issue is, that I can't backup the sd card slot on my phone cause the tray broke inside the phone and a piece if still stuck in it.
So I'm using my sister's phone to backup my sd card via smart switch.

If I restore the phone backup, and then sd card afterwards on smart switch, would the sd card backup overwrite the phone backup?

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

Just to let you know, all currently backed up photos and videos in Google Photos will remain free indefinitely it is only the new photos taken after the restrictions are in place will count towards storage.

I found the sd card smart switch worked better than backing up to Samsung cloud. But last time I restored my S10+ a few weeks ago I backed up to my iMac using smart switch and when it restored it was pretty good and complete.

I believe both backups may be stored on the computer if the sd card backup is added to the computer. And you can choose which to restore. But I have only done it once so don’t commit me to that. Perhaps @mustang7757 can tell you.

If you restore using the sd card and then restore again using the PC it will overwrite the first restore.

Dunno if anything I just said made any sense.

 

[Zakjoe1234]

Just to let you know, all currently backed up photos and videos in Google Photos will remain free indefinitely it is only the new photos taken after the restrictions are in place will count towards storage.

I found the sd card smart switch worked better than backing up to Samsung cloud. But last time I restored my S10+ a few weeks ago I backed up to my iMac using smart switch and when it restored it was pretty good and complete.

I believe both backups may be stored on the computer if the sd card backup is added to the computer. And you can choose which to restore. But I have only done it once so don’t commit me to that. Perhaps @mustang7757 can tell you.

If you restore using the sd card and then restore again using the PC it will overwrite the first restore.

Dunno if anything I just said made any sense.

Ah okay that makes sense.

I think to avoid overwriting, what I would do is:

Use the phone backup, and restore on my new phone.

Then insert my SD Card into the pc (or use my sister's phone again), and drag and drop onto my PC.

Then when the new phone is finished restoring, just create a folder called something like "SD Card backup", and copy and paste the SD Card backup in there. Do you think this would be the best idea?

Also I have so much crap on my phone, I'm not even sure what's backed up, and I have quite a lot of things I wanna keep, so I have to do the long process of checking it manually lmao. My Smart Switch said I had 58k photos, and that's not including the SD card lol (hoarding is bad).

 

[mustang7757]

Yeah Smart Switch probably be best for copy sd card and the phone data

 

[Zakjoe1234]

I had ended up copying and pasting the sd card data, as I thought it may overwrite the phone data I had restored.

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

I think the idea of saving the backup on the Pc is a good idea but Mustang knows more about it than me. I would definitely use the PC for my main switch though.

 

[mustang7757]

I had ended up copying and pasting the sd card data, as I thought it may overwrite the phone data I had restored.

On Samsung phones they have a restore point option but making multiple backups with smart switch on pc is way to go as sd card can get corrupt