It is now only a matter of time before we hear an announcement from Samsung about the Galaxy S21 launch. The upcoming Galaxy flagships are expected to go official next month. In the meantime, the devices keep popping up on the internet now and then, often revealing some spec details.
Most recently, a variant of the Galaxy S21 with the model number SM-G991U has been spotted on the benchmarking website Geekbench. The device is running on a chipset codenamed Lahaina. This is the codename Qualcomm uses for its recently-launched Snapdragon 888 processor. It is an octa-core processor with a base frequency of 1.8GHz.
Qualcomm unveiled the new flagship mobile SoC earlier this week. The chip-making giant also put up a list of companies that would be using the new chipset in the coming months. While almost all big and small OEMs were featured on that list, Samsung was mysteriously missing from it.
This gave rise to speculations that the Korean giant could be going all out with the upcoming Exynos 2100 processor in the Galaxy S21 series. However, that seemingly isn’t the case and we will see Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S21 units as well. The company could switch back to Exynos processors in its home country though, now that it seems to have closed the performance gap with Snapdragon counterparts.
The Geekbench listing also reveals 8GB of RAM and Android 11 operating system. The phone scored 1,075 in single-core tests and 2,916 in multi-core tests.
Galaxy S21 spotted on Geekbench ahead of launch
Samsung is preparing to launch three models of the Galaxy S21 series. As usual, there’s the vanilla Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+ (Plus), and Galaxy S21 Ultra. The model number SM-G991U should correspond to the base model intended for the US market.
This device will likely feature a 6.2-inch Super AMOLED punch hole (Infinity-O) display with a 120Hz refresh rate and Full HD+ resolution. The phone should be packing the Snapdragon 888 processor in markets like the US and China. It should get the upcoming Exynos 2100 chipset elsewhere.
Although the Geekbench listing only reveals 8GB of RAM, there should be a 12GB variant as well. Samsung will likely offer the phone in 128GB and 256GB storage, with a dedicated micro SD card slot.
A triple rear-camera setup, an in-display fingerprint sensor, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, a 4,000mAh battery, wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging are also a part of the package. The Galaxy S21 will support both mmWave and sub-6 5G networks worldwide.