Early this morning Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S21 series phones, and alongside all of the improvements it made to the camera system and other features, Samsung is once again positioning its flagship device as the best phone for everyday mobile gaming.
But, is the Galaxy S21 really now the best phone for everyday mobile gaming? And does everyday mobile gaming mean more casual mobile gaming or is hardcore mobile gaming included in the mix?
To answer the latter question, Samsung likely means any and all mobile gaming. Not just your casual games that most consider nothing more than a good option for killing time. A good indicator of that was Samsung’s presentation of games like League Of Legends: Wild Rift and services like Xbox Game Pass on the Galaxy S21 during Unpacked.
So it’s a safe bet that Samsung is stating its three newest devices are a mobile gamer’s best option. And it might not be wrong. Let’s unpack that.
The Galaxy S21 has the necessary hardware for advanced mobile gaming performance
For starters, the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra are all equipped with the necessary hardware to be mobile gaming powerhouses. At least, the models in the US are as those come with the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform from Qualcomm.
In addition to that, if you go with the Galaxy S21 Ultra, you get options for either 12GB or 16GB of RAM. Which is equivalent to what all the recent top-tier gaming phones (like the ROG Phone 3) are offering.
The other two models only come with 8GB, but they still have a powerful mobile platform handling computing and graphics. So they should be just fine.
Samsung also included a QHD+ screen with adaptive refresh rate that goes up to 120Hz on the Galaxy S21 Ultra. And unlike last year’s Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, you don’t have to choose between the 120Hz or the QHD+ screen. The Galaxy S21 Ultra lets you do both. So, visually, games are going to look great.
It’s 5G capable, so it’s ready for cloud gaming
True 5G, at the speeds that everyone is wanting, is not really available very widely. Or at all. However, the Galaxy S21 series is 5G capable so when the wide rollouts of true 5G start happening, all three phones are ready to deliver the best on the go experiences for online mobile gaming.
Samsung is leveraging this capability by continuing its partnership with Microsoft and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. The Game Pass app comes pre-installed on the Galaxy S21. Meaning if you’re already a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber, all you have to do is launch the app and sing in and you’ll be playing games over the cloud in no time.
Provided your phone has an internet connection of course.
The Galaxy S21 comes with a gaming feature called Adaptive Performance
Samsung worked with Unity to develop a feature specifically for the Galaxy S21 called Adaptive Performance. Samsung says this helps the graphics get better, while the gameplay gets faster (Samsung is probably referring to a faster frame rate for smoother gameplay), and the phone stays cooler while all this is happening.
While we’ll personally reserve any judgment until these things can be tested, it all sounds very enticing. Having played graphically demanding games on phones like the ROG Phone II and the Legion Phone Duel, phones can get really hot.
So hot they get less comfortable to hold. Based on Samsung’s bold claims here, the Galaxy S21 series phones will be able to deliver peak performance while staying cooler. What the company doesn’t mention is whether or not the phones stay cooler than competition, or its own past devices.
Which is kind of an important distinction. Regardless of that though, the Galaxy S21 series should be very capable mobile gaming devices. Though the Galaxy S21 Ultra with 16GB of RAM is the best variant of all of them.
Game Booster is still here and better than ever
Samsung’s Game Booster is still around. And it’s better than ever to help you get the most out of your mobile gaming experience.
From Discord integration (which Samsung introduced last year) to ensuring you won’t be disturbed by incoming notifications, Game Booster gives the device that little bit of something extra during your gaming sessions.
And with all the new hardware and features on board, mobile gaming is looking better than ever.
Obviously, this doesn’t really give a definitive answer as to whether or not the Galaxy S21 is now the best phone for mobile gaming. But it certainly is going to be an excellent option.