This week, Samsung was the first retailer of the year to launch a new collection of handsets and now, Samsung Galaxy S21 deals and the larger Plus and Ultra are now available to pre-order.
However, like many other pre-order periods, Samsung’s latest devices are holding some pretty high prices, especially when you look into getting these handsets on a contract.
With that in mind, if you’ve got some cash to spend upfront, the overall cheapest way to get any three of these handsets is to go SIM-free. All three options are actually cheaper than last year’s Samsung S20 deals, making SIM-free a great option to make the most of these lowered prices.
Go for the S21 – the cheapest of the three – and you’ll end up paying £769. The larger S21 Plus comes in at £999 and Samsung S21 Ultra deals come in at £1149. While those are all expensive starting prices, it will be far cheaper than a two year contract.
Once you buy the handset, you can simply invest in cheap SIM only deals to keep your costs down low. Below we’ve listed the best places to buy SIM-free S21 contracts and our top SIM only plans.
Where can you buy the Samsung Galaxy S21 SIM-free?
What are the best SIM only deals to use?
When it comes to choosing the SIM plan you want to use in your Samsung Galaxy S21, there is an important factor to consider – the device’s 5G nature. Not all SIM providers are able to provide 5G connections right now.
If you do choose a network that isn’t 5G compatible, it will still work in your Samsung Galaxy S21, Plus or Ultra, it just won’t be able to connect to 5G speeds. Luckily, a lot of the 4G SIMs are on 1-month contracts so when 5G is a bit more… reliable, you can ditch it and pick up a 5G SIM.
SIM only plan from Voxi | 1 month rolling | 15GB data | Unlimited calls and texts | £15 per month
Voxi will be the perfect option for anyone who wants 5G connections… and spends a lot of time on social media. With this plan, your SIM is 5G ready and you won’t use up any data on social media apps including Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram or on streaming apps like Netflix and YouTube. All of that comes with 15GB of data for just £15 a month.
5G compatible SIMView Deal
SIM only deal: at Smarty | 1 month rolling | 30GB data | Unlimited calls and texts | £10 per month
Smarty is a lesser-known brand in the world of SIM only deals but it uses the Three network while charging some low prices. With this deal you’re getting 50GB of data for just £15 a month. That’s going to be plenty for HD Netflix streaming, lots of gaming and more. And, Smarty works on 1-month rolling SIM so you can leave at any time.
Not a 5G compatible SIMView Deal
SIM only deal: at EE | 24 months | 120GB data | Unlimited calls and texts | £20
As the fastest 4G network and the leaders in 5G, EE is a network a lot of people want to be on. With this deal, you’re paying just £20 a month while getting 120GB of data. While that isn’t the cheapest plan out there, it is easily the best option available on the EE network right now.
5G compatible SIMView Deal
What are the Samsung Galaxy S21 devices like?
Samsung Galaxy S21:
The cheapest of the three handsets, the S21 is a 5G handset at a price that rivals the iPhone 12 and is much cheaper than the S20 was on launch.
Despite that lower price tag, you’re getting Samsung’s new Exynos 2100 processor. That’s a super powerful chip powering Samsung’s already impressive camera software and operating system.
The camera is an incremental upgrade on what the S20 provided, boosting the 8K video software, super steady video and an improved 60fps ‘Director’s View’. Thanks to the new processor, the cameras AI software is working better than ever.
However, Samsung hasn’t managed to improve the battery capacity which could prove a problem with all of this new software.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus:
Sitting in the middle of these three handsets, the Samsung S21 Plus blends higher-end specs with a still affordable price tag. Most noticeably the difference between the regular S21 and Plus comes in the battery and screen size.
The battery capacity leaps up to 4800mAh and the screen up to 6.7-inches – a considerable improvement on the above. However, in most categories, these two handsets are very similar with almost identical cameras and screens.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra:
As the most expensive of the three handsets by quite a way, it is no surprise that the S21 Ultra provides a significant improvement in specs over its two smaller brothers above.
Like the two above, it features the new Exynos 2100 processor but unlike the two above, it jumps the screen size all the way up to a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display.
With this, users no longer have to choose between 120Hz refresh rate or Quad HD+ quality – an impressive feat to run both. The screen brightness is also 25% brighter than the two handsets above.
The battery kicks in at a mammoth 5000mAh and the rear quad camera set-up features a new 108MP pro sensor with 64x richer colour. You can also shoot in 4K at 60fps, a feature to compete with Apple’s impressive camera tech.
Most interestingly, the Ultra is the first Samsung phone outside of the Note series to allow S pen stylus compatibility – although you’ll have to fork out even more money to get it!