The top member of the upcoming Galaxy S21 family, Galaxy S21 Ultra, will retain the basic display specifications of its predecessor, but bump the 120Hz refresh rate peak up to a 2K resolution. That's according to a new report from an established China-based industry insider close to Samsung's suppliers. In other words, 2021 will be yet another year in which Samsung won't be investing in 4K mobile displays, though the buttery-smooth 120Hz mode will now finally be available across all supported resolutions, up to 1440p.
As for the lack of a 4K display some always hope for, Sony has been experimenting in this niche for years with little effect. And given the current state of mobile VR, Samsung's motivation for moving beyond the QHD/2K territory remains pretty slim.
Samsung is ready for the 4K jump, the media industry isn't
In other words, given Samsung's overall leadership in the small-sized panel sector, it's pretty much a given that the media industry is the one that's holding us back from jumping to the world of mobile 4K, in a manner of speaking. Because other than VR content, there's little practical reason to pay extra for 4K resolution support over QHD displays.
This particular report only concerns the Galaxy S21 Ultra, with the implication being that the Galaxy S21+ and the regular Galaxy S21 won't be able to do 2K at 120Hz. Either way, the new lineup is expected to launch in January, slightly ahead of the traditional schedule, as Samsung scrambles to stage a strong start to the year following a pretty forgettable 2020, at least for the company's very own standards.
S21 U
2K＋120Hz pic.twitter.com/PawHEVD2jA— ICE UNIVERSE (@UniverseIce) November 7, 2020
