The Samsung Galaxy S21 family of devices is well on its way and there’s an overwhelming amount of leaks saying it’ll drop this January. Wow, that’s next month, how time flies, eh?!
In any case, if you are itching to get one of Samsung’s newest flagship phones, there are decisions to be made… Namely, do you go for the Galaxy S21, S21+, or the big boy — the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Then, which color should you pick? And last — but not least — how much storage do you need on the Galaxy S21?
Samsung Galaxy S21 storage options
There is some ambiguity here as leaks seem to be in conflict — and the information is coming from pretty solid leaksters, too.
See, some say that the Galaxy S21 will start off with a minimum of 128 GB of storage. Then, you will have a choice of 256 GB and up to 512 GB for the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Another leak says the minimum will be 256 GB with a 512 GB option available for the S21 Ultra.
The common belief right now is that both of these statements are correct. It’s just that the Galaxy S21 line in Europe will have all three tiers — 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB, while the USA models will only have the 256 GB and 512 GB choices. We’ll have to wait and see if that affects prices in any substantial way.
| Galaxy S20 | Galaxy S20+ | Galaxy S20 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storage options USA | 256 GB | 256 GB | 256 GB / 512 GB |
| Storage options EU | 128 GB / 256 GB | 128 GB / 256 GB | 128 GB / 256 GB / 512 GB |
How much storage do I need on Galaxy S21?
In all honesty, even a 128 GB storage chip is plenty for most users nowadays. The only thing that threatens you to reach that “storage full” message is a large amount of photos and 4K clips. This is usually alleviated by cloud backup services, but now that Google is about to end the free backup option for Google Photos, you may need to be a bit more careful with your shutter finger.
Power users can definitely fill out that 128 GB storage with tons of games, apps, and 4K clips. Not to mention, if you use the DeX (using your phone as a desktop PC) feature to its full potential, you’ll have plenty of files floating around either. So, 256 GB might be the smarter choice if you consider yourself a person glued to their phone.
In any case, if you happen to miscalculate your needs and buy less storage than you need, the Galaxy S21 series do offer microSD card slots for storage expansion. Now, this isn’t going to be as fast or as smooth as using the phone’s internal storage, but it’s still a perfectly good option to enhance a phone’s usability and longevity.
Then, there’s the 512 GB option. Do we need that? I honestly can’t imagine the type of work a person does on their phone to need that much storage. Maybe using the Galaxy S21 Ultra as their exclusive device for 4K video editing? In any case, it’s there to give you extreme peace of mind and maybe for some extra bragging rights. Stick a 512 GB microSD card in there and you have a phone with 1 TB of storage. That’s just bonkers.
