Samsung Galaxy S21 leak just confirmed Snapdragon 888 and charging speed

(Image credit: Snoreyn/LetsGoDigital)

With the Samsung Galaxy S21 due to launch in about a month, it's not surprising to see information technology pop up in regulatory filings. What'due south exciting is that one of these filings has helped reveal some key specs.

Commencement spotted by Android Cardinal, an FCC record for a telephone believed to be the Milky way S21 confirms a couple of specs for the new Samsung flagship phone lineup. The biggest confirmation is that the chipset within the S21 volition indeed exist the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 888.

Samsung Galaxy S21 release appointment, price, specs and leaks
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The use of Qualcomm's latest flagship silicon isn't a surprise. Samsung e'er uses the latest and greatest Snapdragon scrap in its flagship phones, at least in the U.Southward.

Elsewhere, nosotros'll likely see Samsung's own Exynos 2100 chipset; the jury is still out on whether information technology will be slower than Qualcomm's new silicon, as is often the case, or if it volition evangelize a surprising amount of power thank you to a partnership with AMD.

What'southward notable about the Snapdragon 888 is it'll be Qualcomm's kickoff 5-nanometer chip, following in the footsteps of Apple'due south A14 Bionic. And through the apply of a CPU subsystem to exist based on the Arm Cortex-X1, the Snapdragon 888 is promising speeds that summit out at two.84GHz and a 25% boost in overall CPU functioning over the previous generation.

On the graphics side, the Snapdragon 888's Adreno 660 GPU is supposed to increase the speed of graphics rendering by 35% over final twelvemonth'south bit, with power efficiency improving by twenty%. The performance gain is the biggest yet for the Adreno GPU, Qualcomm says, which bodes well for gaming on the Galaxy S21 phones.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FCC filing — (Epitome credit: FCC/Android Fundamental)

Samsung Galaxy S21 25W charging revealed

The filing also mentions the Milky way S21's back up for 25W charging. This isn't surprising either, since it's what the Galaxy S20 supported by default. The Galaxy S20 Ultra can also utilise up to 45W charging if you buy a separate charging head capable of that wattage. And so nosotros tin can await that to be the instance with the Milky way S21.

Galaxy S21 FCC filing — (Image credit: FCC/Android Fundamental)

What is unlike this time around is that there may be no charging cake included in the S21'south box. We commencement saw Apple tree do this with the iPhone 12 and Apple Watch 6, and the decision was widely mocked, including by Samsung. Information technology now looks like Samsung will consume humble pie and is going to endeavour the aforementioned thing.

Nosotros also see mention of 9W reverse wireless charging support within the FCC certificate. Currently the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Note xx series are capable of delivering iv.5W to power up wirelessly chargeable peripherals similar the Galaxy Buds Live or Milky way Lookout 3. 9W would mean faster charging for new peripherals, such every bit the leaked Galaxy Buds Pro.

In that location are a lot of other Galaxy S21 specs that previous leaks have revealed. The design, including the unusual-looking photographic camera bump that flows over the edge of the phone, has been leaked several times. And from the looks of leaked 'official' teasers, information technology seems they're accurate.

We know that there will be three models, named Milky way S21, Milky way S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra. These have displays measuring 6.2 inches, 6.7 inches and 6.9 inches respectively, with all supporting a maximum 120Hz refresh rate. The base and Plus models are tipped to have an FHD+ resolution, but the Ultra will reportedly use a QHD console instead, which is too expected to have curved edges and potentially supports the utilise of an Due south Pen stylus like the Milky way Note xx.

For rear cameras, the Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus will have 12MP main, 12MP wide and 64MP 3x telephoto sensors. The S21 Ultra gets a lot more, swapping the main sensor for a huge 108MP i, and the 64MP telephoto for a pair of 10MP sensors, ane capable of 3x zoom and the other of 10x zoom.

Rumors for the S21's release result have claimed it volition accept place next calendar month, with January fourteen, 2021 beingness the most likely day. That'south earlier than the Galaxy S20's February release was, which is likely a reaction to late-2020 releases like the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro or OnePlus 8T.

Richard is a Tom's Guide staff writer based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, gaming, sound and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the Academy of Sheffield, he'south too written for WIRED U.G., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking well-nigh how to brew the perfect loving cup of specialty coffee.