Samsung to unpack Galaxy S21 on Jan. 14 with a focus on the cameras

An image of Samsung Electronics' media invitation for Galaxy Unpacked 2021. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics will unveil its next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S21, in an Unpacked event on Jan. 14.

The electronics maker sent out media invitations for the Galaxy Unpacked event on Monday, including the official date. The event will be aired live online via Samsung’s official website and YouTube account at 10 a.m. Jan. 14, New York time. or 12 a.m. Jan. 15 in Korea.

This is the second Galaxy Unpacked event to be held online since the coronavirus pandemic broke out last year.

Samsung does not confirm any rumors or details of its devices ahead of Unpacked events. Its invitations, however, always contain a hint about the new device.

This year, the focus is on cameras.

A blurred image on the Unpacked invitation shows what appears to be a camera module with three cameras stacked vertically. It is the same shape as the rear camera module seen in images claimed to be leaked photos of the Galaxy S21.

The previous Galaxy S20 included a rectangular camera module — a design that consumers joked looked a bit like a hob.

According to local and foreign media reports, the next Galaxy is expected to come in three size variations: The 6.2 inch Galaxy S21, 6.7 inch Galaxy S21 Plus and the 6.8 inch Galaxy S21 Ultra. The largest option, the Galaxy S21 Ultra, is rumored to be the first smartphone in the Galaxy S range to come with a stylus pen, which until now was a feature reserved for the Note phablets.

In an article posted on the company’s website, Roh Tae-mun, Samsung Electronics president and mobile business unit head, hinted that the Galaxy S would adopt the stylus pen by saying the company would expand the “favorite aspects of the Galaxy Note” to other devices.

The first Unpacked event for 2021 also comes ahead of Samsung’s normal schedule, which typically sees Galaxy S devices unveiled in February. Industry watchers’ guess is that the new update was motivated by the success of rival Apple’s first 5G phone, the iPhone 12.

In the 2020 5G phone market, research firm Strategy Analytics predicted that Apple had outpaced Samsung, taking second place with 19.2 percent, behind Huawei. Samsung’s market share estimate stood at 15.1 percent.

In the entire smartphone market, the Korean electronics maker had succeeded to maintain the world’s No. 1 spot but saw its market share fall to 19.5 percent, dipping below the 20 percent threshold for the first time since 2011. Apple, on the other hand, expanded its foothold to 15.5 percent and passed Huawei to take second place.

BY SONG KYOUNG-SON [song.kyoungson@joongang.co.kr]