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Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Teardown Video Reveals Repairability Score; Falls Behind the iPhone 17 Pro

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Teardown Video Reveals Repairability Score; Falls Behind the iPhone 17 Pro

While the battery and rear camera are easier to replace, iFixit notes that the Galaxy S26 Ultra's screen remains a challenge to remove.

Written by Nithya P Nair, Edited by Ketan Pratap | Updated: 25 March 2026 12:24 IST

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Teardown Video Reveals Repairability Score; Falls Behind the iPhone 17 Pro

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra runs on a custom Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset

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Highlights

iFixit published a teardown video of the Galaxy S26 Ultra
Removing the rear panel, battery, and USB Type-C port appears to be easy
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro scored a seven out of ten

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra was launched at the Galaxy Unpacked event last month alongside the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ models. The new Ultra flagship came with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset and a 5,000mAh battery with support for 60W wired fast charging and 25W wireless charging. iFixit has now posted a teardown video of the Galaxy S26 Ultra to rate its repairability. The handset appears to have an easily replaceable battery and a rear camera setup. The teardown highlights how difficult it is to remove the display and selfie shooter.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Teardown

The iFixit team begins its over eight-minute teardown of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra by heating the adhesive and removing the back panel. The team states that the handset can be opened from only one side, and that the display connector is accessible only through the back. To reach the battery, the team removes the lower speaker and disconnects the interconnect cables trapped underneath. The video states that removing the battery is straightforward.

After taking out the battery, the teardown shifts focus to the removal of the USB Type-C port, which appears to be hassle-free. For accessing the rear camera system, the team removed the mainboard and detached it from underneath by reapplying thermal paste. The back camera module, including a 200-megapixel wide-angle primary sensor, a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto camera, a 50-megapixel ultrawide lens, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera, was easy to access.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs iPhone 17 Pro Max: Price, Features Compared

The video shows the mainboard with a PCB sandwich design housing the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, along with Qualcomm's X85 5G modem and 12GB of RAM in the 256GB variant. The selfie camera is said to be glued in place, making it difficult to remove even after applying heat.

As per the teardown video, the display is the hardest component to remove from the Galaxy S26 Ultra. The team applies 110-degree Celsius heat and uses a heavy suction cup to remove the front panel, but it requires significant effort.

In the end, the video assigns a repairability score of five out of 10 for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. iFixit notes that if Samsung sorts out its abysmal replacement parts and manuals experience, the score would be six, bringing it on par with the Pixel 10 and below the latest iPhone 17 models. Last year, iFixit scored the Galaxy S25 Ultra five out of ten. However, Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air scored a seven out of ten, making it the clear winner.

Samsung Galaxy A37 5G, Galaxy A57 5G Roundup: Expected Price, Specifications

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is priced at Rs. 1,39,999 for the base 12GB + 256GB RAM and storage variant. It has a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display and a 5,000mAh battery with support for 60W wired fast charging and 25W wireless charging. It runs on a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.90-inch

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 200-megapixel + 50-megapixel + 50-megapixel + 10-megapixel

RAM 12GB, 16GB

Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1024GB

Battery Capacity 5000mAh

OS Android 16

Resolution 1,440x3,120 pixels

More Samsung mobiles Samsung mobiles price in India

iPhone 17 Pro

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.30-inch

Processor Apple A19 Pro

Front Camera 18-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 48-megapixel + 48-megapixel

RAM 12GB

Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OS iOS 26

Resolution 1206x2622 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

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Further reading: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Specifications, Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Repairability Score, Samsung G, iFixit

Nithya P Nair

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Nithya P Nair is a journalist with more than five years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in business and technology beats. A foodie at heart, Nithya loves exploring new places (read cuisines) and sneaking in Malayalam movie dialogues to spice up conversations. More