Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Light and shadow in drop test and teardown
One of the less noticed changes in the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra compared to the Galaxy S25 Ultra is the switch from a titanium to an aluminum frame. This change naturally raises questions about durability, and PBKreviews has published its well-known drop test video to show how Samsung’s latest top flagship performs.
Apart from the different frame material, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra features rounded corners and a more exposed camera unit than last year’s model. Like its predecessor, it uses the same Corning Gorilla Armor 2 protection for the display and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the back.
The first fall caused visible damage to the left frame, but the screen remained intact. On the second fall, the glass in front of the phone’s 5x telephoto lens broke.
The lens glass shatters completely after the third drop, and the frame shows additional scratches. In summary, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra fares somewhat worse in drop tests than the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but remains fully functional nonetheless.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra teardown
In addition to the drop test, PBKreviews also published its teardown video of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, which gives us a look inside the phone.
The internal components look almost identical to last year’s model, which isn’t surprising. Disassembly is also essentially the same as last year. Once we reach the motherboard, we see that Samsung has used more thermal paste on the back to improve heat management.
We also see the newly designed steam chamber of the Galaxy phone, which appears to be the same size as the S25 Ultra, but has a slightly different shape.
Unsurprisingly, the repairability rating is 9/10 points, just like its predecessor last year.
