The Galaxy S26 Ultra might not rock the boat when it comes to its design, but there’s still plenty to like. From its semi-controversial Privacy Display to a slimmer, lighter chassis that goes a long way in making Samsung’s traditional phablet feel a little more pocket-friendly, anyone upgrading from a device more than a couple of generations old should notice more than a handful of upgrades. When it comes time to repair your Galaxy S26 Ultra, however, you might find yourself running into some familiar headaches.
The team at iFixit published their teardown of Samsung’s latest flagship this morning, and perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s a mixed bag. For every good aspect of the S26 Ultra’s repair process, there seems to be something equally frustrating. It’s definitely worth watching the full video below just to see for yourself as the device bouncing back and forth between introductory, user-friendly processes and Mission: Impossible-level dissembling skill levels.
iFixit does manage to give Samsung props for a handful of its design decisions, including an extremely easy process for replacing the battery thanks to a pull tab-based swaddle for releasing the cell. The USB-C charger port — held in by a couple of screws — and the combined camera module also earn props from iFixit’s Shahram Mokhtari, even if those sensors are buried further within the chassis than most amateur technicians would probably want to see.
It’s the rest of the experience that ends up souring Samsung’s repairability score, unfortunately. Anything that’s good about the rear-facing cameras disappears when you’re replacing the selfie cam because, as Mokhtari points out, it’s covered in so much glue that there’s a non-zero chance replacing it actually damaging your display panel. And speaking of the display panel, if you crack your screen, you’re probably going to need something more professional than an at-home repair — it’s practically impossible to peel away from the device, even after a teardown.
Ultimately, Mokhtari and iFixit end up giving the Galaxy S26 Ultra a 5/10 “provisional” score for repairability, noting that they’d raise it to a Pixel 10-matching 6/10 should Samsung ever get serious about its replacement part storefront. That’s something iFixit has been criticizing Samsung over for years now, even ending their partnership back in 2024 after calling into question the smartphone maker’s commitment to actually pursuing repairability.
One piece of bonus information this teardown revealed: Samsung has redesigned the internals of its S Pen this year, after having simply removed its Bluetooth chipset on the S25 while leaving the actual circuitry untouched. Count that as more proof that Air Actions aren’t set to make a comeback anytime soon.
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