iFixit is bringing us a fresh teardown this week for the new Galaxy S26 Ultra. If you’re someone who enjoys doing self repairs, tinkers with their phones, or is just curious about the overall repairability of your device, this is insightful stuff to read.
Thanks to this teardown, we’re learning that replacing the screen on this device is not something you’ll want to have to do and it will not be cheap. While props were given to Samsung’s innovating Privacy Display, the actual process of repairing/replacing the screen sounds like a tinkerer’s nightmare.
On the bright side, iFixit says replacing the battery and charging port is relatively painless, so that’s good. Much was said about the parts experience, too. For example, buying a replacement screen might also mean purchasing an entire assembly, which would then include an unneeded battery. As a company that seems to want to reduce waste, making a specific part hard to acquire without getting another part seems hypocritical.
Here’s a part from iFixit’s conclusion that I appreciated.
A great battery pull and a well-behaved charge port do not erase a brutal screen repair. A solid manual does not fix a lousy parts experience. Those contradictions define the S26 Ultra. It is an impressive flagship with a few genuinely thoughtful repair choices, paired with a handful of decisions that still make common fixes harder, riskier, and more expensive than they should be.
Score wise, Galaxy S26 Ultra snagged a 5 out of 10. Pretty mediocre, but par for the course.
If you picked up the new S26 Ultra or plan to, follow the link below for the full teardown. There’s some real quality info in there.
// iFixit
