Galaxy S26 Ultra Durability Test Shows Key Improvements

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is Samsung’s most advanced phone yet, packed with powerful hardware and premium materials. The device recently went through durability tests to see how well it can handle scratches, heat, and bending. The results show meaningful improvements in the phone’s strength and reliability.

Galaxy S26 Ultra survives scratch, heat, and bend tests

Popular YouTuber Zack Nelson of JerryRigEverything recently put the Galaxy S26 Ultra through his well-known durability test. During the screen scratch test, we can see light scratches at a level six and deeper grooves at a level seven. What’s surprising is that despite using the same Corning Gorilla Armor 2 as the predecessor, the level six scratches are much harder to notice this time.

Nelson believes Corning may have slightly tweaked Gorilla Armor 2, making it more resistant to visible scratches. During testing of the under-display ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, it worked well on deeper level seven scratches. This suggests the company has made the sensor more reliable in its latest flagship phone.

Nelson also tested heat resistance by exposing the screen to a lighter flame for about 20 seconds. The pixels showed no permanent damage, suggesting the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s AMOLED display can withstand extreme heat for short periods.

While the phone uses an aluminum frame instead of the titanium frame seen on its predecessor, it still performed well in the bend test. When the YouTuber applied pressure (both the front and the back), the phone maintained its structural integrity.

Improved camera lens protection

With the Galaxy S25 Ultra, there were durability concerns as Samsung appeared to use glue to attach the rings around the camera lenses, which sometimes caused the lens covers to pop off easily. This year, the company seems to have addressed that issue on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. The phone features a raised rear camera bump that houses all the lenses.

During the test, the rings could still be removed, but the rings came off together with the protective glass still intact. This means that if the glass on one of the camera lenses cracks, you can easily replace it at a much lower cost.

All in all, Samsung has done a good job with durability on its Galaxy S26 Ultra. Planning to buy the device? Don’t forget to claim two free accessories (details here).