Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra test shows improved durability

Samsung’s latest smartphones are finally available in Canada, but if you’re curious how durable they are, we’ve got just the thing for you.

YouTuber Zack Nelson of JerryRigEverything has published a durability test for Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra, putting the phone through its paces with scratch and bend tests. Not only does the S26 Ultra hold up surprisingly well, Nelson noted several improvements over the S25 Ultra.

One of Nelson’s tests involves scratching the screen with picks representing different levels of the Mohs hardness scale. Typically, phone screens start to show light scratches around level six, and deeper grooves at level seven.

However, Nelson noticed that on the S26 Ultra, the level six scratches were much harder to spot despite using the same Corning Gorilla Armor 2 glass as before. Nelson suggests Corning may have tweaked its glass or coating to better resist scratches at this level. Also of note here is that the under-display fingerprint reader continued to work even after Nelson hit it with level seven scratches.

The next big durability change on the S26 Ultra is with the cameras on the back. Nelson pointed out that last year, the camera rings were simply glued on and could pop off during stress tests.

But with the S26 Ultra, the rings seem to be more secure. They can still be removed with some force, but the rings come off with the protective glass that covers the camera lens. That likely means if you break the glass on one of the cameras, it will be easier (and hopefully cheaper) to replace.

Some other notable details from Nelson’s testing include the aluminum frame. While for some it might seem like a downgrade from last year’s titanium frame, the S26 Ultra held up incredibly well in Nelson’s bend test with no cracks or major bending.

Along with scratches, Nelson held a lighter flame to the S26 Ultra screen for about 20 seconds, but there was no lasting damage from that. Overall, it looks like the screen and phone are pretty durable — that should alleviate any concerns that the fancy new Privacy Display feature introduced new weaknesses.

Speaking of Privacy Display, Nelson took some time to show off the new feature and how it works, including showing it in operation under a microscope.

Per Nelson’s measurements, maximum Privacy Display should block out unwanted eyes at a 45-degree angle, compared to no Privacy Display, which has a viewability angle of about 80 degrees. While that’s great, Nelson also showed how dim the S26 Ultra screen gets while using Privacy Display, which might turn some people off from the feature.