Galaxy S26 Ultra passes the JRE torture test with few surprises

Samsung’s newest flagship phone just faced one of the internet’s toughest durability tests, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra came through with barely a scratch.

Popular YouTuber Zack Nelson from JerryRigEverything recently put Samsung’s new premium phone through his usual lineup of scratch, burn, and bend tests. The results show a phone that’s still unmistakably a Galaxy Ultra, but with a few subtle improvements that address durability concerns from previous models.

As expected, the S26 Ultra’s display begins to show light scratches at level 6 on the Mohs hardness scale, with deeper grooves appearing at level 7. That’s the same general result seen on most modern flagship phones.

Nelson did notice something interesting during the test. Even though the phone uses the same Corning Gorilla Armor 2 as before, the lighter level-6 scratches were much harder to spot. This hints that Corning may have made small changes to the coating or glass to help it resist wear better.

Another positive: the under-display fingerprint scanner still worked even after deeper scratches. In older phones, damage there could cause problems, so this shows Samsung’s biometric hardware is now more reliable.

Next was the classic flame test. Nelson held a lighter to the AMOLED screen for about 20 seconds. The pixels briefly reacted to the heat, which is normal, but the display bounced back with no lasting damage after the flame was gone.

One of the biggest design changes this year is the frame material. Samsung switched from the titanium frame on the Galaxy S25 Ultra to aluminum for the new model.

That might seem like a downgrade, but the bend test showed otherwise. Nelson pressed on both the front and back of the phone, and it kept its shape with no cracks or major bending. The chassis stayed solid.

The biggest improvement might actually be on the back. Last year’s Galaxy S25 Ultra was criticized because its camera rings were glued on and could pop off during stress tests.

Samsung appears to have changed that design on the S26 Ultra. During Nelson’s teardown, the rings could still be removed with force, but now they come off together with the protective glass covering the lenses. This means if the glass cracks, it could be replaced more easily and cheaply instead of needing a complicated repair.

JerryRigEverything tests are intentionally extreme, so they don’t reflect normal everyday use. But they’re useful for spotting design weaknesses, and this time, the Galaxy S26 Ultra holds up well.