Summary
- The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s durability test by YouTuber JerryRigEverything highlights the inclusion of metal camera rings that can be pried open with minimal force.
- We also learn that the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s S Pen stylus contains a battery slot despite not featuring a battery inside.
- Samsung’s decision to use Gorilla Armor 2 may have improved scratch resistance, though it appears to scratch more easily than the first-gen Gorilla Glass Armor in some situations.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is one of the best Android smartphones you can get right now, with the device currently up on pre-order. Any new phone launch is followed by the usual suite of marketing and hype about the tech it has to offer. But one aspect that almost every smartphone nerd looks forward to is the durability test by JerryRigEverything, a.k.a. Zack Nelson, on YouTube. As is the norm with any new arrival, Nelson took Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra through its paces in a durability test.
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While there’s plenty of praise for the device’s overall build quality, which appears to be on par with last year’s model for the most part, the display appears to scratch more easily, per Nelson. However, the highlight of this brief durability test is the less-discussed metal rings surrounding the rear camera lenses.
Nelson mentions these rings a couple of times in the video, saying how it’s glued to the surface and not a part of the body or the camera frame in any way. There’s a visible gap between the body of the phone and these rings, which, as Nelson rightly puts it, makes for “dust-collecting utopias” on the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
We also get a good look at the insides of the S Pen stylus, which curiously still has a battery slot in place, despite the company’s controversial decision not to include a battery or Bluetooth support.
Nelson demonstrates how easily these metal rings can be removed from their slots using a knife. But it’s pointed out that these rings will never likely pop off on their own during everyday use, given that they’re glued together. However, it’s safe to say that you should be able to pry them out if you try.
Titanium frame, except for the buttons
Nelson also points to a small note on the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s product page, which states that “titanium is only applied on the device frame,” adding that this doesn’t include the volume and side keys. The difference in the quality of materials is quite apparent when you hear how the knife scratches against the buttons versus the rest of the frame.
Interestingly, the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s Gorilla Armor 2 appears to scratch more easily at level six compared to the Galaxy S24 Ultra while showing “deeper grooves” at level seven. The reasoning behind this is unclear, but Nelson speculates that the glass may have been “a tad too brittle” on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and Samsung could have “dialed it back” with Gorilla Armor 2. We should hear from Samsung on this front imminently.
As for the good news, the Galaxy S25 Ultra managed to survive the JerryRigEverything bend test from both angles, which Nelson calls “just pure survival skills,” thus continuing the long tradition of Samsung phones surviving the bend test. Despite some of the design-related stumbles, there’s no denying that the Galaxy S25 Ultra is a stellar flagship worthy of being the top smartphone of the year, even though we’re only in February. What do you think?
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra leaves the Note-like design behind for the very first time. With flat edges, curved corners, and a massive 6.9-inch display, this is a modern flagship through and through — and yes, that S Pen is still here too.