Galaxy S25 Ultra is easy to break - and the 'most repairable' Samsung flagship in years

Smartphones, by design, are fragile. There's often glass on both sides sandwiching delicate electronics. No matter how much science you throw at it, glass is still glass -- and has a habit of breaking.

The flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra is here, and Samsung calls it the "slimmest, lightest, and most durable Galaxy Ultra device ever." It boasts a sleek titanium frame and Corning Gorilla Glass Armor 2, which the maker Corning claims can survive drops from up to 7.2 feet onto concrete. 

Also: T-Mobile customers can get still get a new Galaxy S25 series phone for free. How to qualify

But how does it hold up in real-world testing? Allstate Protection Plans put the Galaxy S25 Ultra through its signature Breakability Drop Test, and the results weren't pretty. 

A front-down drop from six feet onto concrete shattered the screen, rendering the device unusable. The speaker also stopped working. A single backdrop from the same height shattered the back glass and scuffed two larger camera housings. Yet despite the damage, the device remained fully functional, including all cameras.

The side-drop test fared better, with the titanium frame suffering only minor damage.

With a starting price of $1,299, any damage to the device will result in a bad day.

Allstate also assessed whether Galaxy S25 Ultra's AI features were functional after each drop test. ProVisual Engine, Gemini Live, and Circle to Search were not affected when the handset was dropped on their back and side. However, no AI capabilities were usable on the device dropped front-down.

Now for the good news: repair experts at iFixit tore down the Galaxy S25 Ultra and crowned it "the most repairable Galaxy phone in years." They gave the device a provisional score of 5 out of 10 on the smartphone repairability scale. This score is mediocre but a big improvement over previous Samsung flagships.

Also: I used the Galaxy S25 Ultra as my daily driver for two weeks - and I'm worried for Samsung

iFixit praised Samsung's use of four easy-to-release sticky tabs to secure the battery, allowing it to be removed without heat, prybars, or solvents -- tools that can damage the battery or even cause it to explode.

However, it's not all good news. iFixit criticized Samsung for using adhesives to secure the display and back glass, making repairs more challenging and requiring new adhesives for reassembly. 

Also: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. OnePlus 13: I've tested both, and it's a very close one

The experts also called out Samsung for incomplete official repair resources and bundling parts together, which drives up repair costs and makes some fixes impractical.