iFixit praises Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra’s battery pull tabs, but the screen is still difficult to remove

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra “could be one of Samsung’s most repair-friendly phones in a long time,” says iFixit after taking the phone apart and exploring the repair options available. Even so, the phone received only a 5/10 repairability score (provisional) – that’s better than most Samsung flagships in recent memory, but still leaves a lot to be desired.

iFixit’s favorite part is the battery – four sticky tabs surround the battery and hold it in place. Peel those off and the battery falls right out. There’s no need for heat, isopropyl alcohol or elbow grease.

That said, some things didn’t work out as well as hoped. Samsung switched back to a flat display this generation and that one is supposed to be easier to remove. And yet removing the S25 Ultra display proved to be quite a struggle even for an experienced user. The good news is that there isn’t anything under the display, really. The only reason to remove it is if it’s already broken.

There’s more – most cameras are modular and easy to replace. The four modules on the back are held in by screws and can be swapped fairly easily if needed. The selfie camera, however, is epoxied in place. It’s not impossible to remove, but again, the experienced iFixit team found it challenging – regular folks at home trying to get it out will have a tough time.

The S Pen situation is a real head-scratcher. You may have heard that the Galaxy S25 Ultra has the inductive charger that in previous generations sent power to the Bluetooth-enabled styluses. Well, iFixit took the S Pen apart and found that it’s very similar to that of previous generations.

The PCB is still there, but all the chips that make the Bluetooth functions work are not populated. Also, the capacitor that provided power to the stylus while it was outside the phone has been removed. That means that the PCB is completely unnecessary and yet there it is.

In summary, the new sticky tabs for the battery are great. The (mostly) modular cameras also bumped up Galaxy S25 Ultra’s repairability score. Screen replacements are still a pain, though. Samsung also needs to improve its repair documentation, says iFixit, and sell replacement parts individually instead of as bundles.

Check out our written and video reviews for an in-depth look at how Samsung’s latest flagship performs. We also have a detailed comparison with the S24 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

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