What you need to know
- The new teardown reveals that the Galaxy S26 Ultra is quietly packing significant hardware changes, especially in the camera and cooling system.
- Samsung has also increased the vapor chamber by around 15%, helping the phone better manage heat during gaming, AI tasks and video recording.
- The anti-glare coating appears to be gone from the S25 Ultra, replaced by a new Privacy Screen that may limit viewing angles.
Samsung spent a lot of time talking about AI in Unpacked, but its new teardown Galaxy S26 Ultra shows that the device deserves more attention. Tech YouTuber Zack Nelson has revealed that Samsung has made a number of important hardware changes, particularly to the camera and cooling system.
The video shows a step-by-step teardown of the phone, highlighting how Samsung is works to improve camera performance and cooling in a slimmer device.
One of the main findings is inside the zoom camera. The Galaxy S26 Ultra still has the same 50MP 5x periscope telephoto camera as the previous Ultra model. However, Samsung has changed the internal design with a new layout called ALOP (All Lens On Prism).
Article continues below
In most periscope cameras, the prism sits in front of the lens stack and blocks some of the incoming light. Samsung changed this on the S26 Ultra, placing the lens directly into the prism to allow more light to reach the sensor.
This new design has a brighter f/2.9 aperture compared to the f/3.4 of the last model. Nelson notes that the camera can now capture about 37% more light.
The camera module is also about 22% shorter, which allows Samsung to fit better optics into a thinner phone. This additional light should help improve Nightography and low-light zoom photos.
Cooling gets a meaningful upgrade
The teardown also reveals a larger cooling system, which power users will like. Samsung has increased the vapor chamber by about 15% and now it takes up more space inside the phone.
This is important because modern flagship chips get very hot during gaming, AI tasks and high-quality video recording. The larger vapor chamber dissipates heat more efficiently, helping the phone stay stable during heavy use.
The teardown hints at a small but clever change to the S Pen housing. Samsung separated the stylus slot from the phone’s internals with a sealed design. This means that if liquid gets into the S Pen slot, it should not reach the rest of the phone.
It is interesting that the nest itself has changed a little. The stylus used in the previous model doesn’t fit properly inside the new S26 Ultra case, suggesting that Samsung has changed the design dimensions this year.
A few hidden engineering secrets
A closer look reveals some unique features. Inside the speaker modules, Samsung added small balls to help reduce the thin, “golden” sound that often occurs in small smartphone speakers.
Meanwhile, the teardown also brings up a missing feature. The Galaxy S25 Ultra had a strong anti-glare coating, but the S26 Ultra does not. Nelson thinks the cover may conflict with the new Privacy Screen, which narrows viewing angles to keep content private. Samsung has not yet confirmed this.
Apart from disassembly, this phone is not too difficult to repair. You can remove the back panel with heat and replacing the battery is fairly easy. This is good news for repair shops and people who like to fix things themselves.
Android Central’s Take
Samsung hasn’t made any major design changes this year, which might disappoint anyone who wants a new look. However, improvements like a brighter periscope camera, better cooling and smarter protection make the phone more reliable for everyday use. The teardown shows that flagship phones are now more about small improvements than big changes. Whether that’s interesting or boring depends on your perspective, but if these updates mean better photos and less overheating, most users will be happy with the tradeoff.
