IFixit has finally made it to Samsung‘s new flagship, the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Unfortunately, there is nothing to please users; in the maintainability test, the smartphone earned only 3 points out of 10. And one of the reasons for this is just the display.
However, in order to repair the Galaxy S21 Ultra, you first need to open it. There is no glass on the back, and you can not be afraid to damage it, but at the same time, the cover and the protruding plastic panel of the camera unit are so well sprinkled with glue that you will have to deal with them. The display cable is not modular, making it difficult to replace the screen. This is in addition to the fact that it is thoroughly glued in. Removing the battery is not easy – and all for the same reason: because of the glue. In the end, to get to the components that most often require replacement (the screen and the battery), you will have to thoroughly disassemble the smartphone.
However, there are also pluses. For example, all screws are standardized in size and length, making it easier to assemble a refurbished smartphone. Fans of custom design can replace the panel of the camera unit or paint it in a custom color. And most of the components are modular inside, which makes them easy to replace.
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IFixit Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Teardown final thoughts
- All the important fasteners are identical Phillips screws in size and length, simplifying the repair process.
- Many components are modular and independently replaceable, but the missing modular display cable and polycarbonate rear panel from the regular S21 are a step backward.
- The rear panel is glued down and difficult to remove, even more so thanks to the new ridge around the camera bump’s edge.
- The battery and display continue to be difficult repairs, as both components are held down with some serious adhesive and require a fair bit of disassembly to get to.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G specifications
- 6.8-inch (3200 x 1440 pixels) Quad HD+ Infinity-O-Edge Dynamic AMOLED Display, 515 PPI, Adaptive 120Hz refresh rate (10~120Hz), up to 1500 nits brightness, Gorilla Glass Victus protection
- Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5nm Mobile Platform / Octa-Core Samsung Exynos 2100 processor
- 12GB / 16GB LPDDR5 RAM with 128GB/256GB/512GB storage
- Android 11 with One UI 3.1
- 108MP rear camera with ISOCELL HM3 sensor, LED Flash, OIS, f/1.8 aperture, 12MP 120° Ultra Wide sensor with f/2.2 aperture, 10MP Telephoto lens for 3x zoom, OIS, 10MP Periscope lens for 10x zoom, 100x Space Zoom, Laser autofocus sensor, 4K 60 fps, 8K 30fps
- 40MP front camera with f/2.2 aperture
- Water resistant (IP68)
- Dimensions: 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9 mm; Weight: 228g
- 5G SA/NSA, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1, UWB, GPS + GLONASS, USB 3.1, NFC, MST
- 5000mAh battery with 25W fast charging, 15W Qi wireless charging