Samsung wins battle of Watch Ultras in new teardown video

iFixit never even gave the Apple Watch Ultra or Ultra 2 a reparability score - however, the Galaxy Watch Ultra now has one of 7/10 (albeit provisionally) based on its apparently easy-teardown design.

Samsung's new flagship smartwatch started to earn this accolade by having a rear panel that allows access to its internals, whereas the Apple Watch Ultra series only pretends to have one. In addition, the Galaxy-series wearable uses standard Philips-head screws as opposed to lesser-spotted tri-ponts in its titanium counterpart.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra was found to have the more repair-friendly battery compared to the Apple Watch Ultra series, although that might be because those of the latter have the protective metallic shells that might also feature in the iPhone 16 series.

Similarly, a user might have an easier time replacing a Galaxy Watch Ultra motherboard. iFixit also encountered an unhealthy amount of glue around some parts, particularly the display - then again, the group was unable to prevent the first-gen Watch Ultra's screen from breaking in the course of its removal.

Then again, the Samsung device's chunky, rugged-look bezel proved somewhat of an obstacle to display removal, particularly as it is indeed purely cosmetic and doesn't actually do anything.

Nevertheless, the Galaxy Watch Ultra seems to joins its Buds3 Pro audio counterparts in becoming what might be Samsung's most independent repair-positive peripherals to date - which, as the former costs $649.99 on Amazon right now, might be a good thing.