Galaxy S22 Ultra Stress Test Backs Up Durability Claims

YouTube channel JerryRigEverything is back with another stress test video, this time putting Samsung's newly launched Galaxy S22 Ultra smartphone up against a variety of hazards. The company has marketed the flagship as very durable, which is arguably vital for a phone this expensive — it starts at $1,199.99 in the US, making it one of the priciest handsets on the market.

Just how much can the Galaxy S22 Ultra withstand? Quite a bit, it seems, at least when it comes to the kinds of hazards you may encounter in daily life (and a couple you'll probably never face, including fire directly on the screen). Though it's definitely possible to scratch the device, it does take a bit of work – the display didn't show any heavy scratching until he used the number six scratching tool, for example, while the back of the phone appeared unblemished after having the tip of a utility knife run across it.

Among other things, JerryRigEverything uses Mohs' hardness scale picks to scratch at the S22 Ultra, marking each scratching tool with a number. Ideally, scratches won't start appearing until he moves toward the higher numbers that indicate a greater resistance against the sort of scratches one's phone may acquire from things like rubbing against keys in a pocket or bag.

That's the case here, with notable scratches appearing on the S22 Ultra's display at a hardness level of six and getting pretty deep and prominent at level seven. That's about what we'd expect from the handset, which was still able to read fingerprints with the under-display fingerprint sensor despite a bunch of scratches on the glass over it. Samsung used the Gorilla Glass Victus+ material for its latest flagship on both the display and the back panel. Beyond that, Samsung also boasts that the S22 Ultra packs its "strongest" aluminum frame thus far, not to mention the IP68 water resistance.

That aluminum frame, of course, can be heavily scratched with enough effort, though based on the stress test video, it looks like it would take more than accidentally running the phone against a set of car keys to see any sort of damage (a utility knife blade is used to get down to the bare metal in the video). Beyond that, the back panel appears particularly resistant to the sort of scratches likely to happen during daily use, as do the rear camera lenses.

Then there's fire. JerryRigEverything put a lighter against the S22 Ultra's display for around 20 seconds, which resulted in a permanent white blemish roughly in the shape of the flame. Despite that, the phone itself remained functional and, though it would be annoying, the device could still be used after such an encounter.

As with the Note models before it, the S22 Galaxy Ultra features its own stylus called the S-Pen. This writing instrument nestles within the phone's frame via a small hole in the bottom edge, enabling users to easily pop it free whenever they need to sign documents, edit an image, or feel like drawing something. JerryRigEverything gives the stylus a proper teardown as part of his stress test video, which is to say that he hacks it open using a utility knife. As it turns out, there's a bunch of glue and plastic inside, both of which shield the sensitive components.

If there's any weak point on the S22 Ultra, it is most certainly the S-Pen. Case in point? JerryRigEverything easily snaps it in half using his hands. The same can't be said about the phone itself, however, which was surprisingly resistant to his attempts to bend it. That should help alleviate concerns from users who tend to keep their phones in their back pocket, potentially avoiding a repeat of Apple's "bendgate" controversy.