Skip to main content

This is the silliest Galaxy S25 Ultra controversy yet

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra's camera.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
galaxy unpacked 2025
This story is part of our Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2025 coverage
Updated less than 10 hours ago

Perhaps you were about to finalize your Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra purchase, and decided to check YouTube for any last-minute, pre-release videos to help convince you to click the “buy” button. But the title of the newest video caused you to pull your finger back in horror. The rings round the cameras are fake? Time to think twice before making that purchase, right?

Taking a knife to the ring

A still from a video showing the Galaxy S25 Ultra's camera rings are not part of the phone's rear panel.
JerryRigEverything removing the camera rings JerryRigEverything

No, it’s not time to think twice, at least not for this particular reason. Here’s what’s going on. Well-known phone mangler JerryRigEverything took his craft knife to the rings surrounding the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s cameras and after exerting quite a lot of force, pried them off. The upper most camera ring required so much effort, it lifted the glass from the back of the phone at the same time.

Recommended Videos

The controversy, such as it is, is the rings are not part of the back of the phone, and adhesive has been used to hold them in place. There is, when you look closely, a gap between the underside of the ring and the glass back, which is where the knife was used to lift them away from the surface. All three cameras down the left-hand side of the S25 Ultra have a ring around them.

In the same way that if you hit the screen with a hammer, or jam a screwdriver in the USB C port, using a knife to separate one part of the device from the other is going to do some damage. This really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. It looks good on video, but does it really tell you much about the phone’s every day durability? No. The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s titanium frame, Corning Gorilla Glass Armor 2, and IP68 dust and water resistance rating do though.

Not fake at all

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra's camera.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Describing them as fake is confusing. The rings are decorative, something that was obvious before they were pulled off the phone, and they perform this function adequately. They don’t house the camera lens or any glass, as is shown in the video, and Samsung has not claimed they do anything to enhance photographs taken with the phone. Samsung hasn’t mentioned them at all because outside of giving the back of the phone a slightly different look to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, they don’t serve much of a purpose.

If I’m feeling very charitable towards Samsung, the rings may even provide some additional side and front protection to the camera lenses in some situations, and they should do this for the lifetime of the phone, unless you attack them with a knife in the meantime. There are some concerns over the adhesive used not being strong enough to hold the rings in place long-term, but of course, there’s no evidence of this being a problem at this time. It’s helpful to know they have been glued in place though, so we can treat them appropriately, and perhaps keep watch over how it holds up.

The rings around the cameras on my review Galaxy S25 Ultra model have not fallen off yet. I’ve thus far resisted the temptation to jab a knife under each one, but I can get my fingernail underneath and try to force it off. They have not succumbed to my efforts. Probably the worst that will happen is the gap will get filled with dust over time, unless you go full Jerry on them.

A reason not to buy a Galaxy S25 Ultra?

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

Like fake vents on cars, the rings around the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s cameras are decorative and that’s all. I quite like the polished rim and subtle grooves on the surface, and they give the back of the phone a different look to the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Get them in the right light, and they look great. It’s unfortunate they’ve been glued on to the back of a $1,300 smartphone, and like most decorative pieces it wouldn’t matter if they weren’t there, but outside of this there’s no justification for any concern over durability at this stage.

There’s a chance the adhesive may fail in the future — whether through natural degradation, or factors like heat and cold — but we won’t know if it’s a problem until it happens. I also trust that Samsung — which has been all-in on durability since the Galaxy Note 9’s problems — has done its due diligence to make sure it won’t. At this stage, it’s a “good to know” point.

However, if you’re looking for a reason, any reason not to buy the Galaxy S25 Ultra then I suppose you’ve found one. I think the Bluetooth-less S Pen is more of a legitimate reason than the camera rings, but that doesn’t make for such a good headline, does it.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
This terrible Samsung camera ruined my day out
The header image for the OuttaFocus column, showing the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Digging through a drawer in my office shortly after the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra arrived, I came across a relic. It was a compact digital camera also made by Samsung, which I’d purchased on a whim before a trip nearly a decade ago.

I haven’t used it since then, and seeing as I was already testing a Samsung camera, why not add another to the list? The next day I was headed out to take photos for my upcoming S25 Ultra review, and I’m so glad I wasn’t relying on the old Samsung camera to document my time, as it would have ruined it.
Meet the ST72
Samsung ST72 Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Read more
Every Samsung Galaxy S25 owner should buy this wireless charging case
The The back of the Galaxy S25 Ultra Magnetic Charging Cover attached to the phone and the box

Samsung’s new Galaxy S25 series brings a few improvements, especially for the flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra. While the new ultrawide camera, improved build, and thinner body may be the ones that stand out the most, one particular feature could offer the best quality of life improvements.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra comes equipped with the same 45W charging speeds as its predecessors, although overall charging speeds have been improved by around 3-4% over last year’s Galaxy S24 Ultra. Alongside this, however, Samsung has also equipped the Galaxy S25 Ultra with compatibility for the Qi2.1 wireless charging standard, making it the first smartphone to support the next generation of wireless charging.

Read more
Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge shows what the Galaxy S25 series should have been
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge cameras

Samsung fans can finally rejoice as we have something truly different with the Galaxy S25 series. No, it’s not the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, or the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but rather, the new Galaxy S25 Edge. Yes, Samsung has revived its Edge branding, and in many ways, it follows the essence of the Galaxy S6 Edge and Galaxy S7 Edge of years ago.

After the credits rolled at Samsung Unpacked last week — and as some people made their way to the exits — the company pulled off an interesting one more thing. It wasn’t a teaser like the Galaxy Ring last year, but rather it was an announcement — of sorts, at least — of the new Galaxy S25 Edge.

Read more