The 6-Month-Old Galaxy S26 Series Is Now $100 More Expensive
Rising memory costs tied to AI demand are pushing Samsung’s latest flagship prices higher, with the top Galaxy S26 Ultra now $200 more.
- Samsung officially increased prices for the Galaxy S26 series in the United States and South Korea on October 2, raising costs across the core lineup seven months after the devices went on sale.
- Global memory component shortages, particularly RAM, forced the price adjustments as Samsung struggles with rising supply costs. RAM prices surged sixfold in a year, jumping from $2.80 to $12 per gigabyte, largely due to the AI data center push.
- The manufacturer added $100 to the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus, and Galaxy S26 Ultra, while the 1TB version of the Ultra saw a $200 hike to $2,000. These changes reflect steeper increases at the high end.
- Competitors including Apple and Google also raised prices on their smartphone lineups recently, while Samsung's mobile division saw operating profit fall about 38% in the first quarter despite its semiconductor arm capturing 94% of company profit.
- Market research firm TrendForce estimates component supply will not catch up with demand until 2028, while retailer Currys warned investors to expect continued cost price inflation and availability problems throughout the year.
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18 Articles
Samsung's Surprise Galaxy S26 Price Hike Reveals Cracks in Smartphone Profit Margins
Samsung raised Galaxy S26 series prices by $100 across most models seven months after launch, driven by memory chip shortages from AI demand. The base model now starts at $999, the Ultra at $1,399, and the 1TB variant at $1,999. This compounds earlier increases, mirroring moves by Apple and Google.
Price alert: Samsung raises the prices of Galaxy S26 phones, the US, Europe and India affected
We live in Opposite World – half a year after new phones launch, the manufacturer is typically expected to reduce prices. Instead, Samsung just raised the prices of Galaxy S26 series phones by at least $100 (it’s $200 in the case of the 1TB S26 Ultra). And it’s not just the US that was affected. We went through the online stores of several regional divisions of Samsung.com to check how much a new S26 costs. What we found is that the US, Canada, …
Samsung Electronics has increased the prices of almost all of its Galaxy S26 smartphone line, in the latest example of technology brands passing costs to consumers in the midst of a persistent shortage of memory chips. S26 Ultra x iPhone 17 Pro Max: See the differences of devices at the top of the Apple and Samsung lines From mobile to personal assistant: AI wants to understand your routine and anticipate tasks, but bumps into the security chall…
The prices of the models Galaxy S26, S26+ and S26 Ultra increased by 100 dollars; now they start from the thousand, one thousand 200 and one thousand 400 dollars, respectively
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