The Samsung Galaxy S26 is quietly becoming one of the most talked-about smartphone series on the Internet, but instead of groundbreaking hardware or software, the reason lies in the ongoing memory crisis.
Recently, Xiaomi launched its premium Ultra smartphone at a higher price than its predecessor, and the same could be true for the Galaxy S26 series as well, although not if you’re in the US.
In Samsung’s price dilemma
According to a new report from The Financial News, the Galaxy S26 series could be priced between 44,000 won (~$30) and 88,000 won (~$60) for the 256GB variants of the series.
Although it’s not immediately clear, the base model Galaxy S26 (256GB) could be 44,000 won more expensive, while the Galaxy S26 Ultra (256GB), which generally has more RAM than the other models, could cost 88,000 won more than the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
This could mean that the Galaxy S26 Ultra could cost around 1.8 million won in its home market (versus 1.69 million won for the Galaxy S25 Ultra). In this case, it would be the first time in three years that the company has increased prices for the Galaxy S series.
Behind the Galaxy S26 price increase is the rising cost of key components such as DRAM and NAND flash memory. The report notes that the price of 12GB low-power DRAM (LPDDR5X) has more than doubled since the beginning of 2025 and prices will only continue to rise in 2026.
The report notes that Samsung’s Mobile Experience (MX) division believes it “can no longer withstand declining profitability without increasing prices.” However, given this, the Korean tech giant will reportedly absorb the increase in component costs and maintain current prices in the US.
Building on that, the regular Galaxy S26 could cost $799.99, while the Galaxy S26 Plus and Galaxy S26 Ultra could cost $999.99 and $1,299.99, respectively. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the company increased prices by $50, especially for the higher-end variants (with 12GB of RAM or more).
Anyway, you should keep in mind that Samsung hasn’t confirmed any of these reports (yet). Elsewhere, the company is rumored to be holding the first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2026 on February 25 in San Francisco.
