Samsung’s 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 is the ongoing memory crisis.
Most recently, Xiaomi launched its top-tier Ultra smartphone at a higher price than its predecessor, and the same could be true for the Galaxy S26 series, but not if you’re in the United States.
Inside Samsung’s pricing dilemma
A new report from The Financial News claims that the Galaxy S26 series could cost between 44,000 Won (~$30) and 88,000 Won (~$60) for the 256GB variants in the lineup.
Although it’s not immediately clear, the baseline Galaxy S26 (256GB) could be 44,000 WON more expensive, while the Galaxy S26 Ultra (256GB), which generally has higher 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 native market (up from 1.69 million Won for the Galaxy S25 Ultra). If this happens, it would be the first time in three years that the company hikes the prices for the Galaxy S series.
Behind the Galaxy S26’s price rise is the soaring 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 rise further in 2026.
The report notes that Samsung’s Mobile Experience (MX) division believes it can no longer “withstand declining profitability without raising prices.” However, amid all this, the Korean tech giant will reportedly absorb the rise in component cost and retain the current pricing in the United States.
Building up 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 decides to increase prices by $50, especially for the higher-end variants (with 12GB of RAM or more).
Anyways, you should remember that Samsung hasn’t confirmed any of these reports (yet). Elsewhere, the company is rumored to hold the first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2026 on February 25 in San Francisco.