Samsung hikes Galaxy S26 prices due to rising memory chip costs

TL;DR

Samsung raised Galaxy S26 series prices in South Korea seven months after launch, following earlier increases in India and other markets.

The Galaxy S26, S26+, and 1TB S26 Ultra are now about $110 to $200 more expensive than their original launch prices.

Samsung says the hikes are driven by higher RAM and storage chip costs amid strong AI demand, and Apple has also raised prices recently.

Samsung increased the prices of its Galaxy S26 series phones in South Korea today, seven months after their initial launch. The company previously raised the prices of these devices and most other Galaxy phones in countries like India a few days ago.

The Galaxy S26 is now priced at KRW 1,403,600 (~$1,034), while the Galaxy S26+ costs KRW 1,601,600 (~$1,180). This marks an increase of KRW 149,600 (~$110) over their original launch prices. Meanwhile, the 1TB version of the Galaxy S26 Ultra now costs KRW 2,821,599 (~$2,078), representing a steeper KRW 276,100 (~$200) hike.

This upward adjustment is entirely driven by the rising costs of RAM and storage chips, which are currently seeing extremely high demand from AI firms like AMD, Google, and Nvidia.

Samsung utilized this same strategy in April, raising the prices of other models including the Galaxy S25 Edge, Galaxy Z Flip 7, and Galaxy Z Fold 7 due to memory chip constraints.

Apple made a similar move a few weeks ago, increasing the prices of its new and existing iPhones alongside several other devices, including desktop computers, laptops, and tablets.

Asif Iqbal Shaik - Senior Editor

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First Samsung device: T100

Asif is a computer engineer turned technology journalist. He has been using Samsung phones since 2004, and his current smartphone is the Galaxy S23 Ultra. He loves headphones, mechanical keyboards, and PC hardware. When not writing about technology, he likes watching crime and science fiction movies and TV shows.

Phone Galaxy S26 Galaxy S26 Plus Galaxy S26 Ultra

Buying a Galaxy S26 series phone just got more expensive

TL;DR

Asif Iqbal Shaik - Senior Editor