Samsung hikes Galaxy S26 prices up to $200 amid memory chip costs

Samsung Electronics has raised the retail prices of its Galaxy S26 smartphone series in both South Korea and the United States. The adjustments, implemented approximately seven months after the devices' initial launch, include increases of up to $200 for certain models. This pricing shift reflects mounting pressure on manufacturing costs due to surging memory chip prices.

Price adjustments across key markets

In the South Korean market, price hikes affected specific storage configurations. According to Chosun Biz, which cited company data, the 256GB and 512GB variants saw an increase of roughly $110 each. The most significant adjustment occurred with the Ultra model featuring 1TB of storage, which rose by approximately $203.

Across the United States, Samsung applied a uniform $100 increase to most versions of the Galaxy S26 lineup. However, the 1TB Ultra edition faced a steeper hike of $200. Official purchase pages on Samsung’s US website confirm these changes, showing the base Galaxy S26 starting at nearly $1,000 and the Galaxy S26 Plus at around $1,200, both reflecting the $100 increment.

Specific model cost breakdowns

The Galaxy S26 Ultra experienced tiered price increases based on storage capacity. The 256GB version moved from approximately $1,300 to $1,400, while the 512GB variant rose from about $1,500 to $1,600. The top-tier 1TB model jumped from roughly $1,800 to $2,000.

This latest move follows Samsung’s earlier decision to launch the standard and Plus editions in the US market at prices $100 higher than their predecessors. Consequently, consumers face cumulative cost increases for these two devices within the same year.

How AI drives hardware expenses

Chosun Biz links the rise in memory costs to the expansion of investments in artificial intelligence data centers. These facilities require substantial quantities of chips to operate systems and process data, intensifying competition for supply.

As demand for server memory grows, components used in smartphones and computers encounter supply constraints. This dynamic directly impacts the acquisition costs for manufacturers producing consumer electronics.

High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips play a central role in this context. Used in advanced computing systems, HBM enables rapid transfer of large data volumes. Citing a Reuters report, Chosun Biz noted that Samsung predicted on September 29 that HBM’s share of global Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) production capacity would rise from about 20% currently to approximately 30% by 2027.

Industry-wide impact and future outlook

HBM and traditional memory types compete for the same production capacity. Allocating a larger portion of output to AI-oriented chips may reduce the availability of memory required for phones and PCs. This scenario suggests that supply pressures could persist into the next year, forcing device makers to either raise prices or absorb higher costs by reducing profit margins.

The trend extends beyond Samsung. Chosun Biz reported that Apple set prices for its iPhone 18 Pro series, launched last month, at levels higher than the previous generation.