Samsung raises Galaxy S26 prices as memory chip costs soar and industry shifts premium pricing

Samsung Electronics has increased the prices of its Galaxy S26 smartphones in South Korea amid escalating memory chip costs, signalling a broader industry move to offset component inflation by passing costs onto consumers and focusing on premium devices.

Samsung Electronics has raised the price of its Galaxy S26 smartphones in South Korea as surging memory chip costs continue to squeeze the economics of premium handsets, Yonhap reported on Thursday. The move comes only months after the line was launched and underlines how sharply higher component prices are feeding through to consumer devices.

According to the Yonhap report, the base Galaxy S26 has risen by 149,600 won to 1,403,600 won, or about $1,030. Other standard variants were also lifted by the same amount, while the 1TB Galaxy S26 Ultra saw a much steeper increase of 270,000 won to 2,821,500 won. SamMobile reported similar domestic pricing, saying the Galaxy S26+ now costs 1,601,600 won and the Ultra’s top storage version has moved to about 2,821,599 won.

The price rises appear to reflect a wider shortage in memory chips, with demand from artificial intelligence infrastructure and cloud computing helping to drive up the cost of RAM and storage. Industry commentary cited by several tech publications suggests Samsung is trying to protect margins by passing on at least part of those higher input costs, rather than absorbing them fully at the handset level.

That strategy also fits a broader shift in Samsung’s mix towards higher-end devices. The South Korean group is expected to lean more heavily on premium phones and foldables to offset component inflation, while keeping its flagship range competitive against Apple and other rivals facing similar pressure. In that context, the Galaxy S26 price increase is less an isolated adjustment than a sign of an industry adjusting to a more expensive parts market.