Samsung Unveils Galaxy S26, Raises Prices Amid Soaring Chip Costs
Samsung Electronics has launched its flagship Galaxy S26 smartphones, increasing prices for some models in the United States and South Korea. This strategic move tests demand amidst pressure on margins from soaring memory chip costs.
The new series integrates Perplexity’s artificial intelligence (AI) features, along with Google’s Gemini and an upgraded Bixby. This rollout follows Samsung’s loss of smartphone leadership to Apple last year, which benefited from strong iPhone demand in China and India.
The company priced the base Galaxy S26 model at USD 899 in the United States, an increase of 4.7% from the previous model. The S26 Plus is priced at USD 1,099, marking a 10% rise, while prices for the S26 Ultra remain unchanged.
In South Korea, the base model’s price was raised by 8.6%. Samsung also equipped some S26 models with in-house Exynos processors, a departure from using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips for the S25 series.
Analysts suggest this shift could support Samsung’s chip design business and mobile margins. The S26 Ultra includes what the company calls the industry's first built-in mobile privacy display, which limits side viewing angles.
The company last month warned of a worsening chip shortage, driven by the AI boom. Strong memory demand supports its core chip business but has pressured smartphone and display units.
A global push by firms such as Meta, Google, and Microsoft to build AI infrastructure has absorbed much of the memory supply. This increased demand has lifted prices as chipmakers prioritise higher-margin data centre components, such as high-bandwidth memory chips, over consumer devices.
Market tracker TrendForce expected conventional dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) contract prices to surge by 90% to 95% in the January to March period of this year, compared to the final three months of 2025. Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook noted in a Jan. post-earnings conference call that he expected memory chip prices to increase sharply, but declined to answer analysts' questions about whether Apple would raise prices in response.
Samsung announced it will begin rolling out the S26 series March 11.
Samsung Electronics has launched its new Galaxy S26 smartphone series.
Prices for some Galaxy S26 models have increased in the United States and South Korea due to rising memory chip costs.
The S26 series features Perplexity AI, Google Gemini, an upgraded Bixby, and in-house Exynos processors in some models.
Source: REUTERS
