Galaxy S26 price increase: new US prices and why
Samsung has raised the price of the Galaxy S26, S26+ and S26 Ultra seven months after they went on sale. In the US the new prices went live on Samsung's online store on Thursday 1 October 2026: the Galaxy S26 now starts at $999.99, up $100 (tech-ish). South Korea, Samsung's home market, moved the same day.
New US prices
| Model | Storage | Before | Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy S26 | 12GB + 256GB | $899.99 | $999.99 |
| Galaxy S26 | 12GB + 512GB | $1,099.99 | $1,199.99 |
| Galaxy S26+ | 12GB + 256GB | $1,099.99 | $1,199.99 |
| Galaxy S26+ | 12GB + 512GB | $1,299.99 | $1,399.99 |
| Galaxy S26 Ultra | 12GB + 256GB | $1,299.99 | $1,399.99 |
| Galaxy S26 Ultra | 12GB + 512GB | $1,499.99 | $1,599.99 |
| Galaxy S26 Ultra | 16GB + 1TB | $1,799.99 | $1,999.99 |
Every model rose by $100, except the 1TB Ultra, which rose by $200. These are Samsung's own US list prices; carriers and retailers set their own deals. On the day of the change, Amazon and Best Buy were still selling the S26 range at the old prices (tech-ish).
South Korea
Every 256GB and 512GB model in South Korea went up by 149,600 won, about $110. The 256GB Galaxy S26 now costs 1,403,600 won, up from 1,254,000 won, and the S26+ costs 1,601,600 won. The 1TB S26 Ultra rose by 276,100 won, about $200, to roughly 2.82 million won (SamMobile, tech-ish). SamMobile adds that Samsung had raised prices in India a few days earlier, on these phones and most other Galaxy models.
What did not change
- The Galaxy S26 FE kept its US price.
- The Galaxy Z Fold8 and Samsung's other foldables kept their US prices (tech-ish).
Prices in other countries are set locally. On 1 October, tech-ish reported that Samsung's East Africa office had not yet announced new prices for Kenya.
Why Samsung raised prices
The reason reported everywhere is the cost of memory. SamMobile says the increase is driven by higher prices for RAM and storage chips, which are in strong demand from AI companies. Tech-ish explains that chip makers, Samsung's own among them, have shifted production towards the high-bandwidth memory that AI data centres buy, leaving less for phones, and says the price of DRAM has doubled in the six months since the S26 launched.
Samsung itself has not explained the US increase. In February, when the S26 and S26+ launched at $100 more than the S25 and S25+, its mobile chief operating officer Won-Joon Choi said the memory shortage made a significant contribution to that price. SamMobile notes that Samsung raised prices on the Galaxy S25 Edge, Z Flip 7 and Z Fold 7 in April for the same reason, and that Apple raised prices on its iPhones and other devices a few weeks ago.
Put the two rises together and the entry price of a US Galaxy S phone has gone from $799.99 for the 128GB Galaxy S25 in 2025 to $999.99 for the 256GB Galaxy S26 today (tech-ish).
If you were about to buy
- Compare Samsung's price with carriers and retailers, and with any trade-in offer, before you pay.
- Check the exact storage size: the price list above is per configuration.
- Prices at third-party shops may take time to follow Samsung's list, and deals can change quickly.
