Korean publication FN News reports that there is both good and bad news for potential Galaxy S26 buyers, expected to launch in March. While prices are set to rise, attractive launch day offers may help consumers avoid the price hike.
Industry sources indicate that the base model prices for the 256GB versions in South Korea will increase between KRW 44,000 and KRW 88,000. For context, the Galaxy S25 launched at KRW 1,155,000, the S25+ at KRW 1,353,000, and the S25 Ultra at KRW 1,698,400.
In contrast, Samsung is reportedly maintaining the launch prices for the S26 series in select international markets, including the US. This means that the prices will remain at $800, $1,000, and $1,300 for the S26 trio, the same as the previous S25 models.
The more affordable prices during the initial launch period may be short-lived, and it remains unclear which international markets will benefit from these lower prices.
Forecast prices for mobile DRAM (source: TrendForce)The rising prices can be attributed to several factors, including the cost of 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, which has more than doubled over the past year and is expected to rise by an additional 40% in the latter half of this year. Additionally, prices for NAND flash storage are also increasing.
The unfavorable exchange rate between the Korean Won and the US Dollar, currently exceeding 1,400 KRW per $1, poses further challenges for components sourced from international suppliers.
In Q3 and Q4 of last year, Samsung reportedly spent a record KRW 11 trillion (approximately $7.6 billion) on smartphone chipsets, the bulk of which went to Qualcomm in the US.
This financial pressure is prompting Samsung to seek replacements for Snapdragon chips with its Exynos chips, which are domestically produced and not affected by fluctuating exchange rates. However, the transition has met with limited success, as only a few models currently utilize Exynos. For the Galaxy S26 series, the latest unconfirmed reports suggest that it will feature Snapdragon chips globally, except in Korea.
Samsung is anticipated to unveil the Galaxy S26 series in late February in San Francisco, ahead of a retail launch in early March. Rumors about the specifications for the new models are already circulating.
It's important to note that the S-series flagships are not the only models experiencing price increases; existing models, such as the Galaxy A56, are also seeing price hikes, with an increase of ₹2,000 in India.
Source (in Korean)
