South Korean news agencies report that Samsung cannot bear the rising costs of memory and chipsets driven by AI business demand, which may cause the Galaxy S26 Series to be priced higher than before.
The emergence of the AI industry has led to increased prices for parts across sectors from gaming consoles to smartphones, making it highly likely that Samsung will have to raise the Galaxy S26 Series prices unavoidably.
According to a report by Chosun, a South Korean media outlet, Samsung had tried to keep prices stable for many years, including with last year’s Galaxy S25 Series launch. However, in 2026, production costs, especially for RAM and chipsets demanded by the AI industry, have surged beyond what Samsung can absorb.
Although Samsung manufactures chipsets, including RAM factories and its Exynos processor plants, its mobile division is not in a position to purchase these chips at lower costs than competitors, due to operational separation between divisions.
This situation complicates Samsung’s cost management and subjects it to pressures similar to rival brands, especially when facing the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset from Qualcomm, expected to be used only in the Galaxy S26 Ultra. This raises the per-unit cost across all Galaxy S26 models, making it impossible to keep prices at previous levels.
To maintain its position as the leading smartphone brand without losing market share to Apple, Samsung’s strategy—likely visible during parts of Galaxy Unpacked 2026—may involve promotions or sales incentives to lessen consumer impact, such as continuing storage upgrade offers for pre-orders.