Another victim of RAM crisis: The Galaxy S26 series is more expensive this year

The Samsung Galaxy S26 phones are here, and one pressing question is whether they’ll be more expensive than the Galaxy S25 range. Well, we now have an answer, and you’re not going to like it.

Samsung confirmed US pricing for the Galaxy S26 phones, and the Galaxy S26 now starts at $899. This price applies to the 256GB model, as Samsung has dropped the 128GB base model this time.

Nevertheless, this is $100 more expensive than the base Galaxy S25’s launch price. It’s also worth noting that the 256GB Galaxy S25 launched at $859.99, so you’re still paying ~$39 more for the same amount of storage.

What about other Galaxy S26 series models, though? The Galaxy S26 Plus starts at $1,099 for the 256GB model, which is a $99 increase over the S25 Plus. The Galaxy S26 Ultra is the odd one out, as it maintains the same $1,299 price tag as its predecessor.

These increases come as Samsung and the rest of the smartphone industry grapples with skyrocketing memory and storage prices, along with price hikes for other components. This is bad news for other smartphone makers, suggesting that if Samsung isn’t immune to price hikes, then others will definitely be affected.

In other words, don’t be surprised if the Nothing Phone 4a series, Xiaomi 17 series, Galaxy Z Flip 8, and Pixel 11 phones are all more expensive than their predecessors. Alternatively, some manufacturers might offer few upgrades (e.g., Pixel 10a) or even some downgraded specs to maintain the same price tag as their previous phones.