The Galaxy S26 price increase we were dreading is here

The global shortage of memory components has widely impacted the tech industry. We recently came across a report suggesting Samsung was about to raise the price of the Galaxy S26 series on October 1. With the day finally here, the manufacturer has officially increased the prices of the Galaxy S26 series in the US and South Korea.

A quick look at the Samsung US website reveals a $100 price bump across the 256GB and 512GB variants of the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra. This means the cheapest Galaxy S26 version now starts at $999.99, while the Galaxy S26 Plus and Ultra start at $1,199.99 and $1,399.99, respectively. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S26 Ultra in the 1TB configuration will cost $200 more, bringing it to $1,999.99.

Additionally, a Yonhap News report notes that Samsung has applied a similar price increase to its flagship lineup in South Korea. The entry-level Galaxy S26 with 256GB of storage has gone from 1,254,000 won (~$919) to 1,403,600 won (~$1,029), per the publication. Samsung has also given the 256GB models of the Galaxy S26 Plus and the Galaxy S26 Ultra a similar price bump of 149,600 won (~$110), bringing them to 1,601,600 won ($1,174) and 1,947,000 won (~$1,427), respectively.

Meanwhile, the manufacturer has seemingly increased the price of the 1TB Galaxy S26 Ultra by 270,000 won (~$198), nearly matching its US counterpart. This takes the flagship to 2,821,500 won (~$2,070) in Samsung’s home market.

Apple recently took the rare step of raising prices on its existing iPhones, while giving the iPhone 18 Pro series the same treatment.

While Samsung USA’s page reflects these changes across the Galaxy S26 lineup, we’re still seeing the original pricing on some Amazon listings. With that in mind, you may need to act fast if you want either Galaxy S26 model at its launch-day price.