Samsung Galaxy S26, credit: X/mr_aabis
Samsung Galaxy S26 is set to launch next month before that the Samsung Electronics have indicated that there will be a price increases for its upcoming flagship smartphones and this price hike may be unavoidable as global semiconductor costs surge and internal divisions face mounting margin pressure.
Speaking to global media ahead of the CES 2026 trade show in Las Vegas, Samsung’s co-CEO and mobile business chief, Roh Tae-moon, told that the current environment is “unprecedented” and warned that “smartphone price adjustments may be necessary” due to soaring chip costs.
The tech industry is facing a harsh pricing situation in memory driven by an industrywide supply crunch. According to a report by The Korea Herald, the price of general-purpose DRAM–8Gb DDR4 rose from USD 1.35 to USD 9.30 over the past year. This near sevenfold increase, reported by DRAMeXchange, directly impacts the cost of materials for new devices. Due to high demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure, “we’re facing one of the harshest pricing situations in memory,” the report quoted Roh on Monday.
The rapid rise in memory and application processor costs coincides with the preparations for the Galaxy S26. The Samsung Galaxy S26 debuts Samsung’s own 2-nanometer Exynos 2600 chip and various AI-powered features under the Galaxy AI brand. The Galaxy S26 serves as a strategic product to test the competitiveness of Samsung’s vertically integrated model, involving its semiconductor and foundry service units.
Beyond hardware, the company focuses on expanding its artificial intelligence ecosystem. Roh claimed that Samsung plans to double the number of Galaxy devices equipped with Galaxy AI features from 400 million to 800 million units by the end of 2026. “We aim to apply AI to every product, feature and service as quickly as possible,” the report quoted Roh. Galaxy AI currently utilizes a hybrid of Samsung’s in-house technology and Google’s Gemini model to support generative features like image editing and on-device translation.
Internal surveys signal that AI brand awareness among Galaxy users rose from 30 per cent to 80 per cent within a year. Despite this growth, the company reviews whether to begin charging for these services. While core features remain free for the time being, Roh acknowledged that some premium functions may move to a paid model following internal reviews and partner discussions.
“Facing tougher price competition from Apple’s iPhone 17 base model that was released last year, Samsung is under pressure to maintain similar price points for the Galaxy S26, despite a significantly higher bill of materials. Roh emphasized that Samsung is working with suppliers to develop long-term strategies to mitigate pricing impacts across its consumer electronics portfolio, including smartphones, TVs and home appliances,” the report said.
Syed Ziyauddin is a media and international relations enthusiast with a strong academic and professional foundation. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media from Jamia Millia Islamia and a Master’s in International Relations (West Asia) from the same institution.
He has work with organizations like ANN Media, TV9 Bharatvarsh, NDTV and Centre for Discourse, Fusion, and Analysis (CDFA) his core interest includes Tech, Auto and global affairs.
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