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Samsung has raised prices on its Galaxy S26 smartphone lineup in the US by USD 100 or more, just months after the phones went on sale. The latest adjustment pushes the starting price of the 256GB Galaxy S26 to nearly USD 1,000. The price changes took effect on Samsung's US website on October 1, 2026, affecting nearly every S26 configuration.
The increase comes as smartphone makers face sharply higher memory costs, driven in part by strong demand from the AI industry. Samsung had previously cited rising RAM and other component costs when explaining the S26's higher launch prices.
The standard Galaxy S26 originally launched in the US at USD 899.99, already USD 100 above the Galaxy S25's starting price. With the latest increase, the 256 GB model now costs USD 999.99. The Galaxy S26 Plus has also received another USD 100 increase, bringing its starting price to USD 1,199.99. The entry-level Galaxy S26 Ultra now starts at USD 1,399.99. The 1TB version of the Ultra has seen an even larger USD 200 increase.
This means the base S26 is now USD 200 more expensive than the Galaxy S25 was at launch, although Samsung increased the entry-level storage from 128GB to 256GB with the newer model.
Higher memory costs are becoming a bigger issue for smartphone manufacturers. Samsung executives previously said rising memory prices contributed significantly to the Galaxy S26's higher price tag, alongside other rising material and production costs.
The pressure is linked partly to demand from AI companies, which are consuming large amounts of memory for data centers. South Korean reports also indicate that memory prices have risen substantially since the S26 launched in March.
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Galaxy S26 FE is the only model in the lineup that has not received the latest US price increase, with its starting price remaining at USD 699. However, that is still higher than the Galaxy S25 FE's launch price.
