Samsung Galaxy S26 Dilemma Why Prices are Rising and Which Model Matters
Samsung Electronics has reached the final stage of its pricing process which prepares the company to start selling its Galaxy S26 series next month. The company faces a difficult environment; while premium products like the Galaxy Z Trifold have maintained profitability, the rising cost of internal components is making it nearly impossible to keep retail prices frozen.
The primary driver behind potential price hikes is the surge in memory semiconductor prices. The high demand for AI servers has created a shortage of mobile grade memory which forces prices to rise. The Galaxy Book 6 Pro laptop from Samsung experienced a price increase of more than 1.5 million won compared to its previous model which will soon affect the smartphone industry.
Industry insiders expect that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will experience a price increase which might reach 1.8 million won. Samsung faces negative financial consequences because it must decrease its manufacturing costs at the same time which it cannot absorb.
Samsung starts to show higher product prices to customers by demonstrating how better user experience becomes possible through advanced technology. The S26 series will debut Agentic AI a next generation, user centric AI designed to be more proactive than current assistants. The system will operate with a second generation custom AP together with new camera sensor technology. The objective is to introduce innovative solutions which can justify the increased product cost.
The complete S26 product range will appear in marketing materials but Samsung production targets show a different situation. The launch phase manufacturing distribution shows a strong preference toward one specific model which will dominate the production process.
- Galaxy S26 Ultra Approximately 3.6 million units.
- Galaxy S26 Approximately 700,000 units.
- Galaxy S26+ Approximately 600,000 units.
Samsung has already made its choice.
— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) February 2, 2026
And it did so with production numbers.
Galaxy S26 Ultra: around 3.6 million units.
Galaxy S26: about 700 thousand.
Galaxy S26+: just 600 thousand.
The gap is so large that it barely needs interpretation.
When a company allocates most of its… pic.twitter.com/QNBkBEK7Lw
Samsung uses these figures to provide its clearest market signal. Samsung resources distribution shows that the company sees the Ultra model as its primary product while the standard and Plus models serve only to fill out the product range.
The choice of Samsung production strategy for your upgrade next month leads to a direct decision. The company has built its success strategy around the Ultra model. The Ultra device is the only product which receives complete support from Samsung during a year when technical costs and pricing policies face a major transition. The Ultra model serves as the main flagship product for the upcoming 2026 launch.
