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Memory costs push Samsung's 1TB Galaxy S26 Ultra to $1,999 seven months after launch

Samsung added $100 to most Galaxy S26 phones and $200 to the 1TB Ultra in the US, the second rise this year for the base S26 and S26 Plus. For teams planning 2027 phone refreshes, the storage tier on each order now moves the price more than it did in the spring.

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What happened

  • The S26 Ultra kept its $1,299 starting price at launch and now starts at about $1,400, the Ultra line's first increase since early 2024.
  • Samsung made the change on Thursday without issuing a company statement, and a Samsung representative did not immediately answer CNET's request for comment.
  • In March Samsung presented the first S26 increase as the price of upgrades, though its executives also blamed the AI-driven memory shortage.
  • Samsung also makes the memory behind the increase, and its chip unit produced 94% of company profit in the first quarter while mobile operating profit fell about 38%.
  • On its July earnings call, Samsung said it expects the memory shortage to be worse next year and to last through 2028.

Why it matters

  • What it costs cost Teams replacing S25s with a base S26 or S26 Plus now pay $200 more per phone than the S25 cost, spread over two increases.
  • What it sets up precedent Samsung repriced phones seven months after they went on sale, so a phone quote that is not fixed by contract can change between approval and delivery.
  • What doesn't add up contradiction The Next Web says no European phone increase has been announced, but GSMArena found higher prices on Samsung's UK and mainland European stores, so multinational fleets cannot assume the rise is US-only.

Say you priced a 1TB Galaxy S26 Ultra for a staff refresh in the spring and are placing the order now. It is listed at $1,999, up from $1,799 [5][24]. The 512GB Ultra is $1,599 [5]. Going from 512GB to 1TB on one handset now costs $400. Before the change it cost $300 [26][27].

According to The Next Web, Samsung blamed the memory shortage [31]. Samsung's chip business sells mobile DRAM on quarterly contracts, and it nearly doubled the price to around $70 per 12GB unit, the outlet reported [22]. Samsung's second-quarter operating profit rose 19-fold to 89.4 trillion won, on DRAM contract prices that climbed 44% in three months [17]. CNET traced the shortage to the AI data center buildout and its demand for high-bandwidth memory [8]. "A launch price is a judgement about a new product. This is a judgement about one that is already on sale," The Next Web wrote [13].

Buying further down the range avoids the increase for now. The S26 FE stays at $700 [4], and the Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra and Z Flip 8 kept their prices [3]. Tom's Guide points buyers to the Galaxy A57 series, which starts at $549 [25]. Other brands have gone the same way. Apple and Google both raised prices by about $100 on their most recent phones, CNET reported [10].

GlobalData senior analyst Amanda Mitchell said carriers can take some of the sting out with installment plans, trade-in credits and refurbished devices, but that will not reverse higher prices [20]. "Lasting relief depends on additional production capacity, but manufacturers' expansion plans will take years to reach the market, and much of the new investment is intended to serve AI demand rather than consumer devices," Mitchell said [18]. "With meaningful new capacity years away, price pressure is likely to persist," she said [19]. Omdia expects prices to stay high even after the shortage ends, according to The Next Web [21].

I'd budget 2027 refreshes at the new list prices and buy storage based on measured use. The tradeoff is less headroom if a role's usage grows over a phone's life. Two questions place each role. First, do the people in it fill the storage they are issued? A device management console reports used capacity for each handset. Second, is the price fixed? That could be a signed contract, a carrier deal, or retail stock still listed at the old figure. Tom's Guide found Amazon still selling the S26 Ultra at its original price [7].

- Fills its storage, fixed price: buy on those terms while they hold. - Fills its storage, floating price: budget $1,999 per 1TB Ultra [5]. - Leaves storage unused, fixed price: drop a tier. On the Ultra, the top tier bought as insurance against a full phone now costs $400 more per handset [26]. - Leaves storage unused, floating price: the FE, at $700, is a price Samsung left alone [4].

What to watch

  • Galaxy S27 launch pricing, which GSMArena reports is rumored to rise again, and whether that rise starts from the original or the raised S26 list prices.
  • Samsung's next quarterly results, which will show whether the mobile division is heading for the first annual loss the company warned of internally.

Clarity's read

What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.

Reality

Evidence86
Adoption60
Hype gap+10
Incentives60
Confidence80

Perspective Coverage

17 publishers
Builder
Builder 12%
Operator
Operator 62%
Investor
Investor 26%
Why these scores

Claim ledger

Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.

  1. [1]

    On Thursday, Samsung quietly raised prices on the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra by $100 in the US, without issuing an official company statement.

    Reported Supported Source: CNETView cited source
  2. [2]

    The Galaxy S26, S26+ and S26 Ultra now start at $1,000, $1,200 and $1,400, with the top Ultra at $2,000.

    Reported Supported Source: The Next Web, citing BloombergView cited source
  3. [3]

    The Galaxy S26 FE did not go up in price, and the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra and Z Flip 8 were also spared.

    Reported Supported Source: CNETView cited source
  4. [4]

    The S26 FE stays at $700.

    Reported Supported Source: The Next WebView cited source
  5. [5]

    The Galaxy S26 Ultra now costs $1,599 for the 512GB variant and $1,999 for the 1TB variant; the 1TB model rose $200.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's GuideView cited source
  6. [6]

    The Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus each launched $100 above their S25 counterparts, while the S26 Ultra kept the $1,299 starting price.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's GuideView cited source
  7. [7]

    Amazon is still offering the Galaxy S26 Ultra at the original price.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's GuideView cited source
  8. [8]

    The RAM shortage results from the buildout of AI data center infrastructure, which requires huge amounts of memory, especially high-bandwidth memory.

    Reported Supported Source: CNETView cited source
  9. [9]

    In its Q2 earnings call in July, Samsung said it expects the memory shortage to be worse next year and persist through 2028.

    Reported Supported Source: CNETView cited source
  10. [10]

    Apple and Google also raised prices by about $100 on their most recent phones.

    Reported Supported Source: CNETView cited source
  11. [11]

    In March, Samsung justified the first price increase by emphasizing upgrades and innovation, though company executives also admitted the AI-created memory shortage was to blame.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's GuideView cited source
  12. [12]

    The increase is the Ultra line's first since early 2024.

    Reported Supported Source: The Next WebView cited source
  13. [13]

    "A launch price is a judgement about a new product. This is a judgement about one that is already on sale."

    Reported Supported Source: The Next WebView cited source
  14. [14]

    The increases came seven months after the phones went on sale in March.

    Reported Supported Source: The Next WebView cited source
  15. [15]

    In the first quarter Samsung's semiconductor business produced 94% of company profit, while the mobile division's operating profit fell about 38%.

    Reported Supported Source: The Next WebView cited source
  16. [16]

    The company that makes the memory behind the increase is also Samsung.

    Reported Supported Source: The Next WebView cited source
  17. [17]

    Samsung's operating profit jumped 19-fold to 89.4 trillion won in the second quarter, on DRAM contract prices up 44% in three months.

    Reported Supported Source: The Next WebView cited source
  18. [18]

    "Lasting relief depends on additional production capacity, but manufacturers' expansion plans will take years to reach the market, and much of the new investment is intended to serve AI demand rather than consumer devices," Mitchell said.

    Reported Supported Source: Amanda Mitchell, GlobalData senior analyst, via CNETView cited source
  19. [19]

    "With meaningful new capacity years away, price pressure is likely to persist."

    Reported Supported Source: Amanda Mitchell, GlobalData senior analyst, via CNETView cited source
  20. [20]

    Carriers could mitigate some sticker shock with installment plans, trade-in credits and refurbished devices, but that won't reverse higher prices or solve the memory shortage, GlobalData senior analyst Amanda Mitchell said.

    Reported Supported Source: CNET, citing GlobalData's Amanda MitchellView cited source
  21. [21]

    Omdia expects phone prices to stay high after the memory shortage ends.

    Reported Supported Source: The Next Web, citing OmdiaView cited source
  22. [22]

    Samsung's memory arm nearly doubled mobile DRAM to around $70 per 12GB unit, on quarterly contracts.

    Reported Supported Source: The Next WebView cited source
  23. [23]

    The base Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus now cost $200 more than their S25 counterparts.

    Derived Supported
  24. [24]

    The 1TB Galaxy S26 Ultra cost $1,799 before the increase.

    Derived Supported
  25. [25]

    Samsung's Galaxy A57 series starts at $549.

    Reported Supported Source: Tom's GuideView cited source
  26. [26]

    Moving a Galaxy S26 Ultra from 512GB to 1TB now costs $400.

    Derived Supported
  27. [27]

    Before the increase, moving a Galaxy S26 Ultra from 512GB to 1TB cost $300.

    Derived Supported
  28. [28]

    No European increase has been announced for the Galaxy S26 phones.

    Reported Contested Source: The Next WebView cited source
  29. [29]

    Samsung.com stores in the US, Canada, the UK, mainland Europe and India are all showing higher Galaxy S26 prices.

    Reported Contested Source: GSMArenaView cited source
  30. [30]

    A Samsung representative did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment.

    Reported Contested Source: CNETView cited source
  31. [31]

    Samsung blamed the memory shortage for the increase.

    Reported Contested Source: The Next WebView cited source
  32. [32]

    Rumor has it that the Galaxy S27 series will bring another price hike.

    Reported Insufficient Source: GSMArenaView cited source
  33. [33]

    Samsung warned internally that 2026 could bring its mobile division's first annual loss.

    Reported Insufficient Source: The Next WebView cited source

Sources

17 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.

  1. 9to5google.com

    2 articles · October 1, 2026

    Samsung officially raises Galaxy S26 prices by $100
  2. androidcentral.com

    1 article · October 1, 2026

    Galaxy S26 looks more expensive these days: price hikes roll out online | Android Central
  3. androidpolice.com

    1 article · October 1, 2026

    The Galaxy S26 Ultra now costs more than iPhone 18 Pro Max thanks to chip shortage
  4. bloomberg.com

    1 article · October 1, 2026

    Samsung Raises Galaxy S26 Prices by $100, Ultra Model Now Starts at $1,400 - Bloomberg
  5. cnet.com

    1 article · October 1, 2026

    Samsung Suddenly Raises Prices by $100 on Most Galaxy S26 Phones - CNET
  6. digitaltrends.com

    1 article · October 1, 2026

    Samsung’s Galaxy S26 price hikes have arrived, and the Ultra hurts most - Digital Trends
  7. droid-life.com

    1 article · October 1, 2026

    Samsung Raises Galaxy S26 Prices and We Know Why
  8. gizmodo.com

    1 article · October 1, 2026

    Samsung’s Jacking Up Galaxy S26 Prices, Because of Course It Is
  9. gsmarena.com

    1 article · October 1, 2026

    Price alert: Samsung raises the prices of Galaxy S26 phones, the US, Europe and India affected - GSMArena.com news
  10. howtogeek.com

    1 article · October 1, 2026

    The 6-month-old Galaxy S26 series is now $100 more expensive
  11. mashable.com

    1 article · October 1, 2026

    Here we go again: Samsung raises Galaxy S26 smartphone prices | Mashable
  12. mobilesyrup.com

    1 article · October 1, 2026

    Samsung Canada just raised the price of the Galaxy S26 series - MobileSyrup
  13. pcmag.com

    1 article · October 1, 2026

    Waiting to Buy a Samsung Galaxy S26? Sorry, They All Just Got More Expensive | PCMag

  14. phonescoop.com

    1 article · October 1, 2026

    Samsung Hikes Flagship Phone Prices (Phone Scoop)
  15. thenextweb.com

    1 article · October 1, 2026

    Samsung lifts prices across most of the Galaxy S26 range by $100
  16. theverge.com

    1 article · October 1, 2026

    Samsung raised prices on the Galaxy S26 by $100
  17. tomsguide.com

    1 article · October 1, 2026

    All Galaxy S26 phones just got a price hike — here's what you'll pay now | Tom's Guide

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