Samsung has added $100 to the Galaxy S26, S26+ and Ultra and $200 to the 1TB Ultra, seven months after the phones went on sale, blaming the memory shortage. The same shortage made Samsung’s semiconductor division 94% of company profit in the first quarter while its mobile division’s operating profit fell about 38%.
Samsung has put $100 on the Galaxy S26, S26+ and Ultra in the United States, and $200 on the 1TB Ultra. The phones have been on sale since March. The company that makes the memory behind the increase is also Samsung.
The three now start at $1,000, $1,200 and $1,400, with the top Ultra at $2,000, as Bloomberg reported. South Korea saw comparable rises. It is the Ultra line’s first increase since early 2024.
The cheapest model is untouched. The S26 FE stays at $700, where it launched in August at $50 above its predecessor. The foldables are also spared.
That leaves the $1,900 Z Fold 8 below Apple’s iPhone Duo, which arrives on 23 October at $1,999. Apple raised the iPhone 18 Pro line weeks ago, and the Pixel 11 too.
Samsung sits on both sides of this. Its operating profit jumped 19-fold to 89.4 trillion won in the second quarter, on DRAM contract prices up 44% in three months.
The phone division is not enjoying it. In the first quarter the semiconductor business produced 94% of company profit, while mobile’s operating profit fell about 38%.
Samsung’s memory arm nearly doubled mobile DRAM to around $70 per 12GB unit, on quarterly contracts. RAM prices surged sixfold in a year, from $2.80 a gigabyte to $12.
The company warned internally that 2026 could bring its mobile division’s first annual loss. This week’s increase is what that looks like on a shelf.
Europe has absorbed less of it so far. The S26 launched in Britain at £879, about £20 above the S25, against a $100 jump in America. Samsung’s more expensive tablets reach European shops next week at EUR 1,299.
No European increase has been announced for the phones. A Greek technology site reported in June that rises of EUR 100 to EUR 200 were coming, which we have not confirmed elsewhere.
British retail has been warning since the summer. Currys told investors to expect cost price inflation and availability problems later in the year.
The pattern across the industry is consistent. Apple, Google and Samsung have all put up phone prices within a quarter, citing nothing but memory. Omdia expects those prices to stay high after the shortage ends.
What is different here is the timing. A launch price is a judgement about a new product. This is a judgement about one that is already on sale.