The Galaxy S26 price hike is starting to feel inevitable. Samsung has been hinting for weeks that higher component costs are making it harder to keep prices where they are, and now the company is openly acknowledging the pressure.
According to Samsung’s mobile boss TM Roh, memory prices are a major problem. Storage chips have become more expensive, and supply issues haven’t fully settled. That alone could push Galaxy S26 prices up in several regions.
But higher prices may not be the only bad news. A new report from South Korea suggests Samsung is also thinking about cutting back on pre-order perks, especially the popular free storage upgrade.
Galaxy S26 Price Hike Is Becoming Hard to Avoid
For years, pre-ordering a Galaxy S phone meant getting double the storage at no extra cost. Buy the 256GB model, get 512GB. It was simple, valuable, and one of Samsung’s strongest launch incentives.
That perk may now be too costly to keep. Storage upgrades can add over $100 to a phone’s retail value, and Samsung may no longer want to absorb that loss, especially with margins already under pressure.
Samsung could replace the storage upgrade with something else, like accessories or extra trade-in credit. Still, it’s hard to imagine anything matching the value of free storage.
The Galaxy S26 lineup is expected to be revealed at Galaxy Unpacked in late February. Until then, buyers should prepare for fewer deals and possibly higher prices than last year.
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