Samsung Just Raised Galaxy S26 Prices in Korea, Seven Months After Launch

Samsung has raised prices across the entire Galaxy S26 lineup in South Korea as of October 1, roughly seven months after the phones first went on sale. Seoul Economic Daily reports Samsung confirmed the increase directly, tying it to DRAM prices that have reportedly doubled in the six months since the S26 launched, alongside a record quarterly loss in Samsung’s mobile division.

The 512GB tiers across the lineup also went up by the same ₩149,600 as the base 256GB models. It’s really only the Ultra’s 1TB configuration that lines up with the “$200 price hike” headline some outlets have run with every other model and storage tier is closer to a $105 increase.

A seven-months-after-launch price hike is genuinely unusual for Samsung, which normally locks in flagship pricing at launch and leaves it alone until the next generation. Samsung itself is framing the move as a response to real cost pressure rather than routine repricing the same report notes plans to lean harder on higher-margin devices like the Galaxy Z8 foldable and next year’s Galaxy S27 series to help offset the squeeze, which is a fairly direct hint that S27 pricing probably won’t be getting any cheaper either.

So far this increase is confirmed only for South Korea. There’s no indication from Samsung that the US, UK, or other markets are getting a matching hike, and pricing on devices like the Galaxy S26 compared against its predecessor elsewhere remains unchanged for now though given how many other Samsung price adjustments have shown up across different markets this year, it wouldn’t be surprising if Korea isn’t the only place feeling it eventually.

M Adnan Akram

M Adnan Akram is the founder and lead writer at Phoonomo, covering mobile technology with a primary focus on Apple and the broader smartphone industry, alongside emerging developments in AI. He follows product launches, spec leaks, and industry trends closely to keep readers informed with timely updates.