By Mashable | Created at 2026-10-01 17:24:17 | Updated at 2026-10-02 00:25:54
8 hours ago
In a year of price increases, this one felt inevitable.
By
Timothy Beck Werth
Tech Editor
Timothy Beck Werth is the Tech Editor at Mashable, where he leads coverage and assignments for the Tech and Shopping verticals. Tim has over 15 years of experience as a journalist and editor, and he has particular experience covering and testing consumer technology, smart home gadgets, and men’s grooming and style products. Previously, he was the Managing Editor and then Site Director of SPY.com, a men's product review and lifestyle website. As a writer for GQ, he covered everything from bull-riding competitions to the best Legos for adults, and he’s also contributed to publications such as The Daily Beast, Gear Patrol, and The Awl.
on October 1, 2026
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We named the Galaxy S26 Ultra a Mashable Choice product when it launched in March. Credit: Joseph Maldonado / Mashable
It's a new fact of life in 2026: If a gadget has memory, it's going to get a price increase eventually.
And on the first day of October, PhoneArena noticed that Samsung had raised prices by $100 or more on its latest-generation flagship smartphones in the U.S., the Galaxy S26 line. Samsung opened the new phone release season when it released the Galaxy S26 in March, and since then, we've documented price increases from Apple, Acer, Google, HP, Motorola, Lenovo, Nintendo, Sony, and Xbox.
Because of a multi-trillion-dollar AI infrastructure spending spree, the memory components that are necessary for laptops, smartphones, gaming consoles, and other tech products are in short supply.
The Galaxy S26 price hikes hurt even more because the S26 and S26 Plus were already more expensive at launch than their S25 counterparts.
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The new prices are:
Galaxy S26, 256GB — $999.99
Galaxy S26 Plus, 256GB — $1,199.99
Galaxy S26 Ultra, 256GB — $1,399.99
Prices vary depending on the storage option you choose, but in general, all the S26 phones are now $100 more expensive. As PhoneArena noted, the 1TB version of the S26 Ultra received a $200 increase.
We do have some good news, however.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 FE, announced on Sept. 3, is unaffected by the price increases; you can still preorder that phone for a starting price of $699, and it's set to be released on Oct. 5.
In addition, you can still find some deals on the Galaxy S26. Amazon is selling the Galaxy S26 Ultra in the white colorway for over $100 off, letting you cancel out the price increase; you can also buy the base model S26 for its original price in select colors, also at Amazon. Finally, mobile carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile will often offer up to $1,000 off new phones if you switch, trade in an old device, or sign up for a specific plan.
Top deals of the day:
Timothy Beck Werth is the Tech Editor at Mashable, where he leads coverage and assignments for the Tech and Shopping verticals. Tim has over 15 years of experience as a journalist and editor, and he has particular experience covering and testing consumer technology, smart home gadgets, and men’s grooming and style products. Previously, he was the Managing Editor and then Site Director of SPY.com, a men's product review and lifestyle website. As a writer for GQ, he covered everything from bull-riding competitions to the best Legos for adults, and he’s also contributed to publications such as The Daily Beast, Gear Patrol, and The Awl.
Tim studied print journalism at the University of Southern California. He currently splits his time between Brooklyn, NY and Charleston, SC. He's currently working on his second novel, a science-fiction book.
