IGI Logo

Samsung's upcoming Galaxy smartphone is expected to see its first price increase since 2023, industry watchers said on Wednesday, amid a global rise in memory chip prices fuelled by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

The South Korean tech giant plans to host the Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event in San Francisco on Feb. 25 (U.S. time) under the theme "The Next AI Phone Makes Your Life Easier," where the company is widely expected to unveil the Galaxy S26, the latest in its flagship lineup, reports Yonhap news agency.

Samsung Electronics has held the price of its main Galaxy models steady since 2023, but industry watchers say an adjustment appears inevitable for the Galaxy S26 series due to higher memory costs.

During a meeting with reporters in January, Roh Tae-moon, co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Samsung Electronics, also hinted that the rising memory chip costs could affect the pricing of Samsung products.

Industry sources said the 256-gigabyte model of the Galaxy S26 may rise by up to 99,000 won (US$68) from the set price of 1.15 million won for the basic model since the Galaxy S23.

"Stronger chip performance required for AI devices is making a price increase inevitable," an industry official said.

"Samsung is expected to finalise the price after considering consumers' psychological threshold and competitors' pricing policies," the official added.

"The new Galaxy S series is coming, built to simplify everyday interactions, inspire confidence and make Galaxy AI feel seamlessly integrated from the moment it's in hand," the company said in an earlier release.

Sources said the new Galaxy smartphone, widely expected to be the Galaxy S26, will be equipped with a built-in privacy feature allowing users to protect on-screen information from others without the need to attach an additional film, said the report.