Is the Galaxy S26 launch signalling pricier flagships in 2026? 

Samsung Electronics, in its “Unpacked” event, launched its Galaxy S26 lineup on February 26 in San Francisco, and one cannot miss the price hike as compared to the Galaxy S25 series.

The Galaxy S26 starts at ₹87,999 for the 12GB+256GB model, up from ₹80,999 for the Galaxy S25 at launch. The 12GB+512GB variant is priced at ₹1,07,999, compared to ₹92,999 for the S25.

The Galaxy S26+ is priced at ₹1,19,999 for 12GB+256GB, versus ₹99,999 for the S25+. The 12GB+512GB S26+ costs ₹1,39,999, compared to ₹1,11,999 for its predecessor.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at ₹1,39,999 for 12GB+256GB, up from ₹1,29,999 for the S25 Ultra. The 12GB+512GB variant is priced at ₹1,59,999, compared to ₹1,41,999 for the S25 Ultra. The top-end 16GB+1TB S26 Ultra costs ₹1,89,999, while the 12GB+1TB S25 Ultra was priced at ₹1,65,999.

According to Counterpoint Research’s Market Pulse service, Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series outperformed the S24 series by 5% during its launch year (February–December). The Galaxy S25 Ultra improved sales by 7% compared to the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Despite a weaker start, launch-year sales of the S25 series from February through December outpaced those of the S24 series during the same period. Counterpoint also noted that global sales of the Galaxy S25 Ultra recorded month-over-month increases in July and October, while Galaxy Z7 foldables saw significant demand during the same period. As a result, the Galaxy S25 Ultra ended 2025 in the global Top 10 list of best-selling smartphone models.

Pricing, memory configurations to help understand future market trends

Counterpoint stated that the Galaxy S26 series launch will serve as an early indicator of the impact of memory supply constraints on flagship devices. The research firm said pricing, memory configurations and associated promotions around the S26 launch could provide insights into broader 2026 smartphone market trends.

According to Counterpoint, while the immediate impact of the memory supply situation is likely to be felt more strongly in lower price segments, Samsung’s launch could indicate how other OEMs respond.

Samsung has also retained a double-storage introductory offer for select variants—first introduced in the S25 series launch last year, allowing buyers to purchase a 512GB model at the price of the 256GB configuration during the launch period.

Separately, Samsung has pre-announced enhancements to Bixby and integration with Perplexity as part of its generative AI push. However, Counterpoint’s consumer research says that AI has not yet been a key upgrade driver for buyers.  

Senior Analyst Gerrit Schneemann said, “While we saw resilience in the global smartphone market in 2025, with sales growing 3% YoY, in part driven by continued demand for flagship devices, the upcoming Samsung launch will be a key indicator for the industry and consumers alike as to how 2026 will shape up in terms of smartphone pricing. Because of the global memory supply crunch, we have already seen localised changes in pricing and now look towards this global launch for indicators on how much of the added memory cost gets passed on to the end user.”

Research Director Tarun Pathak added, “The global smartphone market’s premiumization trend continued in 2025, as witnessed by the notable performance of Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series, particularly the Ultra variant. For this year, Samsung will be looking for continued growth in the premium segment, aided by promotions and financing options in key markets, to offset exposure to lower price tiers, which are likely to be impacted immediately by rising component costs.”