Samsung Galaxy S26 Prices Soar, Reflecting Deepening Crisis
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The Samsung Galaxy S26 series has just been released with significant price increases across all variants. In Indonesia, the regular Samsung Galaxy S26 with the most standard RAM and internal storage configuration of 12/256GB is priced at IDR 16.5 million, or an increase of IDR 1.5 million from its predecessor.
For the 12/512GB variant, the price increase is even higher, reaching IDR 2.5 million. Similar price increases also occurred in the Galaxy S26+ variants, with IDR 1.5 million for the 12/256GB model and IDR 2.5 million for the 12/512GB model.
Samsung offers higher RAM capacity for the most premium Galaxy S26 Ultra variant, namely 16GB paired with 1TB of internal storage. The selling price has soared, reaching IDR 32 million.
Previously, the highest-end Galaxy S25 Ultra variant was ‘only’ equipped with 12GB of RAM with 1TB of internal storage and was priced at IDR 29 million.
The price increase for the Samsung Galaxy S26 series is not only happening in Indonesia. Quoted from Reuters, Thursday (February 26, 2026), several models sold in the United States (US) and South Korea (South Korea) also experienced price increases.
Reuters stated that this price increase is also to ‘test the waters’ amid the pressure of the memory chip crisis which increases production costs and erodes the profit margins of consumer electronics device manufacturers.
The Dilemma of the Chip Crisis for Samsung
Previously, in January, Samsung had warned that the chip shortage crisis due to the ‘explosion’ of AI would put pressure on its smartphone and display business units. On the other hand, high chip demand from various parties is making Samsung’s chip business soar.
In late January, Samsung reported that operating profit had more than tripled and recorded the highest ever for the fourth quarter of 2025. This emphasizes Samsung’s strength as one of the leading memory chip manufacturers in the world, amid the surge in demand for chips for AI development which is increasing selling prices.
However, Samsung also warned that rising chip prices would increase production costs in its smartphone and display business units.
“The overall significant shortage of memory products is expected to continue for the time being,” said Kim Jaejune, Samsung’s memory chip business executive, to analysts during a conference call after the earnings announcement in January 2026, quoted by Reuters, Thursday (February 26, 2026).
Samsung’s chip business operating profit, its main source of revenue, jumped 470% to a record high of 16.4 trillion won in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to the previous year, accounting for more than 80% of its total profit.
In contrast, its mobile business profit decreased by 10% to 1.9 trillion won, pressured by rising chip prices.
“Memory price increases are expected to increase this quarter and may provide an earnings surprise, while memory cost burdens will become more intense on its mobile business,” said Sohn In-joon, an analyst at Heungkuk Securities.
Shocks in Samsung’s Mobile and Display Business
The Samsung smartphone and display division warned of a “challenging year” in 2026 as it faces cost pressures from rising memory prices.
The smartphone division plans to work with its key partners to ensure a stable supply of products. This is expected to drive resource efficiency to minimize the risk of profit declines, said Cho Seung, a Samsung smartphone executive.
In an interview with Reuters some time ago, Samsung Co-CEO TM Roh described the current acute chip shortage as unprecedented. He added that the company may raise prices.
That statement proved to be true, with significant price increases for all variants of the flagship Galaxy S26 series. It is unclear whether Samsung’s mid-range Galaxy A models will also be subject to similar price increases.
Analysts say the chip crisis is likely to have the biggest impact on cheaper phones. This is because cheap phone manufacturers do not take large margins and rely on volume. The high price of memory chips will inevitably put pressure on the selling price of cheap phones.
“How this division [Samsung Mobile] maintains margins as the year progresses will be a key issue,” said Ko Yeongmin, an analyst at Daol Investment & Securities.
Samsung’s display business also expects smartphone demand to weaken this quarter due to soaring chip prices and anticipates customers will push for price cuts.
Samsung’s display business profit more than doubled to 2 trillion won in the fourth quarter of 2025, thanks to strong sales from the iPhone 17 series from its key customer, Apple.
(fab/fab)