According to multiple reports, Samsung has started mass producing the brand’s next lineup of flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S26 series, and the company will launch it in February 2026. With only two months to go for the launch, the tech giant should have decided the prices of the three devices in the lineup by now, but it reportedly hasn’t, and here’s why.
Lately, the prices of smartphone components have been going up, including camera modules, chipsets, OLED display panels, and, mainly, memory. As such, mobile manufacturing costs have increased sharply. In addition to that, rising labour costs and tougher competition leading to higher marketing costs are putting an even greater burden on mobile brands.
Rising manufacturing costs are making it harder for Samsung to decide the Galaxy S26 price
If Samsung decides to pass the increased manufacturing costs to customers and launches the Galaxy S26 series at a higher price than the Galaxy S25 lineup, fewer people may buy the phones. If the brand decides to absorb the cost burden and launch the upcoming phones at the same price as the current models, it will witness lower profits. As such, the company hasn’t been able to decide the prices of the Galaxy S26 lineup (via The Bell).
According to a previous and the latest report, Samsung launched the brand’s first smartphone with a tri-folding display, the Galaxy Z TriFold, at a price lower than its manufacturing cost, and therefore, is bearing a loss on each unit of the phone it sells. The company is said to have taken this decision to show its technological prowess and make the phone more competitive, and because the tech giant won’t be selling the device in high numbers, it won’t suffer high losses.
However, Samsung can’t take that step with the Galaxy S26 series, as the upcoming phones will be the brand’s cash cow, and it can’t risk profits on them.
It is crucial for Samsung to revive Exynos to maintain profits from Galaxy phones
In recent years, Samsung has been using Qualcomm’s chipsets more extensively than the in-house developed and manufactured Exynos SoCs, as the latter have not been performing as well as the former. As Qualcomm’s processors have taken the centre stage, the brand is reluctant to absorb higher chip manufacturing costs and is passing that onto its customers (read Samsung).
Samsung’s in-house developed and manufactured Exynos chipsets will cost less, reducing smartphone manufacturing costs and increasing the brand’s profitability on phones. This is why it has become crucial for the South Korean tech giant to revive the Exynos processors. The brand took the initiative with the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and will be extending it with the Galaxy S26 series, which is expected to feature the Exynos 2600 SoC. in some regions.
However, the Galaxy S26 series will also majorly use Qualcomm chipsets. So, there’s not much room for wiggle. With that, Samsung’s President, Roh Tae-Moon, is pushing strongly for component price reductions with partners. All-in-all, it is going to be tough for the South Korean tech giant to maintain profits and keep customers happy at the same time.
