Samsung is certainly feeling the heat from Apple's aggressive pricing strategy for its iPhone 17 lineup, and now the South Korean behemoth is responding by absorbing higher component costs to prevent a price increase for its upcoming Galaxy S26 series, while equipping its Galaxy Z Fold8 and Flip8 with a beefed-up battery, replete with reduced weight.
Samsung to sacrifice its margins to launch the Galaxy S26 series at the same price points that the S25 series launched at
According to a new report out of South Korea, Samsung has decided to freeze the price of its upcoming Galaxy S26 series, which is now expected to launch at the same price points that the S25 series launched at.
This means that the base variant of the Galaxy S26 (256GB) will start retailing for $799, the S26 Plus for $999, and the S26 Ultra at $1,299. Do note that the wider industry trends - driven by the higher cost of components, especially the LPDDR5x, as well as the weakening Korean Won - had pointed to a price hike for the upcoming flagship series.
In doing so, Samsung is trying to retain price parity with Apple, which launched the iPhone 17 at $799 in September 2025, despite bumping up the base storage to 256GB.
Moreover, Samsung is also expected to extend this largesse to its Galaxy Z Fold8 and Galaxy Z Flip8, both of which are now expected to launch at last year's prices of $1,999 and $1,099, respectively.
Finally, do note that Samsung is now expected to hold its 'Galaxy Unpacked' event on February 25, with sales of the Galaxy S26 series commencing in March 2026.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 and Galaxy Z Flip8 will weigh less despite featuring beefed-up batteries
As per another report, Samsung is working on reducing the weight of the Galaxy Z Fold8 to the ~200g range from the 215g for the Galaxy Z Fold7, while increasing the battery capacity from 4,400mAh to 5,000mAh.
Similarly, the Galaxy Z Flip8 is also expected to see its weight reduced to ~180g from 188g for the Galaxy Z Flip7.
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
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