Samsung will soon launch the Galaxy S26 series, with rumors of the next-generation flagship devices just weeks away from its release. Now, reports have emerged that cost fluctuations have created uncertainty within the company regarding the pricing of the Galaxy S26 models. This comes at a time when the Korean giant is reportedly losing money on every Galaxy Z Trifold it sells. Here are all the details.

Why is Samsung struggling with pricing for the Galaxy S26?

According to Korean publication The Bell, a major factor behind Samsung’s pricing dilemma is the sharp rise in component costs, especially memory. The report said that the global shortage of RAM due to increasing demand for AI hardware has made securing high-bandwidth memory challenging and expensive. As a result, the manufacturing costs of devices like the Galaxy S26 have increased. As of now, it appears that Samsung has not decided on the price tag for its latest flagship.

If Samsung bears these increased expenses and sells the Galaxy S26 at prices comparable to the existing Galaxy S25 series, profits could take a hit. Alternatively, raising prices risks reducing consumer demand, especially since Apple lowered the price of the iPhone 17 this year. The price of 256GB variant of iPhone 16 in India was Rs 89,900. However, Apple launched the iPhone 17 with 256GB storage at Rs 82,900. Although the 128GB variant of the iPhone 16 was cheaper, Apple decided to discontinue it with the latest release. This has increased the pressure on Samsung not to increase the prices of the Galaxy S26 series.

For reference, the Samsung Galaxy S25 starts at Rs 80,999 in India.

Another factor affecting cost is Samsung’s reliance on Qualcomm Snapdragon processors compared to its in-house Exynos chips in recent flagship devices. The company is working on using the Exynos 2600 chipset in some markets to reduce production costs and increase profitability, but for now, the Galaxy S26 series will continue to feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, limiting Samsung’s ability to control expenses.

Samsung is incurring losses on Galaxy Z Trifold

Priced at 3,594,000 won (roughly Rs. 2,24,000), the Galaxy Z Trifold is already Samsung’s most expensive foldable phone to date. Despite this premium price, reports show that the company is losing money on each unit sold as production expenses exceed the selling price.

In an apparent acknowledgment, Samsung Electronics Korea vice president Lim Sung-taek said during the launch event of the device: “This is a special edition product, so instead of selling it in bulk, we prepared it so that people who want it can try it.” He further said, “There were many issues such as the memory price, but we made a big decision to reduce it and achieve this tight price.”

Samsung reportedly isn’t trying to make a profit on every Galaxy Z Trifold phone sold yet. The company has taken this decision to show its technical capability and make the phone more competitive. Samsung is the first phone maker after Huawei to launch a triple-folding phone. Since the device will not be sold in large numbers, Samsung’s overall losses are limited. Although such a strategy is unusual for smartphones, it has precedent in the tech sector, with some luxury electronics being sold at a loss until costs are reduced.