Samsung and Motorola just raised prices of old phones — and that's a terrifying prospect

We all knew it was coming, but it seems that RAMageddon has finally come for our phones. Just days after Asus raised prices of the new Zenbook A14 and A16 at the last possible second, it seems Motorola and Samsung have done something similar. Both companies have taken the unprecedented move of raising the prices of phones that have already been released.

In Samsung's case, the company has raised the price of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7's higher-storage variants. While the entry-level model with 256GB of storage is still the same $1,999, the 512GB and 1TB models have suffered an $80 price hike. Meaning you'll now have to pay $2,199 and $2,499, respectively.

There are two things noteworthy about this particular change. The first is that the Z Fold 7 was released back in July of last year, almost nine months ago. That kind of mid-year price hike is unheard of, especially this late into the phone's life cycle. With the Galaxy Z Fold 8 supposedly arriving on July 22, this is the time when the Z Fold 7's price should be decreasing. It's mind-boggling that Samsung has done the complete opposite.

The other thing I noticed is that these newly raised prices perfectly align with the recent Galaxy Z Fold 8 price leak. It was reported that the 512GB and 1TB models would get an $80 price hike, while the 256GB standard model would remain the same price. Obviously, now that the Z Fold 7 prices have increased, there's no telling whether Samsung will keep things static on the next generation foldable.

Motorola's price hikes come right after the launch of the Moto G Stylus (2026). That phone was announced earlier this week with a $500 price tag — $100 more than the Moto G Stylus 2026. Following that reveal, it was announced that three older devices will be getting similar price increases.

The Moto G Play (2026), which was released in December for $179, is now going to cost $249 — an $80 price increase. The Moto G (2026) and Moto G Power (2026), which were released in January, will each be getting a $100 price hike. That takes them to $299 and £399, respectively.

There's been no official explanation as to why Motorola has raised all its prices, but I doubt it's a coincidence. Whether the new prices have been done out of necessity, or to better match the higher price of this year's G Stylus, isn't entirely clear. Honestly, I can see it being a little bit of both.

As frustrating as it is to have to contend with phone prices going up, it's also a little bit scary to see. If Samsung can justify raising prices on a phone that's set to be replaced in a few months, there's no telling what might happen to phone prices in the future.

I still remember a time when game consoles were supposed to get price cuts, whereas now Sony and Microsoft seem to be asking for more money every few months. The last thing I want to see happen is for the same situation to happen to phones.

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