Samsung Galaxy S26 could be more expensive due to RAM shortage — but one of the company's execs still has a positive outlook

Galaxy S26 render — (Image credit: SmartPrix)

The Samsung Galaxy S26 and other new products could be affected by price increases, alongside those of different products that use the company's RAM, a Samsung executive has warned.

Out at CES 2026, Wonjin Lee, Samsung's president and head of global marketing, is quoted by Bloomberg as saying: “There’s going to be issues around semiconductor supplies, and it’s going to affect everyone.

“Prices are going up even as we speak. Obviously, we don’t want to convey that burden to the consumers, but we’re going to be at a point where we have to actually consider repricing our products.”

Despite this, Lee still has a positive outlook for 2026, at least compared to the previous year. “Mobile phones, with the emergence of AI, I think people are looking at upgrading their products to be able to leverage the new technologies,” he added.

Don't forget: the tech industry's having memory issues

Lee's comments come during what's being called "RAMageddon," caused by the AI industry's unprecedented demand for high-bandwidth RAM to help power more and more data centers. This has, in turn, caused a shortage of consumer-grade memory chips as manufacturers focus on serving the high-paying AI giants like Google and Microsoft.

While we've yet to see any particularly obvious price hikes in the smartphone market, reports from analysts, such as those at TrendForce, expect these imminently. We might cross our fingers that the smartphone companies will shelter us from the full brunt of the more expensive components, as rapid price increases are a sure-fire way to put consumers off upgrading.

In Samsung's case, the Galaxy S26 series (featuring the Galaxy S26 Ultra) will be the company's first big demonstration of how it's dealing with the RAM issue. There are rumors of both increased and steady prices, as well as of new features like a built-in privacy screen filter and upgrades to charging speed and photography.

The launch has been tipped to happen on February 25th, a fair bit later than Samsung's most recent Galaxy S launches, but one that's hopefully still worth the wait.

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Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.

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