Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Confirmed Release Date and Price Increase.

Following various shifting speculations, it appears that Samsung will introduce the Galaxy S26 Ultra later in the year than its predecessor, the Galaxy S25. A new leak from a very respected informant verifies prior predictions of the forthcoming flagship’s February launch date. If you don’t want to miss out on the latest release date and preorder deal updates, sign up for my newsletter here.

Evan Blass confirms the February Galaxy S26 release date rumors.

The date of 25 February is 100% correct. You can take it to the bank. https://t.co/YYe7P85Nwv

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) January 6, 2026

Long-time smartphone leaker Evan Blass announced on X that Samsung will hold its Galaxy S26 Unpacked event on February 25th. Blass described Ice Universe, who broke the news, as saying the date was “100% correct.”

We still don’t know when the phones will go on sale, although Ice Universe earlier stated that the Galaxy S26 series will be available in “early March,” but halfway through the month is more likely.

Samsung’s last five launches occurred between 14 and 16 days after the Galaxy Unpacked event. A February 25th revelation suggests that the Galaxy S26 series will be available for purchase around March 13th. While that is mid-month rather than “early” March, the 13th falls on a Friday, which is the typical day of the week for Samsung’s flagship retail releases.

Samsung warns of possible Galaxy S26 price increases.

Update: January 8th, 16:12 ET. Samsung executives have warned that higher prices for the company’s products, including forthcoming smartphones, are probable due to a global scarcity of memory chips.

Speaking to Reuters at CES 2026, Samsung Electronics co-CEO TM Roh stated that “no company is immune” to the pressures of the worldwide memory scarcity and associated price increases, including Samsung’s smartphone industry. Roh did not rule out boosting goods pricing, stating that it was “inevitable.”

Wonjin Lee, Samsung’s worldwide marketing president, echoed Roh’s warning during an interview with Bloomberg. “When memory prices rise, it will affect product prices. I don’t believe we are immune to such difficulties.”

“Prices are rising… We don’t want to pass that burden on to customers, but we’ll eventually have to consider repricing our products,” Lee said.

I’m not sure if Samsung is soft-launching a price increase for the Galaxy S26 with these two interviews, or if, as the Korean media has consistently reported, officials have yet to settle on the phone’s ultimate price. A price rise may not be detrimental to Samsung’s sales if every other smartphone manufacturer follows suit.

What’s fascinating is how this will affect future promotions and bargains. Samsung is one of the most aggressive manufacturers when it comes to discounting its products, particularly smartphones. During Black Friday, the Korean business discounted the Galaxy S25 Ultra 512GB to $859.99. A sub-$900 Samsung flagship with the second-highest memory capacity is about as good as it gets. If the worldwide memory scarcity persists, this form of price cut—both lowering handset prices and providing storage upgrades—may become obsolete.

Expected Galaxy S26 Ultra Price and Cost Leaks.

According to Korean media, Samsung is unsure how much it would charge for the Galaxy S26 series. According to a source in the Korean journal Maeil Business, Samsung has decided to preserve the same prices as the Galaxy S25 (as it has done for numerous iterations) and offset any losses from rising memory costs by charging more for Galaxy A-series phones.

However, on January 5th, ET News reported that Samsung is still considering a price increase of between 44,000 ($31) and 88,000 ($62) won per model. In the United States, the Galaxy S26 series might cost approximately $859, $1,059, and $1,359 for the base, Plus, and Ultra variants, respectively.

According to ET News, Samsung’s hallmark double storage pre-order promotion may also be discontinued. The promotion often includes a free storage upgrade (for example, from 256GB to 512GB) as well as benefits such as a $50 store credit and higher trade-in prices.

Why? Memory prices have surged as a result of the AI boom, as factory space, RAM, and flash storage are diverted to power AI data centers. It’s not just Samsung and the Galaxy S26; all smartphone makers are presently attempting to balance pricing and revenues for their 2026 releases.