Samsung has quietly raised the Philippine prices of the Galaxy S26, S26+ and S26 Ultra by ₱10,000 to ₱17,000, with the new figures reported as already live on Samsung's local listings. The increases land days after Samsung repriced the same lineup in the United States, where Gizmodo reported a $100 (around ₱6,300) increase on most models and $200 (around ₱12,500) on the 1TB Galaxy S26 Ultra. The reason, in both markets, is the same: memory chips have become sharply more expensive.
Galaxy S26 Philippine prices: old versus new
| Model | Old price | New price | Increase |
|---|
| Galaxy S26 (256GB) | ₱58,990 | ₱68,990 | ₱10,000 |
| Galaxy S26 (512GB) | ₱72,990 | ₱82,990 | ₱10,000 |
| Galaxy S26+ (256GB) | ₱74,990 | ₱84,990 | ₱10,000 |
| Galaxy S26+ (512GB) | ₱88,990 | ₱98,990 | ₱10,000 |
| Galaxy S26 Ultra (256GB) | ₱86,990 | ₱96,990 | ₱10,000 |
| Galaxy S26 Ultra (512GB) | ₱100,990 | ₱110,990 | ₱10,000 |
| Galaxy S26 Ultra (1TB) | ₱121,990 | ₱138,990 | ₱17,000 |
The Galaxy S26 FE — the lineup's most affordable model — is unchanged at ₱46,990, matching Samsung's decision abroad, where the $699 (around ₱43,800) FE was also spared.
A transparency note: as of publication, only one outlet has reported the full list of new Philippine prices. Samsung Philippines' own online store did not display list prices on its Galaxy S26 Ultra purchase page when checked for this story, though the page does advertise a freebie bundle worth ₱5,579, up to ₱4,000 off with Samsung Rewards, and a ₱5,000 e-voucher on the add-on page — promos that soften, but do not erase, the increase.
Why phones are getting more expensive mid-cycle
Mid-cycle price increases on flagships are rare; prices normally drift down as a model ages. What changed is the cost of memory. Demand from AI data centers has pulled DRAM and NAND supply away from phones, and Samsung — which both makes memory and buys it for its phones — has been open about passing the cost on. In the US, the company had already priced the S26 lineup $100 above the S25 at launch, citing rising RAM costs, before stacking this second increase on top.
This fits a pattern we have been tracking: Samsung has locked in memory price increases of 30-40% for 2027 contracts, and Apple raised Philippine prices of its older iPhones by ₱8,000 to ₱30,000 a day after the iPhone 18 Pro launch. The S26 hike is the same squeeze reaching Samsung's own shelves.
Should you still buy an S26 in the Philippines?
A few practical reads on the new pricing:
- If you were already set on an S26, the promos matter more than before. The freebie bundle and voucher stack on Samsung's store claws back roughly half of the ₱10,000 increase — check what applies to your configuration before paying list price.
- The S26 FE at ₱46,990 is now the value pick by a wide margin. The gap between the FE and the base S26 has widened from ₱12,000 to ₱22,000.
- Waiting may not help. With memory contracts for 2027 already priced higher across the industry, there is no clear reason to expect these prices to fall back; if anything, the pressure points the other way.
- Secondhand and older-generation flagships get more attractive. A mid-cycle hike on current models typically lifts demand for the previous generation, so expect S25-series stock to move faster.
Samsung has not published a statement specific to the Philippine adjustment, and no official effectivity date has been announced — the new prices simply appeared on local listings. If an official confirmation or a wider regional statement follows, the figures above are the ones to check it against.
