Leaker reiterates Galaxy S26 smartphone launch plans as Samsung warns of looming price increases

Samsung has just announced the Galaxy Book6 series, including the return of its Ultra-branded laptop to rival Apple's MacBook Pro 16 (curr. $2,239 on Amazon). However, Samsung is not finished with launching new high-end devices this quarter.

In recent years, the company has quickly moved onto new Galaxy S series smartphones, as was the case last January when it introduced the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus and Galaxy S25 Ultra simultaneously. Based on recent rumours, Samsung had pushed the launch of new Galaxy S smartphones into February for the first time in three years.

According to Evan Blass, earlier suggestions of a February 25 launch remain accurate, adding that they are '100% accurate' and that one could 'take it to the bank'. At the same time, Samsung CEO has warned that the ongoing memory chips shortage could result in price rises across its smartphone divisions and its other consumers electronics.

In the short-term, Samsung Head of Marketing has clarified that Samsung hopes to avoid passing on rising memory prices to consumers. Cited by Bloomberg, Won-Jin Lee stresses that an inflect point looms, though. Currently, Samsung is expected to deliver the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus and Galaxy S26 Ultra simultaneously, with the rumoured Galaxy S26 Pro being shelved because of Apple's aggressive iPhone 17 pricing strategy.