Deals: here's how to avoid the Galaxy S26 series price hike
In case you missed it, Samsung increased the Galaxy S26 prices globally – in the US, they are $100 higher than they were at launch seven months ago. And even back then, most configurations cost more than the equivalent S25 models did last year.
However, it’s not too late to pick up a Galaxy S26, S26+ or S26 Ultra at a good price. Your best bet at the moment is probably Walmart – not only has the retailer not applied the new prices, but it is even selling the phones at a discount compared to the old prices. In the case of the S26 Ultra, that is up to $500 off.
Samsung’s revised price for the Galaxy S26 Ultra is $1,400 for the base 12/256GB model (well, not quite – see below). Walmart will sell it to you for under $1,000. If you haven’t researched it yet, here’s how the S26 Ultra compares against the S25 Ultra and the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
The Galaxy S26 FE pricing didn’t change, but that just means that it’s still overpriced – the 8/128GB model is $700 and the 8/256GB one is $800. For just $40 more, you can have a 12/256GB Galaxy S26+ instead. Note the extra RAM, but that’s hardly the only advantage – the screen and chipset are other notable upgrades over the FE. The FE model aside, here’s how the S26+ compares against the S26 Ultra and the S25+.
The vanilla Samsung Galaxy S26 now starts at $1,000, which crosses a psychological barrier – a four-digit sum for a non-Pro, non-Ultra phone doesn’t make sense. Thankfully, Walmart is only charging $730 for it, which is a lot more reasonable. The upgrade to 512GB storage is quite pricey, though.
We also checked Amazon, which seems to have reverted to the original pricing of the Galaxy S26 series from when they launched in March. The 256GB Galaxy S26 has a nice discount, but it’s cheaper over at Walmart.
By the way, Amazon is gearing up for Prime Big Deal Days – the sales event starts on Tuesday. We guess this is why it’s holding back its best offers. As usual, you will need an active Prime subscription to get the deal prices, but a trial subscription will work just fine.
It seems that even Samsung doesn’t quite believe its pricing, so the Galaxy S26 Ultra has a $150 discount without any trade-ins required. If you do send in an old phone, you can get up to $720 in trade-in credit. The Galaxy S26 and S26+ don’t have no-trade-in discounts, however.
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Reader comments
- MadMike
- ajN
I just avoid it like this: don't buy Samsung. They haven't built an actual flagship phone in years. And don't upgrade every year.
- I Am GoD 9
- qxV
These companies lie so much. They increased the prices because sales aren't that good. Prices come down under any other circumstances, not go up! Vote with your wallet. Greed is disgusting
- KevinPhoenix
- EKP
How to avoid price hikes: Hold onto your existing (flagship) phone for as long as you can and accept the fact that smartphones are excessively expensive and likely not worth any promised upgrades.
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