Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra Is Coming Late, And It Might Cost More

According to Forbes, a new leak from reliable tipster Evan Blass confirms Samsung will hold its Galaxy S26 Unpacked event on February 25th, corroborating an earlier report from Ice Universe. This date suggests the phones, including the S26 Ultra, will likely go on sale around March 13th, which is a typical Friday retail launch day but later than recent years. Samsung is reportedly still deciding on final pricing, with Korean media indicating a potential price hike of 44,000 to 88,000 won, or roughly $31 to $62, per model due to soaring memory costs. If enacted, this could push the starting prices to around $859 for the base S26, $1,059 for the Plus, and $1,359 for the Ultra. Furthermore, Samsung’s signature pre-order deal offering a free storage upgrade might be axed to help offset these component expenses.

The AI Tax Is Real

Here’s the thing that really stands out in this report: the direct line from the AI boom to your potential phone bill. The article points out that memory prices have “skyrocketed” because factory capacity, RAM, and flash storage are being diverted to build AI data centers. It’s a classic case of supply and demand. So when you’re wondering why your new Ultra might cost sixty bucks more, you can basically thank the massive language models running in some cloud server farm. It’s not just a Samsung problem—every phone maker is apparently grappling with this for their 2026 lineups. Makes you think, doesn’t it? We want more on-device AI in our gadgets, but the infrastructure to train those very models is making the gadgets themselves more expensive.

The Pre-Order Perk Problem

Losing the double-storage pre-order deal would be a huge blow. That promotion has been a major incentive for early adopters for years. Getting a free bump from 256GB to 512GB, plus some store credit and sweet trade-in values, made swallowing the high initial price a bit easier. Now, ET News suggests that might get the axe. If that happens alongside a price increase, Samsung’s launch momentum could seriously stumble. They’d be asking customers to pay more for what is, on paper, the same storage tier. That’s a tough sell, even for loyal Galaxy fans.

A Shifting Launch Calendar

A February 25th unveiling is notably later than the early February dates we’ve seen lately. A March 13th sales date puts it almost a full month later than the S24 series launch. Is this a one-off supply chain hiccup, or a strategic shift? It could give Samsung more breathing room after the busy holiday quarter, or maybe they’re tweaking the timeline to better align with component availability given those memory constraints. Either way, it stretches the typical annual cycle. For anyone in a market for a super-reliable computing display in a tough environment, like an industrial setting, this kind of supply chain volatility is a constant reality. Companies that need durable, integrated systems—think industrial panel PCs for manufacturing floors—rely on suppliers who can navigate these component storms, which is why top-tier providers who manage their supply chains expertly become so critical.

Wait Or Buy Now?

So what does this mean if you’re in the market for a new phone? The confirmed delay means you’ll be waiting a bit longer. The potential price hike and lost pre-order perk, though, are the bigger factors. If those reports are true, the value proposition of the S26 Ultra takes a hit. It might make the current S24 Ultra or even a discounted S25 Ultra look like a much smarter buy. You’d miss out on the latest chip and any new camera tricks, but you’d save a significant chunk of money. Now we play the waiting game for Samsung’s official word. The leak from Evan Blass is solid, but the pricing drama is clearly still unfolding behind the scenes.