Bad news: the Galaxy S27 could get a major RAM downgrade
The Galaxy S27 could cost less, but you'll have to sacrifice something important.
Samsung Galaxy S26. | Image by PhoneArena
The Galaxy S27 series is going to be the next flagship lineup from Samsung, and while the Galaxy S27 Ultra is reported to see some major upgrades, the same doesn't appear to be the case with the base Galaxy S27. It was earlier reported that the vanilla model would not feature the privacy display, and now a new report suggests that the device is also going to see a RAM downgrade.
One of the major upgrades between the Galaxy S24 and the Galaxy S25 was that in the latter, Samsung made 12 GB the minimum RAM available for the device, whereas the former is also available in the 8 GB RAM option. The company continued the tradition in this year's Galaxy S26 as well, where you get two configurations to choose from: 12 GB RAM/256 GB storage and 12 GB RAM/512 GB storage. However, things could change next year, according to a highly reputed tipster @kro_roe.
They recently made a post on X claiming that the vanilla S27 and the S27 Plus would also be available in an 8 GB RAM option, along with a 12 GB RAM variant. The storage options will be 256 GB and 512 GB. The decision has reportedly been made to manage the ongoing memory and storage component shortage.
Samsung has recently announced that it is increasing the prices of the entire Galaxy S26 series in the US. This move gives a strong indication that the S27 family could launch at a higher price than its predecessors. In fact, everything that has leaked about the Galaxy S27 lineup pricing also indicates a price increase.
However, I believe Samsung might play a clever marketing trick by launching the base Galaxy S27 at the same price at which the Galaxy S26 was launched, though packing the device with 8 GB of RAM. Its 12 GB RAM option might be released at a higher price, most likely $999.
Sammy is reportedly also planning to use different UFC storage across the upcoming S-line phones to mitigate the skyrocketing memory prices. Another leakster, Lanzuk, recently mentioned in their latest blog that the company is yet to finalize whether it should be offering the latest LPDDR6 RAM and UFC 5.0 storage in the Galaxy S27 Pro and Galaxy S27 Ultra.
Whether it be Samsung, Apple, or Google, almost every smartphone manufacturer seems to be affected by the ongoing memory crisis. Google was also reported to release the Pixel 11 lineup with less RAM, but the Big G ultimately went ahead with the 12 GB RAM option, though all the phones in the series saw a price increase of $100. However, if @kro_roe 's report pans out to be true, then Samsung would become the first major manufacturer to downgrade the RAM in order to manage the soaring memory prices.
Fixed Focus Digital, another well-known tipster, mentioned in one of their recent posts that many other phone brands have reduced the amount of RAM in their devices. Their entry-level products are now offering 4 GB RAM instead of 6 GB, which slowly became a standard in the last few years.
Galaxy phones offer a plethora of features that are powered by AI, and it seems almost certain that more of such capabilities are coming. In fact, there are rumors that the company is working on something called Galaxy OS, whose focus is to introduce more AI to Samsung phones. A good amount of RAM is needed to smoothly run any AI-powered feature.
If the Galaxy S27 indeed comes with an 8 GB RAM option, I believe it wouldn't be able to smoothly run AI features and apps that Samsung would launch to its devices a few years later. Tarun Vats, who is a reliable source for everything related to Samsung, also believes the same. When a user asked, "What will happen to 8 GB RAM in the next 5 to 7 years with AI?" Tarun replied with a single word, "slow," most likely hinting that the device could perform painfully slowly when running AI tasks on it.
Galaxy S27 RAM and storage configuration
One of the major upgrades between the Galaxy S24 and the Galaxy S25 was that in the latter, Samsung made 12 GB the minimum RAM available for the device, whereas the former is also available in the 8 GB RAM option. The company continued the tradition in this year's Galaxy S26 as well, where you get two configurations to choose from: 12 GB RAM/256 GB storage and 12 GB RAM/512 GB storage. However, things could change next year, according to a highly reputed tipster @kro_roe.
Galaxy S27 Series: Expected RAM & Storage Configurations
— kro (@kro_roe) October 19, 2026
S27: 8/12GB RAM, 256/512GB storageS27s: 8/12GB RAM, 256/512GB storageS27 Pro: 12GB RAM, 256/512GB storage. A 16GB RAM option is still under consideration.S27 Ultra: 12/16GB RAM, 256GB/512GB/1TB storage.
The 1TB option is expected to remain available on the Ultra, but semiconductor cost pressures could push its price even higher.
Overall price increases may be unavoidable. Samsung could scale back storage upgrade promotions or replace them with smaller discounts.
Additional launch benefits may remain similar to last year, including discounts on Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Watches, charger coupons, and 6–12 months of Google subscription services.
Samsung is also reportedly considering differentiating UFS storage versions across models due to semiconductor cost pressures.
They recently made a post on X claiming that the vanilla S27 and the S27 Plus would also be available in an 8 GB RAM option, along with a 12 GB RAM variant. The storage options will be 256 GB and 512 GB. The decision has reportedly been made to manage the ongoing memory and storage component shortage.
Do you think the base Galaxy S27 would be worth its price?
4 Votes
The 12 GB variant could cost more
Samsung has recently announced that it is increasing the prices of the entire Galaxy S26 series in the US. This move gives a strong indication that the S27 family could launch at a higher price than its predecessors. In fact, everything that has leaked about the Galaxy S27 lineup pricing also indicates a price increase.
However, I believe Samsung might play a clever marketing trick by launching the base Galaxy S27 at the same price at which the Galaxy S26 was launched, though packing the device with 8 GB of RAM. Its 12 GB RAM option might be released at a higher price, most likely $999.
Everyone is apparently feeling the heat of RAMageddon
Whether it be Samsung, Apple, or Google, almost every smartphone manufacturer seems to be affected by the ongoing memory crisis. Google was also reported to release the Pixel 11 lineup with less RAM, but the Big G ultimately went ahead with the 12 GB RAM option, though all the phones in the series saw a price increase of $100. However, if @kro_roe 's report pans out to be true, then Samsung would become the first major manufacturer to downgrade the RAM in order to manage the soaring memory prices.
Will 8 GB RAM be enough for the Galaxy S27?
Galaxy phones offer a plethora of features that are powered by AI, and it seems almost certain that more of such capabilities are coming. In fact, there are rumors that the company is working on something called Galaxy OS, whose focus is to introduce more AI to Samsung phones. A good amount of RAM is needed to smoothly run any AI-powered feature.
If the Galaxy S27 indeed comes with an 8 GB RAM option, I believe it wouldn't be able to smoothly run AI features and apps that Samsung would launch to its devices a few years later. Tarun Vats, who is a reliable source for everything related to Samsung, also believes the same. When a user asked, "What will happen to 8 GB RAM in the next 5 to 7 years with AI?" Tarun replied with a single word, "slow," most likely hinting that the device could perform painfully slowly when running AI tasks on it.
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