We may earn a commission if you make a purchase from the links on this page.
The event you've all been waiting for is right around the corner. | Image by Samsung
The big day has arrived, ladies and gents, and just in case your excitement around the Galaxy S26 family wasn't completely shattered by seeing not one but two actual Ultra units unboxed well ahead of Samsung's first Unpacked event of 2026, the latest speculation on the pricing front is... pretty gloomy.
Given the timing of the newest Dealabs report (translated here) and Roland Quandt reveal over on Bluesky, I believe today's S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra price tags might be a little more than guesstimates, just about confirming the three next-gen phones will indeed be costlier than their predecessors... in Europe.
Reserve your Galaxy S26 at the official store
Samsung has launched its much-awaited Galaxy S26 reservations. Pre-securing a unit straight away gives you a $30 Samsung credit, a chance to win a $5,000 sweepstake, and pre-order savings of up to $900.
Galaxy S26 - €999 with 256GB storage; €1,199 in a 512GB variant;
Galaxy S26 Plus - €1,269/€1,249 with 256GB storage; €1,469 in a 512GB variant;
Galaxy S26 Ultra - €1,469/€1,449 for an entry-level 256GB configuration; €1,669 with 512GB storage; €1,969/€1,949 for a 1TB variant.
First things first, if you're wondering why a few of those models have two different price points on that list, the explanation is pretty simple. Europe is a very vast and diverse space, so while the S26 Ultra, for instance, is expected to start at €1,469 in markets like France or Italy, Samsung's fans in Germany and Spain will only have to pay €1,449 for the same handset with the same amount of local digital hoarding room.
Recommended For You
Yes, the Galaxy S26 is just about confirmed to be costlier than the Galaxy S25 at launch. | Image by Evan Blass
With that detail out of the way, let's discuss the most important thing about these tags. Yes, they're higher than you probably wished for, with the "vanilla" S26, for instance, seemingly being set to cost €100 more than the base Galaxy S25 this time last year.
Of course, that's not an entirely fair comparison, as the S25 offered 128 gigs of internal storage space to begin with, but the 256GB Galaxy S26 will also be more expensive than a 256GB configuration of its predecessor.
The S26 Plus, meanwhile, is tipped to cost around €100 and €180 (!!!) more than the S25 Plus in identical 256 and 512GB storage variants, respectively, but on the bright side, the cheapest S26 Ultra model will somehow retain the retail price of the cheapest S25 Ultra configuration from last year.
What do you think about the nearly confirmed Galaxy S26 series prices?
The same won't be true for the 512GB and 1TB storage variants, which will go up in price by €80 and €140, respectively. That's obviously not ideal, but it's not that bad either. Certainly not as bad as the price hikes of the Ultra's slightly smaller brother, which is also not very different from the Galaxy S25+ and thus looks set for a box-office failure of epic proportions.
Yes, there's a silver lining
Apart from the Galaxy S26 Ultra's fairly reasonable entry-level price point, it's important to note that Samsung's traditional free storage upgrade offers will be back in Europe (and India) for the pre-order window of the entire S26 family.
That means you'll be able to get a 512GB S26 for as little as €999, a 512GB S26 Plus for €1,269 (or €1,249, depending on your country), and a 512GB S26 Ultra for €1,469 (or €1,449). The 1TB Galaxy S26 Ultra, meanwhile, will be available for a limited time for €1,769 instead of its regular price of €1,969 in France, with additional discounts, of course, being offered across the board with trade-ins.
The S26 Ultra might be able to keep its predecessor's starting price unchanged. | Image by SamZone
Now, I'm not going to convert those price tags from euros to US dollars because, well, that would be far too depressing and because that's not how regional pricing works. But here's the thing - I'm still not convinced that the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra will be costlier than the S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra stateside.
Instead, I believe Samsung will not give its US-based fans the opportunity to double their phone's storage for free. That being said, the most affordable Galaxy S26 model is likely to be priced at the same $860 mark as the S25's 256GB storage variant, with the S26 Plus and S26 Ultra possibly starting at $999 and $1,299, respectively, in the US. Now these are just guesstimates, mind you, and we only have a few hours left until they'll be officially confirmed or debunked.
Try Noble Mobile for only $10
Get unlimited talk, text, & data on the T-Mobile 5G Network plus earn cash back for data you don’t use.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: