Even Samsung’s cheaper Galaxy phones aren’t escaping the price hikes

Galaxy A-series phones are getting more expensive just a day after the S26 price hikes.

By Sudhanshu Kumar Mangalam Published October 2, 2026

Mobile, Smartphone, Samsung — Samsung Galaxy A57 and Galaxy A37 Samsung

It has been a rough couple of days for anyone shopping for a new Android smartphone. Samsung raised prices across its flagship Galaxy S26 lineup just a day ago, Google pushed the Pixel 10a up by $100, and now Samsung is back with another round of increases for its mid-range and budget Galaxy A-series phones.

The Galaxy A57 5G now starts at $599.99, up from $549.99. Further down the lineup, the Galaxy A37 5G has climbed to $489.99, the Galaxy A27 5G to $379.99, and the Galaxy A17 5G to $269.99. The increases range from $20 to $50 depending on the model.

Samsung’s cheaper phones are feeling the squeeze too

The Galaxy A17 has had an especially rough run. It originally launched for $199.99, before Samsung raised it to $249.99 in August. Its latest price means the phone now costs $70 more than it did at launch.

Higher prices on the A-series sting differently because these are the phones Samsung sells to buyers who do not want to spend flagship money. The increases also arrive barely a day after most Galaxy S26 configurations went up by $100. Samsung has not said that rising memory costs are directly responsible for this specific round of A-series increases. Still, the broader pressure on its phone business has been building for months.

Samsung has been warning about this for months

During its second-quarter earnings call, Samsung said memory demand continued to run ahead of supply and warned that shortages could persist through 2028. The company also expects supply conditions to become even tighter in 2027 as unmet demand spills over from this year.

Recommended Videos

AI data centers are the main reason memory supply is so tight. Samsung says customers are seeking multi-year supply agreements, and it plans to place roughly 60% to 70% of its memory capacity under long-term contracts. Higher chip prices have helped its semiconductor business, but those same costs have also hurt its mobile division.

Micron, another major memory manufacturer, is not expecting a quick turnaround either, with demand projected to remain above supply through 2027 and 2028. So if you are already planning to buy a new smartphone, buying sooner makes more sense than waiting for prices to come down and risking another hike instead.

Sudhanshu Kumar Mangalam

Contributor

Sudhanshu Kumar Manglam is a tech journalist at Digital Trends, where he covers consumer technology, science, and games.

Topics

Phones

Apple quietly hopes to end the gizmo right-to-repair war. The iPhone Duo is the latest specimen.

The right-to-repair movement has entered its fine-print era.

iPhone Duo on MagSafe mount with screen half open

Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.

I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.

Phones

iPhone Duo is here. Let’s take a moment to appreciate the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and all the things it didn’t break

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is not without its flaws, but in the face of the iPhone Duo, I have discovered more appreciation for it.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8

Apple's first foldable phone is now on shelves, in short supply, but with an unreal amount of buzz around it. After all, it's the first foldable iPhone, and there's plenty that this phone gets right. But there's also a lot that is either broken or underwhelming. What's peculiar is the dialogue around this phone, and how it has completely overshadowed every other attempt at making a phone with a similar form factor.

I've spent some time with the iPhone Duo, and I've used the Galaxy Z Fold 8 for almost three months now. In my opinion, Samsung deserves more credit. When the Galaxy Z Fold 8 arrived earlier this year, it was celebrated in some circles and ridiculed in others for supposedly copying what Apple would eventually deliver with the iPhone Duo. The dialogue was pretty odd, for multiple reasons. Samsung has been making foldable phones for years, so claiming that it copied a product Apple hadn't even launched was simply absurd.

Phones

Buying a cheap Samsung Galaxy phone could soon get a lot harder

Samsung is reportedly cutting Galaxy A production as rising memory costs make affordable phones harder to build.

A person holding the Samsung Galaxy A56 and Galaxy A55.

For years, Samsung’s Galaxy A phones have been some of the easiest recommendations for anyone who wants to go the Android route without paying flagship prices. But that part of the lineup could soon become harder to find at a good price.

According to South Korea’s Electronic Times, Samsung is cutting Galaxy A production by about 20% in the fourth quarter compared to its original plans. Component orders have reportedly dropped by a similar amount, which could mean roughly 10 million fewer phones over the year. Samsung is also said to be considering another production cut of more than 10% next year.