Samsung acknowledged to Information Age that rising semiconductor prices were “a global challenge impacting the broader industry”, but also reportedly told US publication The Verge<\/a> that while increasing component costs and US tariffs had some impact on its pricing, memory shortages had made a \u201csignificant contribution\u201d to its decisions.<\/p>\n “We acknowledge that these recent changes to the macroeconomic climate may affect Australians, reinforcing our ethos is to have a Galaxy for everyone,” the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n Alvin Lee from Australian technology analyst firm Telsyte told Information Age, \u201c[Samsung\u2019s] higher prices reflect a combination of rising component costs and the increasing complexity of premium smartphones, particularly the growing demand for memory, storage, and advanced semiconductors needed to support high-performance AI features.\u201d<\/p>\n Price has remained a key consideration for Australians when choosing a smartphone, added Lee, who said \u201cTelsyte expects similar pricing pressure across smartphone manufacturers in 2026\u201d.<\/p>\n Worldwide smartphone shipments are expected to drop by 12.9 per cent to 1.12 billion units in 2026, amid memory shortages and component cost increases, analyst firm IDC said on Thursday.<\/p>\n Senior research director Nabila Popal suggested the ongoing memory crisis would \u201ccause more than a temporary decline\u201d and would mark \u201ca structural reset of the entire market\u201d, as memory prices were not expected to return to their earlier levels.<\/p>\n IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo said while low-end manufacturers and those running Google\u2019s Android operating system were \u201clikely to suffer the most\u201d amid rising component costs, \u201cApple and Samsung are better positioned to navigate this crisis\u201d and could potentially expand their market share.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we are witnessing is not a temporary squeeze, but a tsunami-like shock originating in the memory supply chain, with ripple effects spreading across the entire consumer electronics industry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Apple reduced the price of its base iPhone models<\/a> in Australia in 2024 with the iPhone 16, but raised the prices of its more premium models<\/a> in 2025 with the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, while also removing 128GB storage options.<\/p>\n
\nSamsung unveiled its new Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra smartphones on Thursday. Image: Samsung \/ Supplied<\/p>\n