Samsung Galaxy S26 sales hit a wall after a strong start, and price is the culprit

Published May 15, 2026, 3:26 PM EDT Chandra Steele has been writing about tech for the entirety of her journalism career. She loves making tough topics easy to understand. Before joining Android Police, Chandra was senior features writer at PCMag where she did everything from interviewing Jeff Goldblum to explaining crypto. Sign in to your Android Police account Just a few months out from its launch, sales of the Samsung Galaxy S26 series are exceeding expectations, though there are some signs that considerations about price are starting to have an effect. Counterpoint Research just released a report that during the first six weeks following the launch of the Galaxy S26, sales were 13% higher than that of the Galaxy S25 series in the same period last year. Credit: Counterpoint Research The series is particularly strong in the US and South Korea, which showed double-digit percentage growth. Sales in China and Japan were weaker for the S26 than for the S25. Counterpoint pins this difference on the price of the phone. The Samsung Galaxy S26 starting price is $100 more than the Galaxy S25’s was. “The Galaxy S26 series performed strongly in premium markets characterized by high-income consumers, carrier-driven sales channels, and strong consumer receptiveness to AI features,” Counterpoint Sujeong Lim said in the report. Cost concerns might be hitting the US and South Korean markets, too, as sales of the S25 began to overtake the S26 in the sixth week. “[Q]uestions are being raised about whether the Galaxy S26 series can sustain its initial momentum going forward,” Lim said. Our writer Andy Boxall, particularly appreciated the Privacy Display feature that’s exclusive to the Galaxy S26 Ultra. “Privacy Display is an excellent feature that separates the S26 Ultra from every other phone available,” Boxall wrote in his review. “It’s the top new feature, and a genuine reason to buy.” Whether that will be enough to sustain sales growth over time remains to be seen. Samsung Galaxy S26 $800 $900 Save $100 7.5/10 SoC Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Display dimensions 6.3 inches