{"id":488142,"date":"2026-05-16T19:19:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T19:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/488142\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T19:19:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T19:19:16","slug":"samsungs-disappointing-new-galaxy-s26-ultra-price-drop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/488142\/","title":{"rendered":"Samsung’s Disappointing New Galaxy S26 Ultra Price Drop"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ongoing memory chip crisis is still hitting smartphone prices and deals. Last month, Samsung hiked the price of the then nine-month-old Galaxy Z Fold 7<\/a>, alongside a $280 increase for the 1TB Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra<\/a>.In the Korean company’s defence, it has continued to discount where it can \u2014 as is the case with the new Galaxy S26 Ultra price cut. <\/p>\n

Except the new deal doesn’t quite match up to a similar promotion for the Galaxy S25 Ultra at the same time last year.<\/p>\n

Read on for more and don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter for instant deal updates <\/a>and Galaxy S26 Ultra news.<\/p>\n

Samsung Drops Galaxy S26 Ultra Price\"Mobile<\/p>\n

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra just got a new price cut, but it doesn’t match a similar promotion for the Galaxy S25 Ultra last year. (Photo by Joan Cros\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The good news is that Samsung has dropped the price of the Galaxy S26 Ultra. All storage models are $200 cheaper, with the flagship now starting at $1,099.99 instead of its regular $1,299.99 price.<\/p>\n

A $200 saving is not to be sniffed at. That’s a solid discount for a phone that launched two months ago. But it’s also a slightly less impressive deal than the equivalent discount the Galaxy S25 Ultra received on May 12th last year, which I reported on at the time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The deal structure is similar. Samsung knocked $230 off the Galaxy S25 Ultra if no phone was traded in, and that came with a selection of free software trials and discounted accessories.<\/p>\n

There are other key differences to last year\u2019s promotion. The Galaxy S25 Ultra came with three free months of Samsung Care Plus, whereas the Galaxy S26 Ultra doesn\u2019t. The long-running “APP5” discount code that knocked 5% off a Samsung purchase when bought through the Samsung Shop app no longer works either.<\/p>\n

Shoppers are losing out in a couple of ways here. While Samsung is still discounting, it has trimmed deals at the edges. Before the Galaxy S26 series launched, leaks suggested Samsung would be more reserved with promotions<\/a> because of the memory chip crisis hitting its profit margins. These look like early examples of that.<\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Trade-In Prices Also Disappoint<\/p>\n

Samsung\u2019s trade-in prices for equivalent devices last May and today also don\u2019t quite match up. Comparing equivalently aged devices, the gap is clear.<\/p>\n