Samsung will launch the Galaxy S26 phone early next year. The company had intended to offer an upgrade, increasing its price, but considering the price of the iPhone 17, the upgrade has been canceled.

Samsung downplays Galaxy S17 upgrades to keep price on par with iPhone 26

Apple launched the iPhone 17 series in September this year. Despite inflation and rising component costs, its price hasn't been increased. Despite significant upgrades and increased base storage, it's still selling for $799 in the US. Samsung has had to change its plans due to this iPhone and its price. Let's explore why the iPhone 17 forced Samsung to change its plans.

The Galaxy S26 was getting expensive due to upgrades.

Samsung is set to launch the Galaxy S26 series early next year. The company wanted to provide several upgrades to the standard Galaxy S26, making it 0.3mm thinner than the S25. It also wanted to replace the current model's 4,000mAh battery with a 4,900mAh battery. These upgrades were increasing the model's price. Samsung felt that keeping its standard model more expensive could lead to it losing out to the iPhone 17.

Samsung made this change.

To keep the price comparable to the iPhone 17, Samsung has decided to reduce several features of the upcoming phone. The company will no longer reduce its thickness. Furthermore, it will include a 4,300mAh battery pack, as previously planned. Furthermore, the 50MP ultra-wide camera lens has also been canceled.

The challenge will be to keep prices low.

Despite the reduced upgrades, Samsung may find it challenging to keep the price of the Galaxy S26 low. Component costs and expensive storage will increase Samsung's costs on this phone. Furthermore, the company is paying more for Qualcomm's flagship chip. It remains to be seen how the company overcomes this challenge.