current ram The shortage, driven by suppliers shifting their production lines to high-margin high-bandwidth memory used for AI workloads in data centres, is already impacting the smartphone market as the Samsung Galaxy S26 was launched on Wednesday evening at a slightly higher price than its predecessor.
Speaking to TechCentral in an interview following the launch following the Johannesburg leg of Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event, Justin Hume, vice president of mobile at Samsung South Africa, said the impact on pricing locally has been less severe due to the strength of the rand over the past year.
“There are a few things coming into play here: new innovation, new technology, better screens – the hardware itself can drive that price down. That being said, the lack of memory is creating a cost base pressure. Luckily in South Africa we have a favorable exchange rate which has taken a big part of that down,” Hume said.
The table below shows its launch price Samsung Galaxy S26 rangeIts predecessor was the Samsung Galaxy S25 range and the Samsung Galaxy S24 range that came before that. All prices shown are for the 256GB version of each device.
As shown in the table, the higher price of the new S26 range signals a drop seen during the transition from the Galaxy S24 to the S25. The price decline was mainly due to the stronger rand. The rand is set to become even stronger against the dollar in 2025 than last year, but the memory chip shortage has cut into gains which could push the price even lower this year.
According to Hume, the South African market has been relatively insulated from RAM shortage-related shocks compared to other regions of the world. Citing Dubai as an example, Hume said some smartphone makers there have increased prices by between 20% and 30% – and some even more. Competitors were most affected, he said, adopting a strategy where their devices were “overpriced and underpriced.”
One reason Samsung is better able to withstand supply-chain shocks than some of its competitors is that the company is the world's largest producer of dynamic RAM (DRAM). Its global market share by the fourth quarter of 2025 was 36.6%.
“Samsung is in a very good position. However, we are keeping a very close eye on the market and managing the situation carefully. So, we think we will weather the storm, hopefully outperforming our competitors,” Hume said.
Outlook
Asked about the outlook for sustainability of supply chains, Hume said it depends on a number of factors. The first is whether the decline in demand at the rate at which data centers consume new memory could lead to an increase in the supply of DRAM used for computers and phones, signaling the beginning of the market normalizing again. Alternatively, demand could also accelerate, Hume said, leading to more severe shortages and higher device prices.
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Another factor that could have a significant impact is whether and when new production capacity comes online. Although Samsung's RAM strategy has shifted toward HBM used in data centers, Hume said “billions” of dollars are being invested in DRAM capacity. But the earliest any of these fabrication plants will come online is late 2027 or early 2028.
“It's very difficult to predict because the situation changes daily. We're focused on managing supply-chain controls and making sure we can get the model to market without any disruption,” Hume said.
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Pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S26 range will run from February 26 to March 19. General in-store availability begins March 20. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media
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