If, after yesterday’s Galaxy Unpacked occasion, Samsung Galaxy S26 consumers have been hoping to get twice the quantity of storage totally free, I’ve some unhealthy information for you. Nicely, that will depend on the place you reside. For consumers within the U.S., there’s no free storage improve. Consumers within the U.Ok., nonetheless, have been given a far more generous offer.
Learn on for extra, and don’t overlook to subscribe to my newsletter for instant deal updates.
No Double Storage Package deal Confirmed for U.S.-Primarily based Samsung Galaxy S26 Consumers
Leaks have lengthy urged that Samsung Galaxy S26 pricing was prone to improve, which turned out to be accurate. Samsung execs have been open about this at CES earlier this yr and blamed price rises on the global memory chip shortage. What we didn’t know was whether or not the Korean firm would convey again its double storage deal, which items double the quantity of storage, totally free, to those that pre-order.
Within the U.S., that has now been dropped for the pre-order interval. American Samsung Galaxy S26 clients who purchase the 256GB mannequin gained’t get a free bump as much as the 512GB storage possibility.
The bottom Samsung Galaxy S26.
Janhoi McGregor
To compensate, Samsung has boosted trade-in values and provided a further $50 off if the code PAYPAL50 is used at checkout. There may be additionally a $150 retailer credit score supply (notice: not $150 off the ultimate worth) if no telephone is traded in.
Final yr’s Galaxy S25 pre-order supply included the double storage low cost, which was price $120 should you purchased the 256GB Galaxy S25 Extremely, alongside as much as $900 in trade-in worth. That has now been changed with a extra credit-focused incentive that totals $200. This consists of $150 in retailer credit score and solely $50 in an precise worth discount. Crucially, should you go for the $150 retailer credit score, you might be ineligible to commerce in your previous telephone.
To me this can be a worse supply. As a substitute of saving $120 on the telephone itself, consumers can now solely spend that worth on Samsung equipment, whereas shedding their choice to trade-in in the event that they take the shop credit score. Mixed with the worth hike, this yr’s pre-order promotion seems notably worse than final yr.
U.Ok. Samsung Galaxy S26 Consumers Have A Higher Upfront Supply
In case you’re within the U.Ok., nonetheless, the double storage supply is in impact, which is price £170 ($229). There’s additionally an additional £100 ($134) off the flagship if it’s purchased with PayPal and the code PAYPAL is used at checkout. That is alongside as much as £697 ($940) in trade-in worth when shopping for the Samsung Galaxy S26 Extremely.
Whereas there is no such thing as a retailer credit score if no telephone is traded in, the upfront promotion—getting extra {hardware} for much less cash—is considerably higher than the Samsung U.S. supply. It’s not unusual for Samsung to limit the double storage bundle to pick international locations, however excluding the U.S. is a large blow for American consumers and displays the severity of the reminiscence chip disaster that’s forcing producers into elevating {hardware} costs.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Extremely, Galaxy S26 Plus and Galaxy S26 facet by facet with new digital camera AI instruments, a privateness display and new worth.
Janhoi McGregor
Regardless of the higher upfront supply within the U.Ok., it’s let down by trade-in costs. British consumers get much less for his or her used telephones throughout the board. For instance, with practical trade-ins, Samsung U.Ok. can pay £173 ($233) for a 256GB Galaxy S22 Extremely in comparison with the $500 U.S. worth for any storage capability.
It’s the identical for the 256GB Galaxy S23 Extremely at £312 (£420) towards the $650 U.S. worth. The U.Ok. wins on pre-order perks, however the U.S. stays the king of trade-in costs.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Worth Technique Hints At 2026 {Hardware} Worth Rises
The U.S. is one among Samsung’s largest markets and the price of gifting away free storage upgrades, within the midst of a reminiscence chip scarcity, will need to have been too steep a worth to pay for no matter clients it incentivizes to buy a Samsung Galaxy S26. Samsung has clearly threaded the needle fastidiously to make sure there are some respectable pre-order provides, whereas maintaining its promotions beneficiant in different markets that don’t considerably dent its backside line.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 is the primary main smartphone launch of the yr and the primary huge tech {hardware} launch to this point. If the RAM scarcity continues, Samsung elevating costs and axing money-saving promotions may very well be a harbinger for the remaining main gadget launches this yr from Apple, Google, Steam, and others.
