Galaxy S26 Base Model Leaked with 256GB Storage: Price Increase or Better Value?

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The Galaxy S26 is supposed to launch in about a month, but leaks keep pouring in anyway. A new report from Sammy Guru found a retail listing in Finland that shows the base model Galaxy S26 will start with 256GB of storage.

This would be a nice upgrade from what Samsung currently offers. Right now, if you buy the regular Galaxy S25, you only get 128GB of storage in the cheapest version. The Galaxy S25 Plus and Galaxy S25 Ultra both start at 256GB, but the regular S25 makes you pay extra to get that much space.

Bumping the entry-level Galaxy S26 to 256GB would put it on par with its bigger siblings from the start. For most people, 128GB fills up quickly once you start taking photos and videos in high resolution, downloading apps, and storing music or podcasts offline.

Doubling that storage right out of the box means fewer people will need to pay more for a higher storage tier.

Of course, this is still based on a retail listing from one country, so take it with some caution until Samsung makes an official announcement. But if it turns out to be true, it’s one of those small changes that actually makes a real difference in daily use.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Upgrade and Pricing Scope

With this storage increase, the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus will both come in two options, which are 256GB and 512GB. The Galaxy S26 Ultra will offer three options, which are the 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB respectively.

On the surface, this looks like Samsung doing right by customers. More storage for the same entry price seems great. But there’s another angle worth considering.

I wrote about this before that the smartphone industry was dealing with a memory component shortage. When that happens, phone makers sometimes respond by pushing higher-storage models because they can charge more for them and make better profit margins.

Eliminating the 128GB option might not just be about being generous to customers. It could also be a strategic move to boost average selling prices.

Here’s where my skepticism kicks in. Right now, Samsung charges $799.99 for the Galaxy S25 with 128GB of storage. If you want 256GB instead, you pay $859.99. That’s a $60 jump.

So what happens with the Galaxy S26? Does Samsung keep the base price at $799.99 and give you 256GB, essentially offering more value for the same money? Or do they bump the starting price up to $859.99 to match what the 256GB model costs now?

That pricing decision will tell us whether this storage bump is truly consumer-friendly or just a way to justify charging more from the start.

How severe is the memory shortage? That’s the question. Samsung could follow Apple’s lead here. When Apple launched the iPhone 17, they bumped up the base storage but kept the same starting price.

Samsung might do the same and sell the 256GB Galaxy S26 for $799.99. Or they could use the storage increase as an excuse to raise the entry price to $859.99.

The same report also talks about color options, and there’s something odd here. According to the listing, all three Galaxy S26 models will come in four colors: Black, White, Sky Blue, and Cobalt Violet. But the report doesn’t mention Silver Shadow or Pink Gold, which we’ve heard about before, especially for the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

This could mean a few things. Maybe those colors are exclusive to certain markets or only available through Samsung’s website. Or maybe the Finnish retailer just didn’t list all the options. We won’t know for sure until Samsung makes it official.

In related news, photos of Samsung’s Qi2 wireless power bank leaked online a few days ago. Rumors suggest Samsung will launch it with the Galaxy S26 series. That would make sense, giving people a new accessory to buy with their new phone.