Why the Galaxy S26 Could Cost More: Inside the Rising Price of Next-Gen Chips

The upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 lineup may come with a noticeable price adjustment, and the reason lies deeper than just branding or inflation. A new report sheds light on the increasingly expensive world of advanced chip manufacturing, and it appears that Samsung and other smartphone makers are about to feel the ripple effects.

At the heart of the matter is TSMC, the world’s most prominent semiconductor foundry.

The company is currently producing application processors (APs) on its third-generation 3nm node, known as N3P. This process powers some of the most advanced chips in the market today, including Apple’s A19 processors inside the iPhone 17 series. TSMC’s N3P node is also being used for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 and MediaTek’s Dimensity 9500, both of which are destined for next-generation flagship smartphones.

The China Times recently reported that TSMC has raised the price of wafers built on its N3P node. According to the report, MediaTek is now paying roughly 24% more, while Qualcomm faces a 16% increase. The publication did not specify whether this is compared to TSMC’s earlier N3E process, which powered previous high-end APs like Snapdragon 8 Elite and Dimensity 9400, but the takeaway is clear: making chips has suddenly become more expensive. These costs rarely stay contained at the manufacturer level. Instead, they pass downstream, first to chipmakers’ clients and ultimately to consumers in the form of higher smartphone prices.

That means Samsung may raise the price of select Galaxy S26 models next year. Vivo’s X300, which is expected to feature the Dimensity 9500, could also arrive with a higher-than-expected price tag. The reasoning is simple: Qualcomm and MediaTek must protect their margins by passing on TSMC’s higher wafer costs to smartphone brands, which then adjust retail pricing accordingly.

Interestingly, Apple’s situation is slightly different. While the Cupertino giant is also paying more for N3P wafers, it designs its own chips in-house. This removes an additional layer of costs – Apple doesn’t have to pay a third-party designer like Qualcomm or MediaTek. As a result, Apple can often absorb or balance these cost increases more effectively than rivals that rely entirely on external chip designers.

So, what does all this technological jargon mean for end-users? The third-generation 3nm APs aren’t just expensive; they are also more advanced. They deliver about 5% higher performance at the same power consumption compared to their predecessors and can cut energy use by 5–10% when operating at the same frequency. This is achieved through higher transistor density, a metric that reflects how many millions of transistors fit into a square millimeter of silicon. The denser the chip, the better its efficiency and performance. This is why smaller process nodes matter so much in the race for faster, cooler, and longer-lasting devices.

But the cost crunch isn’t stopping here. Industry speculation suggests that the upcoming 2nm node, which TSMC is preparing to mass-produce in 2025, could push wafer prices up by as much as 50%. Apple has reportedly reserved half of TSMC’s 2nm capacity, putting additional strain on supply for Qualcomm and MediaTek. If this plays out as expected, pricing pressure on next-generation smartphones could intensify even further.

TSMC is expected to produce around 60,000 2nm wafers per month from four fabs, and these chips will mark a new milestone by employing Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistor technology. Unlike traditional FinFETs, GAA transistors completely wrap the gate around the channel, reducing leakage and boosting efficiency. Both Samsung Foundry and TSMC are working on GAA for their 2nm designs, and early reports suggest these chips will deliver significant improvements in speed and battery efficiency. The first smartphones likely to use them include the Galaxy S26 Pro and Galaxy S26 Edge, equipped in many regions with Samsung’s own Exynos 2600 built on its 2nm node, while iPhone 18 is expected to launch with Apple’s A20 processors.

Looking further ahead, TSMC plans to begin producing 1.4nm chips in 2028, but by then it will move away from the familiar “nanometer” terminology. Instead, it will adopt the angstrom (Å) system, with 1nm equating to 10Å. Thus, the 1.4nm process will be labeled as A14. What comes after that remains uncertain, but analysts expect a shift toward new transistor architectures and alternative materials to sustain performance gains as silicon technology approaches physical limits.

In summary, the potential price hike for the Galaxy S26 series is not merely a Samsung decision – it reflects an industry-wide challenge caused by escalating chip manufacturing costs and the relentless pursuit of more powerful, more efficient technology. For consumers, that could mean paying more for the privilege of owning the latest and fastest devices, even as they enjoy longer battery life and faster performance.