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Samsung is advising consumers to purchase new smartphones now, anticipating price increases on components throughout the year. The projected rise in costs is being driven by high demand for memory chips from data centers utilizing artificial intelligence globally. HS Jo, CEO of Samsung Electronics for Latin America, stated that now is the optimal time to buy a new mobile device.
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“The models in Brazil are a bit more expensive compared to last year. There is a global shortage of memory chips. Because of this, we were forced to increase the price this time. Memory is one of the most expensive parts of the hardware and accounts for around 40% to 50% of the total cost. Now, the price of memory continues to rise, including in the second half of this year. This means that Here’s the ideal time to buy a new device. It’s true. Whenever I have meetings with channel partners, such as telecom operators, I notify them that now is the most accessible time to buy the phone,” said HS Jo in an interview.
The company announced its new models at an event in San Francisco, California. This year, the company presented the S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra models. Prices start at R$ 7,499 and reach R$ 15,499, a higher value compared to last year, when the phones in the S25 line arrived with prices between R$ 6,999 and R$ 14,999.
According to the executive, in addition to memory components, the costs also involve the display and the camera. HS Jo stated that the display is also an significant part of the design cost due to its size and components. The industry giant is trying to reduce costs with its partners.
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“We are trying to reduce the cost to the consumer by working in collaboration with our partners, mainly with trade-in programs and financing instruments, as well as co-investments in tariffs to reduce costs, especially with operators. For example, if you buy the device with 256 GB of storage, we deliver the 512 GB one. And, if you buy the 512 GB one, you receive the 1 TB one.”
The increase in component costs is affecting all players in the industry and impacting smartphone sales. According to the consultancy IDC, the smartphone market is expected to close with a decline this year compared to last year. The estimate is for new declines in the coming years. Today, the estimate is that phones may have a price increase of up to 20%.
Partnership with Perplexity, Google and OpenAI
The executive also took the opportunity of the S26 launch to announce new partners in artificial intelligence. In addition to Google, responsible for Gemini, the company sealed a partnership with Perplexity, which will supply the device’s AI agent, which, for the first time, is integrated into the phone’s system. He anticipated that Samsung is in talks with OpenAI for future partnerships, but did not provide details.
“We will continue to expand partnerships with companies like Google and others. If there is alignment at the platform integration level, we will expand these collaborations. The condition is that they are trusted partners. We have always had an open ecosystem and talk to various players to integrate the best solutions.”
The search for partners also involves other companies, such as Apple. After integrating ChatGPT, from OpenAI, into its iPhones, the company is also working in conjunction with Google for its new line of cell phones.
Greater focus on own chip
In addition to the partners for the AI system, experts have been questioning Samsung for expanding, in the S26 family, the use of its own chips, the Exynos, which this year will supply the basic line (S26) and the intermediate line (S26+). This year, only the top-of-the-line S26 Ultra has the most advanced processor from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 8 Elite of the fifth generation, developed to generate AI actions more quickly with reduced battery consumption.
“Samsung will continue to use both Exynos and Snapdragon, prioritizing quality and performance.”
The company’s goal, the executive reveals, is to make the use of AI simpler. According to him, today the resources have “many steps,” which can depart the consumer with doubts about their use. Today, the most used functions are photo editing, “circle to search,” productivity tools and Gemini in general.
“Some talk about an AI bubble. But we want to make AI easier to use, removing friction and steps. 87% of users already use AI in some way, but only 49% use it regularly. And 85% still find it hard to use. The challenge is to simplify.”
He recalls that today the countries of Latin America are among those that use AI the most. The company, this year, decided that its entire portfolio will only sell models that already have an AI system. The goal is for the number of AI users to double this year, from 400 million to 800 million consumers.
“And about 15% to 20% of the base is in Latin America. Brazil and Mexico stand out.”
Privacy screen will not be offered to rivals
One of the central novelties this year, the privacy screen, which prevents side viewing of the cell phone screen, was developed by Samsung Display, a division of the Korean company. The technology combines changes in hardware and software, with the use of AI to erase pixels. The novelty is only available on the premium S26 Ultra line.
“But this feature is not available to competitors at this time.”
