S26 ULTRA DRIVES GROWTH

According to a press release, the model accounts for 70 per cent of global pre-orders in the Galaxy S26 series. In Europe, the share of pre-orders for the Galaxy S26 Ultra has increased by 10 per cent compared with the 2025 version of the flagship model, a growth of 20 per cent from the previous year.

Even Amdal, Samsung Electronics’ country manager for Norway, points out that the Galaxy S26 Ultra has been launched with several new features.

– With Privacy Display, an industry-leading camera system and intuitive AI experiences, the Galaxy S26 Ultra offers features that appeal to many different users, says Amdal in the press release.

– The success not only underlines Samsung’s capacity for innovation, but also the company’s strong position in the smartphone market, says Amdal.

Vertical integration

According to industry analyst Jan Stryjak, Samsung’s business model is characterised by control over large parts of the value chain. Samsung produces key components such as memory and displays in-house.

– Samsung’s ability to control the entire value chain, from memory production to smartphone assembly, gives the company a competitive advantage in the premium segment, writes Stryjak in a post on LinkedIn.

The press release points out that this structure provides flexibility in the face of market changes, including those related to raw material and component costs.

Developments in the cost picture

Samsung further points out that the smartphone market is characterised by rising memory costs. The analytics company Counterpoint Research estimates that the average retail price of smartphones has increased by nearly 7 per cent over the past year, partly as a result of higher costs in the components segment.

According to the press release, Samsung has access to key components through its own production, such as semiconductors and memory chips for both RAM and storage. At the same time, the company benefits from economies of scale and is investing in research and development.