What you need to know
- Rumors claim that Samsung will not offer a free memory upgrade for future foldable Galaxy models.
- This was offered to customers who pre-ordered the devices by helping them upgrade the devices from the 256GB to the 512GB model for free.
- The report claims that Samsung may end up paying half of the cost to upgrade customers to higher memory, possibly due to rising memory prices.
A tough future awaits future Samsung Galaxy customers. Reports claim that the company may not offer one of its sweetest updates.
The report has surfaced Chosun (Korea), citing “industry sources,” said Samsung may end its offer of free memory upgrades (through). Android Authority). This upgrade is intended for customers who pre-ordered the upcoming Galaxy device. Consider the Galaxy S25, S26, or Samsung’s upcoming fold, which is the focus of this rumor. The Korean publication claims that Samsung may cancel the free memory upgrade for all pre-ordered Galaxy Z Flip 8s and Fold 8s.
Android Central’s Take
This is bad. Now, of course, this is a rumor, but for the sake of this little tidbit, I’ll take it as fact. This is a deal that many have been waiting for. Let’s be real, we’ve had this sweet deal for years. All of a sudden it hurts to take it off, especially if you’re thinking, “Oh, I can get an upgrade and be fine.” I hope the rumor remains a rumor.
This memory upgrade will double what you selected before. If you wanted to grab the 256GB Flip, Samsung would give you the 512GB version at no extra charge. However, the company can compensate for this free offer by passing on half the cost of the memory upgrade to the consumer.
We’ll have to wait and see how pricing will change for US customers once the foldables are fully released (if that’s true). Chosu’s sources point to the only culprit everyone is pointing fingers at these days: rising memory prices. This is where things get interesting.
Can’t be nice things
We are already mad about price hikes. There there were several rumors That said, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra could cost $2,099 in the US. For reference, that’s $100 more than the Fold 7. The foldable Fold 8 we’ve been hearing about could start at $1,899. Prices are all over the place, but the ongoing case of AI taking over all storage is real.
A research report was published earlier this week, referring to another drop in the global smartphone market. In Q2 2026, the phone market shrank by 4%, and Omdia puts the blame squarely on rising memory prices. He adds that the market may not recover in 2026 and the festive season that usually brings growth may not occur. In Q1, the US the phone market decreased by 3%so things have been dark this year.
This is not the only issue. It could also be the rising memory prices claim budget phones as collateral. Researchers suspect the budget phone market will shrink by 22% as companies struggle to turn a profit from such devices. We have a week left to find out for sure if Samsung’s free memory upgrade is over. Samsung has confirmed “Galaxy Unpacked” will be held on July 22 at 9 a.m. in London, the capital of Great Britain.
