It has been a rough couple of days for anyone shopping for a new Android smartphone. Samsung raised prices across its flagship Galaxy S26 lineup just a day ago, Google pushed the Pixel 10a up by $100, and now Samsung is back with another round of increases for its mid-range and budget Galaxy A-series phones.
The Galaxy A57 5G now starts at $599.99, up from $549.99. Further down the lineup, the Galaxy A37 5G has climbed to $489.99, the Galaxy A27 5G to $379.99, and the Galaxy A17 5G to $269.99. The increases range from $20 to $50 depending on the model.
The Galaxy A17 has had an especially rough run. It originally launched for $199.99, before Samsung raised it to $249.99 in August. Its latest price means the phone now costs $70 more than it did at launch.
Higher prices on the A-series sting differently because these are the phones Samsung sells to buyers who do not want to spend flagship money. The increases also arrive barely a day after most Galaxy S26 configurations went up by $100. Samsung has not said that rising memory costs are directly responsible for this specific round of A-series increases. Still, the broader pressure on its phone business has been building for months.
During its second-quarter earnings call, Samsung said memory demand continued to run ahead of supply and warned that shortages could persist through 2028. The company also expects supply conditions to become even tighter in 2027 as unmet demand spills over from this year.
AI data centers are the main reason memory supply is so tight. Samsung says customers are seeking multi-year supply agreements, and it plans to place roughly 60% to 70% of its memory capacity under long-term contracts. Higher chip prices have helped its semiconductor business, but those same costs have also hurt its mobile division.
Micron, another major memory manufacturer, is not expecting a quick turnaround either, with demand projected to remain above supply through 2027 and 2028. So if you are already planning to buy a new smartphone, buying sooner makes more sense than waiting for prices to come down and risking another hike instead.
Are you tired of paying for streaming services you never watch just to get a phone plan feature you actually want? T-Mobile has good news for you! The carrier is rolling out new plans, called T-Mix, in early November to replace its old Experience lineup with a build-your-own perks system called Picks.
The benefits you choose vary from streaming and gaming to food delivery, AI, satellite service, and phone discounts. But if you are satisfied with your existing plan, you can keep it.
Merely days after the iPhone Duo hit the shelves, images of broken screens on the phone started popping up across social media. Until now, it’s been unclear what’s causing the line of defective pixels that appears vertically along the crease, as well as horizontally, on the phone’s inner display.
Apple has finally acknowledged the issue, which has shown up on iPhone Duo units owned by customers as well as demo units in stores. In a statement shared with Bloomberg, Apple says that not all iPhone Duo units are affected and that those that are tend to show the display fault early on. The company added that users who experience problems with their iPhone Duo display should contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.
I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.