Buying phones and other consumer electronics has become substantially more expensive this year. Last week, Samsung raised prices of its high-end phones, including the Galaxy S26. Now, the company is following that up with its budget-friendly phones, hiking the prices of devices like the Galaxy A17 5G and the Galaxy A57 in the US.

Samsung's cheapest smartphone in the US right now is the Galaxy A17 5G. While it launched at $200, two subsequent price hikes have pushed its price up to $270. Meanwhile, the Galaxy A27 now costs $380, a $30 jump over its $350 launch price. The Galaxy A37, which originally arrived in the US at $450, is now listed at $490 on Samsung's website.

The Galaxy A57, Samsung's premium mid-range phone, now costs $600. It debuted earlier this year at $550, which was already $50 more expensive than the Galaxy A56 it replaced. A few years ago, spending $600 would have fetched you a Galaxy S series device like the Galaxy S23 FE.

If you are wondering why consumer electronics are getting pricier, the primary reason is increased manufacturing costs. In particular, the prices of RAM and NAND flash storage chips, which are found in every modern smart device, have increased by multiple folds over the past couple of years due to relentless demand from AI data centers.