Samsung’s phone plans may be shifting at both ends of the lineup

As nonplussed as some may have been about this year’s Galaxy flagships, pre-order numbers were strong, and Samsung’s latest flagships may be holding up better than the company had expected a few months after launch. A new report suggests Samsung has raised its May production plans for parts of the Galaxy S26 series, while making more selective changes across its cheaper Galaxy A lineup.

According to ZDNet Korea, Samsung now plans to produce around one million standard Galaxy S26 units in May, up from an earlier forecast of 700,000. The Galaxy S26 Ultra has also reportedly been raised to 1.2 to 1.3 million units, up from 1 to 1.1 million. The Galaxy S26 Plus is the unsurprising outlier, with production reportedly sitting at 200,000 units after previously being forecast at 200,000 to 300,000 units.

The report cites an official from the parts industry as saying component orders would normally be expected to have fallen by now, roughly two months after launch, but have remained steady compared with initial forecasts. Cumulative Galaxy S26 shipments are also said to be similar to, or slightly higher than, those of the Galaxy S25 series.

ZDNet Korea frames the S26 production increase as part of Samsung’s effort to protect its second-quarter performance, noting that premium Galaxy S phones can generate revenue and operating profit similar to selling three or four mid-range or low-end devices. The Ultra is said to account for around 70% of Galaxy S26 sales this year, helped by the fact that Samsung raised prices on the regular S26 while keeping the Ultra at the same starting price as last year.

Samsung’s A-series plans look more mixed. ZDNet Korea reports that the Galaxy A17 production plan for May has risen to around five million units, up from just over four million, and Counterpoint recently ranked both the A17 5G and 4G among the top ten smartphones globally for Q1. On the flip side, the Galaxy A57 has reportedly been cut to around 1.3 million units, down from an earlier forecast of 1.7 million to 1.8 million, while the Galaxy A37 has also dipped from one million units to 900,000. That all points to Samsung putting more weight behind the premium and budget ends of the Galaxy lineup, rather than its mid-range models.