The upcoming launch of the Samsung Galaxy S26 series has triggered a wave of drastic price cuts for last year's flagship models. Dealers and e-commerce platforms worldwide are aggressively clearing out inventory, offering models like the Galaxy S25 or iPhone 15 at prices often half of their launch MSRP. The promotions have affected not only premium smartphones but also tablets and devices from Chinese manufacturers, including Xiaomi and Honor.

Drastic Samsung Price Cuts

The Galaxy S25 model is dropping by hundreds of euros ahead of the S26 launch, while older Ultra models are entering the mid-price class.

iPhone 15 Below 300 Euros

Aggressive discounts on Apple devices, especially in the refurbished segment, are destabilizing the budget smartphone market.

Chinese Price Offensive

Xiaomi and Honor are cutting prices of their latest models by over 50%, trying to capture customers abandoning Samsung's expensive new releases.

The consumer electronics market has reached a turning point triggered by the imminent debut of a new generation of devices from the South Korean manufacturer. Major sales platforms, such as Amazon, Cdiscount, and Boulanger, have initiated a process experts describe as a commercial offensive. The most attention is drawn to the Samsung Galaxy S25, whose price has been reduced to historic lows. In Spain, a record discount of up to 560 euros was noted for the S25 Ultra model, which, combined with the promise of 6-year system updates, makes it a nearly unbeatable offer. Concurrently, the older flagship Galaxy S22 Ultra has become available for amounts around 260 euros, opening the premium segment to an entirely new group of consumers. The price confrontation has not spared the Cupertino-based corporation. The Apple iPhone 15 in refurbished versions has broken the 300-euro barrier, forcing a reaction from Chinese brands. Xiaomi, Oppo, and Honor have decided on even more aggressive moves. The Xiaomi 15 model is offered with a discount reaching 53%, while the Honor Magic V5, equipped with the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, has become a tool in the fight for customers valuing pure computing power over loyalty to traditional brands. The mechanism of cyclical price cuts before new model launches became established in the market after 2010, becoming a key tool for managing product life cycles and maintaining financial liquidity for distributors. This phenomenon has extended beyond the mobile phone market, also encompassing the tablet and budget phone segments. The popular Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 series has dropped to prices around 100-160 euros, practically eliminating competition in the budget class. Equally strong movements were observed in the tablet market, where the Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ is seeing record interest thanks to unexpected promotions on the manufacturer's official websites. Analysts emphasize that the current purchasing window is particularly significant because the upcoming S26 series models are expected to be positioned at a much higher price due to rising costs of components supporting Galaxy AI.