Samsung is teeing up to kick off 2027 with an all-new lineup of flagship smartphones, and despite rising prices at your local Best Buy, the brand is still hedging that you’re going to pony up for the most premium model available.
As Samsung is currently allotting over 70 percent of its total production capabilities to just the Galaxy S27 Ultra and the new Galaxy S27 “Pro” model expected to launch alongside it. That leaves the plain Galaxy S27 and the larger S27+ on the outside looking in. In comparison to this year’s launch, the Galaxy S26 Ultra made up about 50 percent of this series’ production volume, for a grand total of 18 million units
In this case, Samsung isn’t actually betting next year’s S27 Ultra is going to surpass its predecessor by record numbers; rather, this is all about adding the S27 Pro as a fourth model for consumers to pick from. As the name implies, the S27 Pro will arrive packed with features usually kept for the Ultra tier exclusively, including Privacy Display and a matching design, but without an S Pen and with a smaller price. While Samsung plans to continue holding the Ultra tier at around 18 million units made, the S27 Pro will cut into the brand’s typical 35 million unit total by about 7 or 8 million. In other words, around 20 percent of sales that would’ve went to the regular S27 or S27+ are expected to move upmarket to this more expensive model.
Historical performance implies Samsung is probably correct here. While big displays are typically what consumers are drawn to, it does appear that the S27 Pro won’t be all that much smaller than the S27+. Considering the Pro should slot in right around the typical price point as the Plus model, it’s not hard to imagine plenty of would-be S27+ buyers moving to the Pro.
For what it’s worth, Samsung betting big on high-end devices usually pays off. We’re on year two of the Fold series seeing big successes — first with the redesigned Fold 7 in 2025, then with the reshaped Fold 8 this year — and the Galaxy S26 Ultra managed to become the best-selling Android phone in Q2 of this year in a list typically populated by iPhones and cheap Galaxy A-series models. Even with prices constantly on the rise, the people yearn for flagship smartphones. You just have to wonder where that ceiling actually is.
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