On the Day Apple Released a Budget Phone, Samsung Made a Premium Move... Galaxy S26 vs. iPhone 17e Face Off [Report]

Samsung Electronics' premium artificial intelligence (AI) smartphone, the Galaxy S26 series, and Apple’s budget smartphone, the iPhone 17e, officially went on sale simultaneously on March 11.

Samsung Electronics set the price of the top-of-the-line Galaxy S26 Ultra 512GB model at over 2 million won. Despite the high price, the company adopted a premium strategy focused on AI innovation, resulting in record-breaking pre-sales of 1.35 million units during the seven-day pre-sale event held from February 27 to March 5. In contrast, Apple, which had previously maintained a high-price strategy, set the launch price of both the new iPhone 17e and MacBook Neo at 990,000 won, making a decisive move with a strategy emphasizing value for money.

"I came to buy the Galaxy S26. I'm excited because it reportedly has a lot of new features."

On the morning of March 11, a line began to form in front of Samsung Gangnam in Seocho-gu, Seoul, about 20 minutes before the store opened. The area was crowded with people who had made pre-orders to pick up their Galaxy S26 and those looking to purchase the device. Many visitors also came for consultations. As soon as the doors opened, they went up to the second-floor pickup zone. The Galaxy S26 series will be released sequentially in over 100 countries worldwide, starting with Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, and India from this day.

On the morning of the 11th, people lined up in front of Samsung Gangnam in Seocho-gu, Seoul, waiting to receive the Galaxy S26 before its official opening. Photo by Noh Kyungjo

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A store employee said, "Many people come early to pick up their products before work. The customer base is diverse, regardless of age or gender," adding, "In the afternoon, most visitors come just to look around, and there is particularly high interest in the Ultra model." The exclusive colors available only at Samsung.com and Samsung Gangnam are also popular among foreigners. The employee added, "Quite a few foreign customers who are about to depart Korea tomorrow are asking if they can buy the Galaxy S26 right now." Pink gold and silver shadow are reportedly the most preferred exclusive colors.

Unveiled on February 25 (local time), the Galaxy S26 series set a new record for the highest-ever pre-sales among Galaxy S series models in Korea, with a total of 1.35 million units sold. The Ultra model, in particular, was highly favored. All three major mobile carriers reported that pre-orders for the Galaxy S26 Ultra accounted for 70% of total pre-orders. This model attracted attention with its high-end specifications, such as the first-ever privacy display in a mobile phone, state-of-the-art AP-based performance, and a 200-megapixel wide-angle camera.

Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S26 series. Samsung Electronics

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Samsung Electronics is offering various benefits to customers who purchase in March. These include a 10% discount coupon for the Galaxy Buds 4 series usable on the Samsung.com app, five 30% discount coupons for cases and accessories, a three-month subscription to Welaaa, and eight special themes for popular games in the Galaxy Store. Additionally, those who purchase the Galaxy S26 Ultra model will receive an extra 30% discount coupon for a 60W charger.

New accessories for the Galaxy S26 series are also being released. For the first time, genuine cases feature magnets, and there are also magnetic wireless chargers, magnetic stand card wallets, dual magnet ring holders, and magnetic mirror grip stands, among others. In particular, Samsung Electronics explained that the magnetic wireless charging battery pack provides a convenient charging experience, as it attaches to the back of a Galaxy smartphone without interfering with the camera.

On the morning of the 11th, customers are entering the Apple Myeongdong store in Jung-gu, Seoul, as it opens. Photo by Lee Myunghwan

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On the morning of March 11, the official launch day of the iPhone 17e and MacBook Neo, a line of 30 to 40 people formed in front of the Apple Store in Myeongdong as the opening time of 10 a.m. approached. Most of those waiting were foreigners visiting Myeongdong as tourists who intended to purchase products at the Apple Store.

When the store opened at 10 a.m., customers entered to the applause of staff, and most immediately headed to the display for the MacBook Neo. The first customer at the store, an international student from Myanmar, said, "I bought the MacBook Neo because of its affordable price." An Australian tourist who purchased the iPhone 17e said, "I've always used iPhones. My previous phone broke, and when I heard a new model was released at a reasonable price, I came to buy it right away."

From this day, the iPhone 17e, MacBook Neo, MacBook Air (M5), MacBook Pro (M5), iPad Air (M4), Studio Display, and other products became available for purchase at the Apple Store and major e-commerce platforms.

Apple MacBook Neo. Apple

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Among these, the iPhone 17e and MacBook Neo, both launched at a relatively low price point, are particularly noteworthy. Both products are priced at 990,000 won, making them the most affordable models in the current MacBook and iPhone lineups and the only ones priced under 1 million won. This is a stark departure from Apple’s previous premium strategy, which had featured much higher prices for earlier releases.

The iPhone 17e offers double the base storage compared to its predecessor (iPhone 16e), now providing 256GB, and is equipped with the latest A19 chipset. It also adds MagSafe, a magnet-based wireless charging feature not present in the previous model, yet the price remains unchanged. Considering the device’s improved specifications, this effectively amounts to a price reduction. The MacBook Neo’s price drops even further to 850,000 won with student discounts.

The prices of these two products stand out as relatively reasonable, especially given the recent sharp increase in the prices of memory semiconductors such as RAM. However, some compromises were made as a result of the lower prices. The chip powering the MacBook Neo is the Apple A18 Pro, which was introduced in the iPhone 16 Pro two years ago. Although the A18 Pro is an iPhone chipset, it reportedly offers performance similar to Apple’s first laptop chipset, the M1, released in 2020. RAM capacity is only 8GB, which is less than in more recent models. The iPhone 17e also still has only one camera and a screen refresh rate limited to 60Hz.

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