Best Buy Cuts Galaxy S26 Ultra by $450 to $949.99 Ahead of Black Friday

Q: With the Galaxy S26 Ultra now cheaper than the base model, will Best Buy drop prices even further on Black Friday?

It is possible, but there is no clear evidence yet that Best Buy will cut the Galaxy S26 Ultra below $949.99 on Black Friday. The current $450 discount is already one of the deepest widely advertised direct price cuts on the unlocked model, and it matches some of the best prices recently seen at other major retailers such as Amazon. That suggests Best Buy is already near the aggressive end of market pricing rather than holding back a much bigger drop for later. Best Buy’s broader Black Friday policy points in two directions. On one hand, the retailer is rolling out early Black Friday waves and sometimes refreshes deals as the event gets closer. On the other, its own guidance says many Black Friday items are limited in quantity and may sell out before the main shopping week. That makes waiting risky, especially on a popular flagship. There is one practical safeguard for buyers: Best Buy’s holiday price-match policy indicates it will match its own lower prices later in the season on eligible purchases, though shoppers should check whether the unlocked phone qualifies under the exact terms. That means buying now may be safer than waiting if stock is limited. The most grounded expectation is that Best Buy might match or slightly tweak this price, but a dramatically lower unlocked price is far from certain. If $949.99 fits your budget, the evidence so far suggests it is already a strong Black Friday-level deal.

3 articles · Updated · Android Police · Nov 6

$949.99 gets buyers an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra at Best Buy after a straight $450 discount, weeks before Black Friday promotions typically peak.
The markdown undercuts the Galaxy S26's usual $999 starting price, easing the biggest complaint about Samsung's top-end 2026 flagship—its premium cost.
Samsung's Ultra model pairs a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip with 12GB of RAM, a 5,000mAh battery and seven years of OS and security updates.
The phone's standout addition is Privacy Display, which limits off-angle viewing in public, though buyers still give up built-in Qi2 and breakthrough camera upgrades at this price.