There’s no doubt that the best phones of the year included some impressive advancements in both hardware and software. This includes huge advancements around the growth of AI, with both Samsung and Google showcasing the potential for artificial intelligence.
Apple has, unfortunately, struggled a bit in this department, but it did completely revamp the design of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. There's also the A19 chip series, which offered impressive improvements over past iterations.
Even with all of that progress, there have been some issues with the latest generation of phones. For instance, thin phones haven't yet found an audience — we're looking at you, Galaxy S25 Edge and iPhone Air.
What are we hoping for in 2026?
Josh Render - When it comes to 2026, I am mostly looking forward to how companies build on some of the improvements we have already seen. While I might worry about certain hardware improvements, I am much more hopeful when I think about the future battery and chip releases that we see in 2026.
We have seen the power of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Apple’s A19 chip, not to mention the massive silicon carbon battery that featured as part of the OnePlus 15. There's also the recent reveal of the Exynos 2600, which looks to be a marked improvement over the past Exynos releases. I hope that this year sees companies like Apple, Google and Samsung expand on this with new, more powerful options.
Philip Michaels - I don’t want to oversell it, but a lot is riding on the release of iOS 26.4 and the improvements to Siri that software update is supposed to bring. This is the rumored launch of Siri 2.0, a more intelligent and context-aware version of Apple’s on-device assistant that’s part of the Apple Intelligence push.
I’m not expecting a fully formed reboot of Siri when iOS 26.4 arrives, but I do want to see a pretty polished release considering how long we’ve been waiting for this particular update. (Remember, Apple promised it with iOS 18.) If it approaches what you can do with cross-app actions on Samsung’s Galaxy S phones, Apple will be in a good place, and if not, then we’re going to have to seriously consider whether Apple’s AI efforts are ever going to approach what you can do on an Android device.
Richard Priday - I'm not sure if it will happen as much as I want it to, but I am crossing my fingers that 2026 is the year that silicon-carbon batteries go mainstream. And by that, I mean finally appear in a phone made by three big companies — Samsung, Apple and Google.
While there are legitimate drawbacks with using silicon-carbon cells instead of lithium ones, the benefit to physical battery size and energy density outweighs these in my opinion. And the benefits are hard to ignore — just see how the OnePlus 15 performed in our battery test, lasting over 25 hours!
Switching suppliers and adjusting your designs obviously can't be done overnight, so I appreciate why companies that sell as many phones as Apple and Samsung can't turn on a dime and add silicon-carbon immediately to their batteries. But the technology has been around for a couple of years now. 2026 should be the year for these brands to take the leap.
John Velasco - The thing I’m most hopeful for is also the thing I’m worried about as well. For years now, I’ve praised Samsung DeX for helping to bridge that phone meets PC experience — and while it looks to take a big leap with foldables like the Galaxy Z TriFold — other phone makers need to follow suit.
Even though I’ve tried Android 16’s hidden desktop mode, Google has work to do before it gets to the same scope as Samsung DeX. But it needs to do way more than just rip off DeX, like being able to support all the web browser extensions I use and allowing for multiple users.
What are we worried about in 2026?
John Velasco - My fear about these desktop interfaces with phones is that manufacturers will hold them back from truly being replacements. Wouldn’t it be neat if you could ditch your laptop entirely and use your phone instead? While that’s the dream, I’m not confident that manufacturers will be so forthcoming because they do sell laptops and desktops. Knowing that there’s always the potential risk of revenue loss, it could be the reason why these desktop interfaces might continue to be scaled back.
I still dream of a day when I can just bring my phone and use it for work, much like on my computer, but companies like Apple, Samsung, Google, and others still want to sell you computers.
Philip Michaels - I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was concerned about smartphone prices, which have more or less held steady in 2025 despite uncertainty over tariffs and rising component costs. That said, we’ve seen some odd pricing decisions — Apple and Samsung both charge a lot for the iPhone Air and Galaxy S25 Edge respectively, even though those phones merely distinguish themselves with a thinner design and arguably offer fewer capabilities than the lower-cost iPhone 17 and Galaxy S25 models. And don’t get me started on the Galaxy Z Fold, which seems to increase in price with each new iteration.
I worry that smartphone makers are testing the upper limits of what people are willing to pay for a premium phone and that’s going to continue in 2026, with higher component prices used as a justification to charge more for less. Add to that a major RAM shortage, and you have the right conditions for some pretty severe price hikes.
Richard Priday - I suspect 2026 is going to be another year where the majority of smartphone manufacturers focus on AI features for their upgrades. And I just can't be enthusiastic about that.
Maybe the new Siri will be as revolutionary as Apple promised it would be a year and a half ago, and Gemini on Android will get new abilities. But ultimately it feels like we're not getting anything new from the AI boom on phones, just the rearrangement of the same basic abilities in slightly new contexts - a pretty good summarization of genAI in general, really.
It seems to me that most smartphone buyers still want the smartphone basics - great cameras, long battery life and a good price - more than anything that LLMs can potentially offer them. But I still worry that big wins in these areas for 2026's biggest phone launches will be few and far between.
Josh Render - As I said at the start, I have some concerns when it comes to certain hardware aspects for smartphones in 2026. Many of these worries have been exacerbated by the rumors for upcoming flagships. For instance, the Galaxy S26 will allegedly feature much of the same hardware as the Galaxy S25 series.
If that wasn't enough, I'm honestly worried about Apple's foray into the foldable market. While I do not doubt that Apple can release a great foldable phone, I don't know if the iPhone Fold will be that device, especially for the rumored price of $2,400. And the news that the regular iPhone 18 might not even appear until 2027 is concerning to me as a consumer.
What are you hoping (or dreading) for in 2026?
These are all of our worries and hopes when it comes to 2026, but we also want to hear from you. Let us know what you're thinking about when it comes to 2026. For instance, are you planning to upgrade your phone, or are you waiting until 2027? Are you excited for new hardware, or would you rather see more focus on AI in the new year?
Let us know in the comments below, and we wish you a happy New Year!
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