Best flagship phones 2026 - buyer’s guide

The Honor Magic V5 is, without a doubt, one of the most compelling foldables we've tested so far. It combines an impressively thin and lightweight design with premium materials, a robust hinge, and class-leading IP58/IP59 ingress protection - a rare achievement in this segment. Both displays are large, sharp and feature-packed, with stylus support and Dolby Vision certification, while the nice stereo speakers round out the excellent multimedia experience.

Performance is flagship-grade thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and Honor's generous memory and storage options leave little to be desired. Battery life is solid for a foldable, and the 5,820 mAh silicon-carbon cell paired with 66W wired and 50W wireless charging delivers consistently strong results. Software is also a high point, with MagicOS 9 on top of Android 15 running smoothly, meaningful AI features, great multitasking tools, and a seven-year update promise in key markets.

Cameras are another strength, with a versatile triple setup that covers wide, ultrawide, and 3x telephoto while delivering very good stills and video. Add in extras like an IR blaster and fast USB 3.1 transfer speeds, and the Magic V5 feels every bit the premium package.

Not everything is perfect - the crease is still noticeable and the eSIM support varies by region. Honor's software ecosystem isn't yet on Samsung's level either, and they are a bit behind in AI features as well. But these drawbacks do little to overshadow the fact that the Magic V5 is among the most well-rounded foldables available today.

Most importantly, Honor is now selling the Magic V5 in many markets, making it easy to buy in Europe and many other regions - something that wasn't always the case with its predecessors. At around €1,700, it goes head-to-head with the Galaxy Z Fold7 and other book-style foldables, and in many respects, it outshines them. If you're after a premium foldable in 2025, the Honor Magic V5 deserves to be at the top of your shortlist.

The vivo X300 Ultra is exactly the sort of device an "Ultra" phone should be. It is unapologetically ambitious, unapologetically expensive and unapologetically camera-centric. And honestly, vivo has earned the right to be confident here because the X300 Ultra delivers on nearly every front that matters in a modern flagship.

Starting with the obvious, the camera experience is once again the star of the show. Vivo's decision to stick with a single telephoto setup instead of chasing dual-telephoto trends might sound conservative on paper, but the implementation proves otherwise. The 85mm zoom camera remains one of the most versatile telephoto solutions around, while the new 200MP 35mm main camera is simply superb. The ultrawide camera also continues to stand out from the crowd thanks to its unusually large sensor. Add the extensive video feature set, excellent stabilization and the genuinely useful Photography Kit ecosystem, and the X300 Ultra feels closer to a compact camera replacement than most of its rivals.

But the X300 Ultra is far from a one-trick pony. The display is excellent, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 provides flagship-grade performance, charging is properly fast, and the battery life is noticeably improved compared to the previous generation. OriginOS 6 is also a major step forward for vivo's international software experience. It feels modern, polished and feature-rich in ways that older FuntouchOS releases didn't.

That said, there are still a few rough edges keeping the X300 Ultra from absolute perfection. Speaker quality is merely good rather than class-leading, and vivo's decision to remove the helper buttons like the Shortcut or Camera shutter key feels genuinely puzzling. We also expected better definition from the Portrait photo mode and the 4K videos.

Still, none of these complaints meaningfully change the bigger picture. The vivo X300 Ultra is one of the best Android flagships currently available and arguably one of the most complete camera phones ever made. If you are willing to stomach the asking price and can live with its rather massive camera island and hefty footprint, the X300 Ultra absolutely delivers an Ultra-grade experience.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max makes a controversial switch to aluminum, which helped keep the weight in check and perhaps maintains adequate sustained performance, but it also hurt the durability by making the iPhone more prone to scratches. Then there is the mix of glass and metal on the back, which combined with the new color options, make this iPhone one of the less likable in recent memory.

The display of the 17 Pro Max gained cool new anti-glare finish, but its cutout is still the same unsightly mess. It is a great screen, yes, but we have seen it a couple of times already.

We do appreciate the improved battery life and charging speeds, even if it requires the new charger with absurd name and its AVS charging protocol.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max brought some improvements for selfie and zoom photography and those will be universally appreciated. But the upgrade isn't as huge as the keynote had us believe and it's behind the curve in 2025. Yes, the images are very good to great, but the phone has the hardware, the processing power and the entire Apple hivemind, and it still lags behind the Chinese Ultra phones.

What the iPhone 17 Pro Max does amazing is videos - no matter the camera, the conditions, the chosen format - the iPhone 17 Pro Max will ace the scene. Once again Apple deserves praise for making a camera app that's suitable both for mainstream and pro users, something no one else in the industry can quite pull off.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max may be the most capable iPhone ever, but it's not looking like it will go down in history as the best loved one. Its mixed bag design, the lack of obvious improvements, and the unpolished state of iOS 26 right now, make up for a phone that millions will buy, but far fewer will be truly excited about. Yet, the iPhone 17 Pro Max has been sold out everywhere and potential buyers will have to wait a few weeks in order to get one. And the reason is quite simple – it’s the best iPhone ever and it has many improvements over bestsellers such as the iPhone 15 Pro Max or older.

Despite the hefty price tag, which is even higher than last year, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is one of the best flagship cameraphones you can get right now. Just like the rest of the flagship phones, the 17 Ultra has an excellent display, fast chipset, snappy charging and long battery life, although that last bit isn't a given.

However, the improved telephoto and selfie cameras, along with the exceptional main camera performance, make the device one of the best in its class. We also didn't feel the absence of the second 3x telephoto camera either, as the current 200MP telephoto shooter with continuous optical zoom and close-distance focusing covers all bases. The rotating camera ring on the 17 Ultra by Leica is a nice touch, but it's borderline gimmicky, and we had to turn it off to avoid accidental actuations.

All in all, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is one of the most capable flagship phones with little to no drawbacks. The exceptionally hefty price tag is the only thing you'd have to deal with. And on whether the Leica edition is worth the extra cost, it depends on how useful the rotating ring, the additional security chip and the dual satellite communication are to you. But no matter whether it’s the regular or Leica Edition, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is one of the best phones in year 2026 for sure.

Despite the relatively modest hardware upgrades, the Galaxy S26 Ultra still manages to bring a few meaningful improvements and get a spot in this flagship chapter. The new Privacy Display looks genuinely useful and doesn't noticeably compromise the viewing experience. Faster charging finally brings the phone closer to its rivals, while battery life sees a welcome boost.

And, as always, the S Pen remains a defining feature of the Ultra lineup – one that still sets Samsung apart from the competition.

Some of the new AI features, along with improvements to existing ones, are genuinely interesting. However, limited language support means not everyone will benefit from them, and many of these capabilities remain restricted to Samsung's own system apps.

Even with these improvements, the S26 Ultra struggles to stand out against its Android rivals in several key areas. For instance, the subtle camera downgrades we see this year are particularly puzzling, considering that the S25 Ultra was already trailing some competing flagships in camera performance.

It's an unexciting upgrade this one, but even as it is, the company has once again delivered a well-balanced device with no major flaws and a few standout features that the competition still can't quite match.

Samsung is back in the game with this year's foldable. Sure, there are still some missteps, such as the battery life, charging rate, the omission of the S Pen, the lackluster telephoto camera, and the absence of Dolby Vision support, if anyone cares.

However, the Z Fold7 excels in other areas, providing a much better main camera, nice ultrawide, better internal selfie cam, larger displays with better aspect ratios and offers one of the thinnest and lightest designs in the segment. These upgrades alone make the Z Fold7 much easier to recommend than its predecessors. Moreover, the handset is entitled to 7 major OS upgrades while launching with Android 16 out of the box.

It looks like Samsung has performed better under pressure from the rising competition in the last few years. The Galaxy Z Fold7 proves that the Korean tech giant still has it.

The Motorola Razr 60 Ultra (or Razr Ultra in North America) is a thoroughly excellent small foldable that could very well be the best-performing specimen of its kind that we've seen to date. Its flaws are few, the most important being the aggressive CPU throttling. It robs the phone of some of the positives of having the best Android chipset currently available, and it's seemingly an inherent limitation of the model's thermal design. Maybe the relatively low maximum brightness of the display in manual operation also stems from thermal considerations as well.

Other than that, the Razr's showing is class-leading in most respects. Battery life is excellent across the board, and charging remains best-in-class, as last year. The displays can, actually, put out plenty of nits when the ambient light calls for it - also scoring higher than the rest in that test. The camera setup doesn't suffer too much from not having a telephoto, and its replacement with an ultrawide is actually beneficial in several ways. The Razr also remains the most functional small foldable if you'd prefer to keep it closed, thanks to a larger-than-most display and the software package to make use of it.

Sure, the Razr 60 Ultra is a bit pricey, but with plenty of standout features – it’s actually worth paying.

The list of generational improvements on the Pixel 10 Pro XL is short and while a couple of them do make a difference, a lot of the usual downsides of the lineup remain. Slow charging, non-competitive battery life, troubled chipset - Google's priorities don't seem to include addressing these in ways that we hope they do.

There's also the plateau in camera hardware development, seemingly to be replaced by AI-made-up imagery. Still, one of the things that sparks interest in the Pixel 10 Pro XL over the previous-gen model is to be found in the camera - the close-focusing capability of the telephoto, which is still not the best, but at least there's some of it. Of course, the camera experience in general is pretty great, but Google has long since lost its leading position in the field.

The other semi-exciting new feature is the Qi2 wireless charging with magnetic attachment capability - speed is, of course, not the key factor, but convenience and accessories might be. The super bright display doesn't hurt, and the ultra-wide selfies are nice. The Pixel design is also pretty appealing in its own way.

Of course, the Pixel 10 Pro XL is a well-rounded and fully capable high-end smartphone - that's beyond debate. As always though, it's really the software where the Pixel 10 Pro XL's main appeal lies. It's the AI-based features (both new and established ones) and the smoothness and attention to subtleties in the UI that make it feel special - that's why you get a Pixel (XL or otherwise). If you don't care as much for these things, it's only natural that you'd find better value elsewhere.

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is an excellent piece of tech, albeit pricier than other Ultras. It's not just a great cameraphone, it's a great all-rounder, too. It has an extra-long battery life, fast charging, a great display, although the full 144Hz is rarely utilized, and offers a nice, customizable software experience, which will get about five major upgrades in the future..

It's too early to say whether it's the best camera-centric phone in the first half of the year, but it's definitely up there with the best, and honestly, that should be enough. If you are looking for the best, this may as well be the one.

However, if video quality is on top of your priority list, that may not be the Find X9 Ultra's forte. Videos are soft-ish across the board, or at least they are not on an "ultra" level.

But among the big cameraphones, the gaps are so small that it will probably boil down to preferences regarding design, software, your favorite focal lengths and features more than anything else.

In the end, we cannot but recommend the Find X9 Ultra if you're in the market for a high-end phone.