Best New Smartphones & Laptops 2026: Full Overview

The smartphone and laptop markets have delivered major changes in 2026, with manufacturers focusing on artificial intelligence, performance, battery efficiency, advanced displays, cameras, and new form factors. For readers comparing best new smartphones 2026 and best new laptops 2026, the most interesting developments are not limited to faster processors. Devices are increasingly becoming intelligent, specialized, and better suited to specific ways of working, creating, gaming, and communicating.

The Smartphone Market in 2026

Flagship smartphones have become increasingly sophisticated, combining high-end processors with advanced cameras, bright displays, fast connectivity, and AI-powered software. The latest generation also shows how manufacturers are trying to differentiate their products through specialized features rather than simply increasing specifications.

Tom's Guide's 2026 smartphone awards highlight several major examples. The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max received its Best Phone award, while Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra was recognized as both Best Android Phone and Best Camera Phone. Google's Pixel 11 Pro XL was selected for its AI capabilities, while Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 was recognized in the foldable category.

These selections illustrate how different manufacturers are approaching the premium smartphone market. Apple emphasizes its integrated hardware and software ecosystem, Samsung combines high-end hardware with extensive features and foldable technology, while Google places considerable emphasis on computational photography and AI.

iPhone 18 Pro Focuses on the Flagship Experience

Apple's iPhone 18 Pro generation represents the company's current premium smartphone direction. According to Tom's Guide, the devices combine Apple's A20 Pro chip with an upgraded camera system featuring variable-aperture technology and new Siri capabilities.

The significance of a modern flagship iPhone goes beyond individual specifications. Apple's ecosystem remains an important part of the experience for people who also use products such as Mac computers, iPads, Apple Watch, or AirPods.

For users already invested in that ecosystem, features such as device synchronization, file sharing, messaging, and continuity between products can be more important than a small difference in processor performance.

Galaxy S26 Ultra Pushes Camera and Android Hardware

Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra represents another approach to the premium smartphone category. Tom's Guide recognizes it for both Android performance and camera capabilities, highlighting its 200-megapixel main camera, versatile quad-camera system, and video features.

The device is particularly relevant for users who want a smartphone that can handle photography, video recording, gaming, productivity, and entertainment from one device.

Samsung's software strategy is also increasingly connected to AI. Features built into the Galaxy ecosystem can assist with photography, translation, document processing, communication, and other everyday tasks.

Pixel 11 Pro XL Highlights AI

Google's Pixel 11 Pro XL takes a different approach by making artificial intelligence one of the central parts of the smartphone experience.

Tom's Guide named it its Best AI Phone, highlighting features such as Rambler dictation, Magic Capture, and Live Translate. These capabilities are powered by Google's Tensor G6 platform and its broader software ecosystem.

This demonstrates an important trend in smartphones: AI is increasingly becoming part of ordinary functions rather than remaining a separate application.

Voice input, photography, translation, search, and communication can all benefit from local processing and cloud-based AI services, depending on the feature.

Foldable Phones Continue to Evolve

Foldable smartphones remain one of the most distinctive developments in the mobile industry. Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 demonstrates how manufacturers are refining the concept rather than treating foldables simply as experimental hardware.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 was named Best Foldable Phone by Tom's Guide, with its wider design and multitasking capabilities highlighted as important strengths.

A foldable can provide a larger workspace without requiring users to carry both a phone and tablet. This can be useful for reading documents, multitasking, watching videos, or working with several applications simultaneously.

However, buyers should still consider the higher price, physical size, durability, battery life, and software experience before choosing a foldable over a conventional flagship.

Battery Technology Is Becoming More Important

Battery life remains one of the most practical areas of smartphone innovation. Higher performance and brighter displays can consume significant amounts of energy, making efficiency increasingly important.

The OnePlus 15 provides an example of this direction. Tom's Guide highlighted its 7,300mAh silicon-carbon battery and reported more than 25 hours of use in its testing.

Silicon-carbon battery technology is attracting attention because it can provide high capacity while maintaining relatively practical device dimensions.

For heavy users, battery capacity can have a more noticeable impact on everyday experience than small improvements in benchmark scores.

The Laptop Market Is Becoming More Diverse

The 2026 laptop market is similarly broad. Instead of one type of premium computer dominating the category, manufacturers are creating machines for travel, productivity, AI workloads, gaming, creative work, and hybrid use.

Tom's Guide's 2026 computing awards include the Dell XPS 13, Asus ProArt GoPro Edition PX13, Razer Blade 16, and Asus Zenbook Duo among its highlighted laptops.

Each machine approaches the laptop market differently. The Dell focuses on portability and everyday computing, the ProArt targets demanding AI workloads, the Razer Blade emphasizes gaming performance, and the Zenbook Duo uses two OLED displays for a more flexible workspace.

This specialization means buyers have more freedom to choose hardware according to their actual workload.

Dell XPS 13 Targets Portability

The 2026 Dell XPS 13 demonstrates how premium computing can prioritize portability without abandoning performance.

Tom's Guide highlights its 13.4-inch 2.5K touchscreen, CNC aluminum construction, lightweight design, and battery life approaching 14.5 hours in testing.

A compact laptop like this can be attractive to students, professionals, travelers, and users who frequently move between home, office, and other locations.

The smaller footprint also makes it easier to carry daily compared with larger performance-oriented laptops.

Asus ProArt Brings AI Processing to the Laptop

AI is becoming one of the most important developments in modern PCs. The Asus ProArt GoPro Edition PX13 is an example of a laptop designed around powerful local AI processing.

Tom's Guide highlights its AMD Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 processor and configurations with up to 128GB of RAM. The hardware is capable of running large AI models locally, including certain large language and image-generation models.

Local AI processing can be particularly valuable for creators and professionals who work with AI tools but do not want every workload to depend entirely on cloud services.

It can also provide advantages when working with sensitive files or in environments where reliable internet access is not always available, although individual applications determine how much local hardware they can actually use.

Razer Blade 16 Targets Gaming and Creative Work

Gaming laptops continue to occupy the high-performance end of the laptop market. The Razer Blade 16 combines an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor with configurations reaching Nvidia RTX 5090 graphics and a 16-inch 240Hz OLED display.

This type of hardware can provide substantial performance for demanding games, 3D applications, video editing, rendering, and other GPU-intensive workloads.

The trade-off is portability. Tom's Guide notes that the machine weighs around 4.7 pounds and can become hot and loud during demanding gaming or rendering sessions.

For users who need maximum portable performance, those compromises may be acceptable. For frequent travelers, a lighter laptop may make more sense.

Dual-Screen Laptops Offer a Different Workflow

The Asus Zenbook Duo represents another interesting direction. Instead of focusing exclusively on making a conventional laptop thinner or faster, Asus uses two 14-inch OLED touchscreens to expand the available workspace.

Tom's Guide highlights its Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processor, upgraded hinge, keyboard, touchpad, and dual OLED displays.

This format can be useful for multitasking. A creator might place a video timeline on one display and editing controls on another, while a programmer could keep code on one screen and documentation or testing tools on the other.

The design is not necessarily ideal for every user, but it demonstrates how laptop manufacturers are exploring alternatives to the traditional single-screen format.

Smaller Laptops Are Getting More Capable

Compact laptops are also becoming increasingly powerful. Tom's Guide's latest 13-inch laptop guide highlights the MacBook Air M5, Dell XPS 13, Asus ROG Flow Z13, MSI Prestige 13 AI+, and Framework Laptop 13 for different priorities.

The MacBook Air M5 is highlighted for its combination of performance, portability, and battery life, while the Asus ROG Flow Z13 targets users who want gaming performance in a compact 2-in-1 design.

The MSI Prestige 13 AI+ focuses heavily on low weight and OLED display quality, while the Framework Laptop 13 emphasizes upgradeability.

This variety shows that compact does not necessarily mean basic anymore.

AI Is Connecting Phones and PCs

AI is one of the strongest themes connecting the smartphone and laptop markets.

On phones, AI can assist with translation, image processing, voice recognition, search, writing, and communication. On laptops, dedicated NPUs and GPUs can accelerate AI applications and enable certain models to run locally.

The shift toward local AI is particularly significant for laptops. The Asus ProArt PX13 demonstrates how increasing memory capacity and specialized processors can turn a portable computer into a capable local AI workstation.

However, buyers should avoid purchasing hardware simply because it carries an AI label. The value depends on whether the applications they use actually benefit from dedicated AI processing.

Displays Are Becoming a Major Differentiator

Both smartphones and laptops are increasingly competing through display technology.

Premium phones now offer high refresh rates, high brightness, advanced OLED panels, and sophisticated color management. Laptops are also adopting OLED and Mini-LED displays, with higher resolutions and faster refresh rates becoming more common.

For creative professionals, color accuracy can be more important than refresh rate. Gamers may prioritize response time and refresh rate, while frequent travelers may value brightness and power efficiency.

There is therefore no universally ideal display specification. The right choice depends on how the device will be used.

Memory and Storage Are Becoming Important Buying Factors

The increasing use of AI and demanding applications is also raising the importance of RAM and storage.

Creative software, large development environments, virtual machines, high-resolution media projects, and AI models can consume substantial amounts of memory. A laptop with more RAM can therefore provide greater flexibility for demanding workloads.

However, more memory is not automatically necessary. Buyers should match capacity to actual workloads instead of paying for specifications that will remain unused.

This consideration is becoming especially relevant because the PC industry is dealing with pressure in the memory market. IDC has reported that AI data-center demand is affecting the supply and pricing environment for conventional DRAM and NAND components used in PCs and smartphones.

Choosing Between a Smartphone and Laptop Upgrade

For someone deciding where to spend money, the most useful question is not which category is more advanced. It is which device currently creates the biggest limitation.

A smartphone upgrade may make more sense when the existing phone has poor battery life, outdated cameras, insufficient storage, limited software support, or performance problems.

A laptop upgrade can be more valuable when the current machine struggles with creative software, gaming, programming, multitasking, AI applications, or newer operating-system requirements.

Users should also consider how frequently the device is used. A computer used for several hours every day may provide more practical benefit from a performance upgrade than a phone that is already adequate for basic communication.

What to Check Before Buying

Before purchasing a new smartphone, consider:

• Camera quality and video features.
• Battery capacity and charging speed.
• Display brightness and refresh rate.
• Processor performance.
• Storage capacity.
• Software support.
• Ecosystem compatibility.
• Device size and weight.

For a new laptop, consider:

• CPU and GPU performance.
• RAM capacity.
• SSD storage.
• Display quality.
• Battery life.
• Weight and portability.
• Available ports.
• Upgradeability and repair options.

This approach can prevent buyers from focusing too heavily on marketing claims or isolated specifications.

Final Thoughts

The best new smartphones and laptops of 2026 show two technology categories moving in a similar direction: greater intelligence, stronger performance, better displays, and more specialized designs. Current phones are increasingly centered around AI, cameras, foldable displays, and battery efficiency, while laptops are expanding into local AI computing, dual-screen workflows, gaming, and lightweight high-performance designs.

The most useful device is ultimately the one that solves a real problem in the user's daily workflow. A flagship smartphone can be valuable for mobile photography, communication, travel, and intensive mobile use, while a powerful laptop can make a much bigger difference for editing, design, programming, gaming, and AI workloads.

Rather than choosing purely by price or specifications, buyers can get more value by identifying their actual needs first and then selecting the hardware that fits those needs.