GoKawiil2026 is shaping up to be the year of iterative phone upgrades. From the budget Google Pixel 10A to the flagship Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus, we've seen some of the most boring generation of phones. But on the other hand, phones like the Galaxy Z TriFold, Xiaomi 17 Ultra and Oppo Find N6 are keeping things interesting and making this year a strong follow-up to 2025, which saw Samsung reinvent the Galaxy Z Fold and Apple announce an all-new, slim and light iPhone Air.
There should be room for a few more surprises later this year but the RAM shortage and increasing competition around generative AI are creating a larger challenge for phone-makers to overcome. And that puts more pressure on brands to release bold designs and add features that are as useful as they are innovative.
The folding phone market is expected to attract more entrants. We could finally see Apple launch a folding iPhone and rumors say that Samsung might release a wide-screen foldable, similar to the Huawei Pura X.
The bottom line? There are still a bunch of exciting smartphones to look forward to in 2026.
Phones that have already been released in 2026
Apple
The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max marked the return of vibrant colors to Apple's highest-end iPhones. Prakhar Khanna/CNET
A split iPhone 18 launch strategy
Apple introduced a slew of upgrades with the iPhone 17 line -- an 18-megapixel selfie shooter, upgraded rear camera optics, thermal cooling on the Pro variants, among other updates. It also added the thin iPhone Air to the lineup. This year, the Cupertino company could shake up its iPhone launch timeline.
For years, Apple has continued to announce the base iPhone model alongside its Pro siblings, while also experimenting with Mini, Plus and Air variants. This could change in 2026. According to a report from The Information and Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the Cupertino-based company may push the launch of the vanilla iPhone 18 to early 2027 in a bid to make space for the iPhone Fold.
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