GSMArena Reveals the Finalists for Its 2026 End-of-Year Awards-News-SeeMyPhone-Search for smartphones and cell phones

The year 2026 delivered an outstanding lineup of smartphones, tablets, wearables and accessories, and now it's time to celebrate the finest among them. GSMArena is proud to present the nominees for its 2026 End-of-Year Awards, spanning thirteen distinct categories, with winners set to be revealed in the days ahead.

Over the last twelve months, our team of seasoned reviewers put more than 200 devices through their paces. While smartphones remain our primary focus, we're also honoring the year's standout tablet, smartwatch and smart accessory.

The nominations have been finalized, and our editors are now deep in deliberation to pick the winner of each category. Until then, we're eager to hear which devices you think should take home the top honors.

Here's a quick overview of what's up for grabs. The most prestigious trophy is Phone of the Year, but we've also carved out categories covering various price tiers and specialties — from the longest-lasting battery to the ultimate gaming machine. Rounding out the list are awards for design excellence and hardware innovation in 2026.

So, without further delay, here are the finalists for the GSMArena 2026 End-of-Year Awards, presented in no particular order.

Phone of the Year 2026

This is the headline award — reserved for the absolute finest handset of 2026. Admittedly, the year was overshadowed by soaring memory costs that drove flagship pricing to unprecedented heights. Owning one of these may require serious savings, but those who can afford it won't be disappointed.

You'll notice no foldables made this list. While folding technology has advanced quickly, conventional slab phones remain the choice of the overwhelming majority — and for good reason. These four contenders deliver the finest blend of speed, stamina, screen quality and photographic capability.

Oppo held nothing back with the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max, packing a trio of 200MP sensors, MediaTek's finest silicon and premium internals headlined by a class-leading battery. The Hasselblad branding isn't just for show either — the iconic camera company helped tune the imaging experience.

The vivo X500 Pro Max boasts an outstanding camera system protected by ZEISS T* coated glass. It aced every test we threw at it, but its video stabilization truly left us speechless — nothing else comes close. A Dimensity 9600 Pro processor and a hefty Si/C battery ensure superb performance and longevity, and the display is first-rate.

While competitors flocked to MediaTek, the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max went with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. Its rear setup combines two 200MP shooters (wide and telephoto) with a 50MP ultra-wide, and the rear screen enables stunning selfies using those main cameras. The expansive front display and generous battery are equally impressive.

If any chip can outgun the best from MediaTek and Qualcomm, it's the Apple A20 Pro powering the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Apple played it safe this generation, but years of refinement shine through. Its battery may look modest beside the Chinese rivals, yet the efficient hardware squeezes out more runtime than you'd expect.

Oppo Find X10 Pro Max
vivo X500 Pro Max
Xiaomi 18 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max

Oppo Find X10 Pro Max • vivo X500 Pro Max

Xiaomi 18 Pro Max • Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max

Best Value 2026

The electronics industry has lurched from one crisis to another over the past decade, pushing many former "flagship at all costs" buyers toward devices that deliver more bang for their buck.

Top-tier chipsets, 200MP cameras and massive batteries are no longer exclusive to ultra-premium flagships — these four phones offer all that without emptying your bank account. They don't have everything, but the compromises versus the category above may be smaller than you think.

Flagship pricing isn't required to get the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 — the Poco F9 Ultra proves that. It overachieves elsewhere too, boasting one of the brightest screens we've ever measured and battery life that ranks among the finest.

The "flagship-killer" label may be dated, but phones carrying the letter "T" serve the same purpose — the Xiaomi 17T Pro brings near-flagship capabilities at a reduced cost. Its premium build wraps around an excellent display and camera, plus a big battery supporting rapid wired and wireless charging.

"Pro Max" branding is everywhere these days, but names are just names — the Honor 600 Pro matches a potent Snapdragon 8 Elite with a large, quick-charging battery and a manageable 6.57" screen.

The OnePlus 15R is yet another "don't call it a flagship killer" contender. It delivers a big, bright Dolby Vision display, class-topping endurance and performance that nips at the heels of pricier rivals. The missing telephoto lens may cost it the crown, but the main camera captures excellent stills with outstanding video stabilization.

Poco F9 Ultra
Xiaomi 17T Pro
Honor 600 Pro
OnePlus 15R

Poco F9 Ultra • Xiaomi 17T Pro

Honor 600 Pro • OnePlus 15R

Best Budget 2026

In today's climate, the budget segment is arguably among the most significant on this list. Flagships will always grab headlines, but mid-rangers drive the volumes — not everyone needs top-shelf power or wants to pay the flagship premium.

Our three nominees here will handle everyday tasks with ease and serve you reliably for years. Dependable workhorses deserve their moment in the spotlight too.

It borrows the Galaxy S look, but the Samsung Galaxy A57 comes with a far friendlier price tag. It's a well-rounded device that millions will pick for its familiar software experience and lengthy update commitment.

Iron Man Edition or not, the Poco X8 Pro is only a telephoto lens away from perfection. The cameras it does include punch well above expectations, while the display and battery life are genuinely excellent. Its Dimensity 8500 Ultra sustained strong performance even under prolonged stress.

The Nothing Phone (4a) sports a polarizing design, and we fall firmly on the "love it" side (though the Pro variant is our favorite — more on that later). Unusually for this segment, the (4a) includes a telephoto camera. And while the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 isn't the fastest silicon available, it barely throttles under load.

Samsung Galaxy A57
Poco X8 Pro
Nothing Phone (4a)

Samsung Galaxy A57 • Poco X8 Pro

Nothing Phone (4a)

Best Foldable 2026

This is arguably the year's most exciting category. Foldables are rapidly narrowing the gap with traditional phones, and Apple's entry into the space will only accelerate their mainstream adoption. These four models did the most to tackle the three big foldable concerns: durability, bulk and battery life.

Let's address the obvious question — the iPhone Duo didn't make the cut. Neither did any of the wide-format foldables. That emerging form factor may be the story of 2026, but too many compromises kept those devices from the "best foldable" title. The same applies to flip phones, which also missed out on nominations.

A thickness of 8.9mm and a weight of 215g would be respectable for a large conventional flagship — on a book-style foldable, those numbers are remarkable. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra also packs a bigger battery with faster charging than before, plus an anti-reflective layer on the inner display.

Motorola finally stepped beyond flip phones, and the Motorola Razr Fold justified the leap. We appreciated its grippy finish, both of its excellent screens and its long-lasting battery. The non-Elite chipset isn't the quickest around, but it's quick enough, and all three rear cameras impressed us.

The Honor Magic V6 is the sole rival matching the Galaxy's svelte proportions — 8.8mm thin and 219g — while carrying a substantially larger battery, as our battery charts confirm (its rapid charging deserves a nod as well). Both the bright cover and inner displays accept stylus input, MagicOS offers endless customization, and the rear cameras delivered superb photos and video.

The vivo X Fold6 ranked at or near the top of virtually every test category for book-style foldables. OriginOS 7 Fold stands out with its wealth of foldable-specific optimizations and PC integration. And despite foldables' historically weak camera reputation, the X Fold6 is helping rewrite that narrative, challenging slab flagships head-on.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra
Motorola Razr Fold
Honor Magic V6
vivo X Fold6

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra • Motorola Razr Fold

Honor Magic V6 • vivo X Fold6

Best Gaming 2026

Many of today's biggest gaming titles are mobile-first, with player bases that dwarf plenty of PC and console franchises. A dedicated gaming phone isn't mandatory, but some handsets are clearly superior for play — and a compact tablet might actually be the ultimate gaming machine.

The Apple A20 Pro inside the Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max embarrasses even certain laptop processors. Paired with a large LTPO screen and a massive install base, it's among the premier gaming platforms available.

Unlike gaming PCs, purpose-built gaming phones such as the RedMagic 12 Pro deliver elite performance for less than mainstream flagships — its actively cooled Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 rewrites the performance-per-dollar equation. Add the expansive notch-free display, shoulder triggers, Steam PC game support and external monitor output, and you have a pocketable console.

Here's a wildcard: the RedMagic Astra 2 is a tablet you might own alongside your phone. Compact enough for any trip, it offers a 9.06" 185Hz OLED panel for gaming on the move — and when you arrive, your phone's battery remains untouched.

Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max
RedMagic 12 Pro
RedMagic Astra 2

Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max • RedMagic 12 Pro

RedMagic Astra 2

Best Compact 2026

Miniaturization fell out of fashion over a decade ago. Yet while many appreciate bigger screens and larger batteries, a dedicated group refuses to lug around an oversized handset — they want one-handed usability and a phone that doesn't weigh down their pocket.

Each of these four has an XL-sized sibling, but here, small stature is a strength.

Apple remains one of the few manufacturers genuinely committed to compact phones. The iPhone 18 Pro is somewhat hefty for a 6.3"-class device, yet it's considerably lighter than the Pro Max and sacrifices none of its sibling's headline features.

The vivo X500 Pro fits a ZEISS-branded triple camera array into a pocketable body. Shrinking down meant losing the Pro Max's 200MP telephoto, but the Dimensity 9600 Pro chipset carries over at full strength.

A 200MP telephoto on a compact phone? Xiaomi answered with a resounding yes — the Xiaomi 18 Pro houses one 200MP sensor in its periscope and another behind its main lens. Like the bigger model, it features a rear display enabling main-camera selfies, all driven by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 is the only compact flagship rivaling the iPhone's worldwide availability — even Pixels leave large gaps on the map. It's a capable device, though its weaknesses become harder to overlook in markets where the Xiaomi or vivo are sold.

Apple iPhone 18 Pro
vivo X500 Pro
Xiaomi 18 Pro
Samsung Galaxy S26

Apple iPhone 18 Pro • vivo X500 Pro

Xiaomi 18 Pro • Samsung Galaxy S26

Best Battery Life 2026

Could the rechargeable lithium battery be the defining invention of the 21st century? Given the explosion of smartphones, EVs and countless battery-powered gadgets, it just might be. And while exotic alternatives like salt batteries make headlines, Silicon-Carbon technology has already unlocked capacities we once only dreamed about.

Credit also goes to ever-shrinking semiconductor nodes driving efficiency gains — two of these four nominees run flagship silicon, while the other two prove you needn't spend big for outstanding endurance.

As of this writing, the Realme P4 Power leads our battery chart, which alone secured its nomination. That said, it's a mid-ranger laser-focused on battery life.

The Poco X8 Pro Max trails by just 13 minutes in our Active Use Score standings and is arguably the better all-round device, thanks to perks like the near-flagship Dimensity 9500s chipset.

Beyond vying for the overall crown, the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max also ranks among the year's battery champions — it slotted into the #2 position between the Realme and the Poco, edging out the latter by 2 minutes.

The Poco F9 Ultra occupies yet another price bracket — pricier than its X-series cousin but far from the Oppo's flagship territory. Its Active Use Score falls exactly 60 minutes short of the Realme P4 Power, though it wins the charging speed head-to-head.

Poco X8 Pro Max
Oppo Find X10 Pro Max
Realme P4 Power
Poco F9 Ultra

Poco X8 Pro Max • Oppo Find X10 Pro Max

Realme P4 Power • Poco F9 Ultra

Best Camera 2026

Here's a fun fact: many members of our team were passionate photographers long before phones could take pictures, making this category especially meaningful to us. Anyone serious about photography and videography — with the budget to match — will be best served by one of these.

Armed with two 200MP and two 50MP rear cameras, the Oppo Find X9 Ultra covers every eventuality — whatever the moment, whatever the distance, it has the right focal length (the 10x/230mm optic reaches impressively far).

A 1"-type sensor isn't a requirement here, but it certainly doesn't hurt. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra goes further still, fitting its 200MP telephoto with a variable focal length lens (75-100mm, 3.2-4.3x) enabling continuous zoom.

While the Oppo and Xiaomi shine for stills, their video chops left room for improvement. The vivo X300 Ultra arrives loaded with videography features, including Dolby Vision capture and exceptional stabilization.

Oppo Find X9 Ultra
Xiaomi 17 Ultra
vivo X300 Ultra

Oppo Find X9 Ultra • Xiaomi 17 Ultra

vivo X300 Ultra

Design Excellence 2026

The smartphone age may be defined by the "black rectangle," but a handful of brands pushed further to give their devices genuine visual identity. These four phones look like nothing else on the market.

The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro is instantly identifiable to anyone who knows the brand — and a conversation starter for everyone else. At a time when manufacturers rush to imitate one another's every design decision, a truly distinct appearance is a rare commodity.

Automotive enthusiasts know Pininfarina well, and whenever the studio lends its touch to a smartphone, heads turn. Such is the case with the Infinix Note 60 Ultra — Lamborghini edition or otherwise.

Favorite color? For the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, ours is Tundra Umber. It even sports a distinct design from the other X9 Ultra finishes, with subtle tweaks that make the phone feel like a hybrid of handset and Hasselblad camera.

The RedMagic 12 Pro's gaming aesthetic lends it a sci-fi vibe, and transparent panels provide tantalizing views of the exotic hardware within — including a micro-pump circulating actual liquid coolant.

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
Infinix Note 60 Ultra
Oppo Find X9 Ultra (in color Tundra Umber)
RedMagic 12 Pro

Nothing Phone (4a) Pro • Infinix Note 60 Ultra

Oppo Find X9 Ultra • RedMagic 12 Pro

Innovation of the Year 2026

Smartphones seem to drag the entire electronics industry forward, driving breakthroughs in semiconductors, displays, cameras and battery tech, not to mention sensors. These devices each introduced something genuinely new — features we'll likely encounter in future phones and perhaps other gadgets too.

The Honor Robot Phone looks like CGI in promotional videos — did they actually engineer a retractable camera gimbal? They did indeed! Whether all its AI capabilities live up to the hype remains to be seen, but the gimbal enables camera tricks no rival can match.

Your phone is likely the most secure device you carry — which is precisely why prying eyes might try to glimpse your incoming verification codes. The Privacy Display on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra guards your secrets.

Foldables once seemed impossibly futuristic; today they're commonplace. What comes next — perhaps tri-foldables? Time will tell. But if tri-fold devices represent the future, it began here, with the Huawei Mate XT 2 Ultimate.

Screen bezels are a modern echo of Zeno's paradox — forever shrinking yet never quite vanishing. What if they could disappear entirely? The Tecno bezelless concept investigates exactly that.

Printing on paper is wasteful and outdated, yet it's gentler on the eyes than conventional displays. The TCL P80 Ultra brings the company's established NxtPaper technology to AMOLED panels, combining the strengths of both worlds.

Honor Robot Phone - the camera gimbal
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra – the privacy display
Huawei Mate XT 2 Ultimate – the tri-fold design
Tecno bezelless concept
TCL P80 Ultra – NxtPaper tech on an AMOLED display

Honor Robot Phone • Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Huawei Mate XT 2 Ultimate • Tecno bezelless concept

TCL P80 Ultra

Best Tablet 2026

Tablets have claimed several niches — entertainment, productivity and education — that neither phones nor laptops fully address. These three represent the year's finest all-rounders.

Big, powerful, and ready for anything — what more could you ask? The Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra leverages the mature DeX platform for desktop-style multitasking, pairing beautifully with the optional keyboard and even external monitors. Whatever you throw at it, the Tab S12 Ultra can handle.

The Honor MagicPad4 finds an appealing middle ground between cost and capability — at less than half the Galaxy's price, it can't match that screen size or raw power, but it comes close enough for most scenarios. It can juggle as many as 20 simultaneous windows!

The OnePlus Pad 4 embodies everything we admire about OnePlus in tablet form — which makes the company's withdrawal from the global market all the more disappointing, as most of the world will miss out on devices like this. Sleek, powerful and fairly priced, it also debuted an impressive new keyboard and stylus.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra
Honor MagicPad4
OnePlus Pad 4

Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra • Honor MagicPad4

OnePlus Pad 4

Best Smartwatch 2026

Smartwatches are essential for anyone seeking continuous health monitoring, regular exercise tracking, or instant notification access when their phone is out of reach. In a sense, choosing a smartwatch is even more personal than choosing a phone. Here are our five finalists — though only one can win.

The nano-crystal ceramic bezel elevated the signature octagonal design of the Huawei Watch GT 7 Pro, reinforcing the premium aesthetic the GT line is known for. It's an everyday watch that endured 15 days in our testing while logging every workout.

Among Samsung's three smartwatch tiers, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is simultaneously the toughest and most capable. It packs a comprehensive health-tracking suite, the excellent Samsung Health app, and everything needed for outdoor adventures.

Wear OS watches brim with features, while simpler platforms deliver longer battery life. What if you could enjoy both? The Xiaomi Watch 5 ran a full 5 days with continuous health tracking and notifications in our tests. The trick? A massive 930mAh Si/C battery (we've owned phones with less!). It wraps a premium, understated design around a secondary OS for extended operation beyond those 5 days.

While the Oppo Watch X3 lacks the Xiaomi's enormous cell (making do with 646mAh), it reliably delivered 4 days with always-on display active. Its 10W fast charging reaches roughly 50% in 15 minutes and 100% in under an hour. A secondary lightweight OS extends endurance when full Wear OS functionality isn't needed. And the X3 is more than a battery story — the titanium case, sapphire crystal and clever Dynamic-Link strap set it apart from ordinary smartwatches.

Huawei Watch GT 7 Pro
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
Xiaomi Watch 5
Oppo Watch X3

Huawei Watch GT 7 Pro • Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra

Oppo Watch X3 • Xiaomi Watch 5

Best Accessories 2026

A thriving accessory ecosystem surrounds the smartphone market — partly because manufacturers have stripped retail boxes to the bare minimum (a USB cable, if you're lucky), and partly because certain accessories unlock genuinely unique capabilities. These are the ones we believe add the most value to the smartphone experience.

Unless you own one of our Best Battery nominees, battery anxiety remains a fact of life. The Xiaomi UltraThin Magnetic Power Bank 5000 is the most portable remedy — just 6mm thick (versus 7.7mm for Apple's Air MagSafe battery) and 98g (versus 126g). Its 15W output applies only to Xiaomi phones; other devices receive 7.5W. Even so, it revived a nearly dead iPhone 15 Pro to 91% before running dry.

Chargers can hide behind furniture — or they can burst with personality. We may be too old for Tamagotchis, but the TORRAS FlashEye Dot Smart Display Charger 45W is undeniably adorable. It's also a compact, reasonably quick charger for phones and tablets, at home or abroad.

Tech enthusiasts tend to accumulate power-hungry gadgets. The UGREEN Nexode Pro 300W Smart Display Desktop Charger offers six ports with a combined 300W output, its top USB-C port reaching 100W — enough to charge a household's worth of devices simultaneously.

Own fewer gadgets, or need maximum power for one demanding machine? The Anker Prime 160W provides three USB-C ports, one capable of 140W. Where the UGREEN stays home, the Anker travels easily and can feed even a high-end MacBook from your hotel room.

And speaking of travel, the OPPO Bubble Mag E-Badge is a pint-sized vlogging and selfie companion — a magnetically attached display that serves as a viewfinder for your phone's main cameras. It doubles as a remote shutter from up to 10m away, granting complete framing freedom. Plus, the customizable Vibe E-Badge designs are genuinely fun.

Xiaomi UltraThin Magnetic Power Bank 5000 – slimmest in its class
TORRAS FlashEye Dot Smart Display Charger 45W – full of character
UGREEN Nexode Pro 300W Smart Display Desktop Charger – pro charging gear
Anker Prime 160W – high-end, smallest in its class
Oppo Bubble Mag E-Badge – a unique camera viewfinder

Xiaomi UltraThin Magnetic Power Bank 5000 • TORRAS FlashEye Dot Smart Display Charger 45W

UGREEN Nexode Pro 330W Smart Display Desktop Charger • Anker Prime 160W

Oppo Bubble Mag E-Badge

Stay tuned!

That wraps up our nominations for the best smartphones and companion devices of 2026. Our editorial team will now reconvene to make the final call on which models claim each title — and the office debates are already heating up.

We'd love your input as well, so drop a comment: which nominees do you support, and which would you swap out? And if there's a category you feel we've overlooked, tell us — we'll absolutely consider it for next year.

Winners will be announced shortly — stay tuned!