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Looking for your next smartphone? We've rounded up the best flagship phones for the 2025-2026 season, including top models from Apple, Samsung, Google, OnePlus, Oppo, and Xiaomi. See how the latest tech, AI features, and camera systems stack up in our ultimate comparison.
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00:04We've finally reached that point in the year where all of the biggest tech brands have released
00:07their flagship phones for the 25-26 season. So what better time to round them all up in one
00:12massive video? We've reviewed all of the latest flagship phones and at this point have spent
00:15several months with most of them, so we're pretty confident that we know their strengths,
00:18weaknesses and unique selling points. This roundup features big name models from Apple
00:22and Samsung as well as some brand spanking new phones from the likes of Oppo and Xiaomi.
00:25So strap in for our pick of the best flagship phones of 2026.
00:31Let's kick off with a phone you've all seen and heard about already, the iPhone 17 Pro.
00:35I've got the regular Pro model here, but everything I'm about to say also applies to the larger Pro Max,
00:40though with that phone you do get a larger screen, a slightly bigger battery and 2TB of storage,
00:44which is quite frankly ridiculous. On the design front, the iPhone 17 Pro boasts a stunning Super
00:48XDR OLED display, an aluminium chassis, a dedicated camera control button and all of the usual bells
00:53and whistles that we've come to expect from Apple's best iPhones. This is the only non-Android phone
00:57on our list and the only device to use a chipset that isn't made by Google or Qualcomm. But Apple's
01:02A19 Pro chipset is just as powerful as the competition and at this price range, it's hard
01:05to separate phones by performance alone. Apple has paired that chipset with 12GB of RAM and a
01:09dedicated vapour cooling chamber, meaning the iPhone 17 Pro can handle 4K editing and AAA games with ease.
01:15One area where we can separate the iPhone 17 Pro from the Android crowd is software,
01:19for good and bad reasons. iOS 26 is probably the easiest OS package to master and even if you don't
01:23like
01:24the look of liquid glass, it features some genuinely life-improving tools like cool screening and
01:27adaptive power mode. Apple's AI features though leave a lot to be desired, especially when it
01:32comes to things like image editing and voice assistants. At the time of recording, we're still
01:35waiting for Siri 2.0, so if you're looking for a true AI companion, you're better off choosing a
01:39model from Samsung or Google. The iPhone 17 Pro's cameras meanwhile are among the best of any phone
01:44we've ever tested. Our favourite of its three lenses is the 4x telephoto, which also offers access to an
01:48impressive 8x zoom by way of a sensor crop. At the shorter zoom lengths, the iPhone 17 Pro is
01:53ridiculously good and it's also among the best phones for portrait photography, high-res video
01:57recording and selfies. In fact, the iPhone is the only phone on this list to have a front-facing
02:00camera that uses subject tracking to automatically keep you in the frame and that lets you switch
02:04between portrait and landscape modes. There's also a nice dual capture mode which lets you record
02:08from the front and rear camera at the same time, so this is definitely the best phone for content
02:12creators. All told then, this is the most technologically advanced iPhone Apple has ever made and if
02:16you're already embedded in the Apple ecosystem, it's the obvious choice. Oh, and a special shout out to
02:20the iPhone Air which, despite making no sense on paper, is definitely the most interesting iPhone
02:24you can buy right now. Of all the phones on our list, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra offers the most
02:32unique features with special tools for photographers, artists and even those who just like to scroll
02:36through TikTok. Yes, the Ultra uses the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset and yes, it's got more than
02:41all-day battery life, so in terms of performance and endurance, it's right up there with the best
02:44phones around. But where else can you get a built-in stylus for note-taking and precise video editing,
02:48or a privacy display that stops prying eyes from viewing content on your screen. There's Horizon
02:52Lock for stabilising videos even when you turn the phone a full 360 degrees and Dex for transforming
02:57your mobile interface into a desktop PC. The Galaxy S26 Ultra offers something unique for every
03:01type of user and although Samsung's One UI software can be convoluted at times, this is a phone that
03:06rewards exploration and those willing to dig through its many customisation options. And of course,
03:10being a flagship Samsung phone, the Ultra's cameras are some of the best around, which, to be honest,
03:14is going to be true in almost every phone in this video, so don't be surprised if I keep repeating
03:18that line. The S26 Ultra is as versatile as camera phones get, but it's especially good at night
03:22photography and zoom photography. The 200 megapixel main camera picks up so much colour and detail that
03:27pictures are never grainy, even in low light. And you've got two telephoto cameras to pick from here,
03:31which can't be said for a lot of phones on this list. Samsung's AI features like audio eraser and
03:35object eraser are also industry-leading, so there's plenty of scope for tidying up your photos and videos
03:40once you've shot them. What you don't get with the Ultra is any form of magnetic charging,
03:43but if you're not easily overwhelmed by having hundreds of settings and features at your disposal,
03:47then Samsung's latest flagship is an absolute beast of a phone.
03:52Of all the phones on this list, the Pixel 10 Pro XL is the one that will likely get replaced
03:56soonest, but there's still a good few months to go until the Pixel 11 line is unveiled.
04:00That means, if you're into pixels or you want to try out Google's hardware for the first time,
04:03the Pixel 10 Pro XL is the best option available now.
04:06So, what do you need to know about Pixel phones? Well, firstly, they're on the cleanest version of
04:10Android you'll find on any phone because, well, Android is owned and developed by
04:13Google. There's no bloatware or unnecessary apps, and the Pixel 10 Pro XL gets the latest
04:17and greatest AI features straight from Google's production line. With genuinely useful tools like
04:22cool screen, magic eraser, and photo unblur, this feels like a phone that's at the cutting edge of
04:26smartphone software, and its built-in Gemini Assistant is leagues ahead of Apple's Siri and
04:30Samsung's Bixby. Now, the Pixel 10 Pro XL isn't the performance powerhouse that both the 17 Pro and
04:34the Galaxy S26 Ultra are, so this isn't the phone to buy if you're planning on loads of 4K video
04:39editing
04:39or super high-end mobile gaming. Having said that, Google's Tensor G5 chipset is absolutely
04:43powerful enough for most people, and you won't have any problems streaming, scrolling, or gaming
04:47on most titles. As for cameras, the 10 Pro XL's lenses are supremely versatile, even when not used
04:52in combination with those aforementioned AI editing features. They deliver accurate colours and plenty
04:56of detail at every focal range, and you can get some really great zoom shots with the phone's 48
05:00megapixel telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom. In other words, the Pixel 10 Pro XL is a clean,
05:05easy-to-use Android phone with the best software around, but it's not a heavy lifter in the same
05:09way that other flagship phones on this list most definitely are.
05:14The OnePlus 15 is the jack-of-all-trades pick among the best flagship phones. It's not full of
05:18flashy AI features, and it doesn't look particularly unique, but this phone delivers in pretty much
05:22every other way you could hope for. Its display, for instance, is as bright and colourful as the rest,
05:26but a refresh rate of up to 165Hz makes the OnePlus 15 extra suited to high-end gaming. Under the
05:32hood,
05:32the phone's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset can tackle whatever you throw its way, and it's paired
05:36with an almighty 7300mAh battery, which is the biggest and longest lasting of any phone we've
05:41ever tested. Honestly, this thing lasts for days and days and days, with our reviewer managing to
05:45eek out almost 3 days of use from the OnePlus 15 on a single charge. It can also charge at
05:50up to 100
05:50watts, or 80 watts if you're in the US, and OnePlus will actually include a charger in the box,
05:54which is definitely a luxury these days. On cameras, the OnePlus 15 gets a trio of 50 megapixel
05:59snappers, all of which deliver detailed and well-balanced photos. It's not quite as impressive
06:03a camera phone as some of the other phones on this list, but the OnePlus 15 is particularly good
06:06as an action camera for fast-moving subjects. As for downsides, there are no built-in magnets and
06:11OnePlus's software isn't quite as feature-packed as other OS packages, but as an overall offering,
06:15the OnePlus 15 is probably the best value flagship money can buy. Rumours are also swirling that
06:19OnePlus is winding down its operations outside of Asia, so this might also be the last OnePlus
06:23flagship phone you'll ever be able to buy. The Oppo Find X9 Ultra isn't officially
06:30available in the US, but if you're living in Europe, it's probably the best camera phone on
06:33the market. I won't spend too much time on the Ultra's other specs, as it really is a device
06:37that's all about photography, but like the OnePlus 15, it boasts a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset,
06:41a gorgeous 6.8-inch display, and a long-lasting silicon carbon battery. On the back, you'll find
06:46four high-res cameras, a 200-megapixel main lens, a 50-megapixel ultrawide lens, a 200-megapixel
06:513x telephoto lens, and a second 50-megapixel 10x telephoto lens. The last of that quartet
06:56is the most exciting, as it's almost like having an external teleconverter for the Find X9 Ultra
07:00built-in. Though Oppo does actually sell a 300mm teleconverter lens for the phone,
07:04should you want to extend its zoom capabilities even further. Regardless of which lens you use,
07:08you can expect exceptional detail and clarity from the Find X9 Ultra in all lighting conditions.
07:12Its default image processing gives you vibrant and contrasty images, but if you want photos to look
07:16more like they were shot with the DSLR, you can switch to the phone's Hasselblad master mode,
07:20which is not something you'll find elsewhere. Oppo even throws in a 50-megapixel selfie camera for
07:24good measure, so the Find X9 Ultra really is at the top of the pile when it comes to smartphone
07:28photography. Is it heavy? Yes. Is it expensive? Yes. But this phone wears its USP on its sleeve,
07:33and it's worth considering if you're serious about cameras.
07:38Like the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is another photography-focused smartphone from China.
07:43It too is available in Europe, though US buyers aren't so lucky once again.
07:46The 17 Ultra rivals the Oppo Find X9 Ultra with a 50-megapixel 1-inch main lens,
07:51a 50-megapixel ultrawide lens, and a single 200-megapixel telephoto lens.
07:54But don't be fooled by the Xiaomi's smaller number of cameras compared to its compatriot.
07:58I say that because this phone's telephoto lens features a mechanical optical zoom,
08:02giving you a continuous optical zoom range of between 3.2x and 4.3x.
08:06The 17 Ultra will also maintain optical quality zoom up to 17.2x, so this really is another
08:10champion when it comes to zoom photography. Xiaomi's partnership with Leica means colors
08:14captured with this phone are vivid without looking cartoonish, skin tones are well produced,
08:18and there's minimal noise even in low-light scenarios. The 17 Ultra isn't quite so adept
08:21at video as the iPhone 17 Pro or the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, but only when it comes to very
08:26specific
08:26features like lens switching in 4K and using that mechanical zoom lens for specific frame rates
08:30and video codecs. As for the phone's non-camera specs, the 17 Ultra sports a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
08:35chipset, a 6.9-inch OLED display, and a 6000mAh silicon carbon battery. In our testing,
08:40we managed to use the phone for 2 days on a single charge, which is in line with most other
08:43models
08:43on this list, save for the stupidly long-lasting OnePlus 15. All told then, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is
08:49another extremely impressive phone for a very specific type of user, but hey, that might be you.
08:56Lastly, we have the Honor Magic 8 Pro, which rounds out our trio of Chinese phone options that
09:00unfortunately aren't available in the US. Honor's latest flagship doesn't put quite so much emphasis
09:04on crazy camera hardware as the Xiaomi or the Oppo, and should instead be thought of as a great
09:08all-rounder like the OnePlus 15. There's the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset for lightning
09:12fast performance, the long-lasting 6270mAh battery in regions outside of China,
09:17and the 6.7-inch OLED display that makes the health of your eyes a priority.
09:20On that last point, the Magic 8 Pro features high-frequency PWM dimming for reduced eye
09:25strain and can intelligently adjust the colour temperature of its display according to your
09:28local sunrise and sunset times. These features might sound gimmicky, but they make an already good
09:32looking display even more enjoyable to use, and you might feel a bit less guilty about scrolling
09:36for hours on the Magic 8 Pro. This phone is also awash with AI features, though they vary wildly in
09:41quality. There's a dedicated AI button, but it's essentially a dupe of Apple's camera control button,
09:46and while the AI Photos Agent lets you upscale images and remove reflections with ease,
09:50the AI Settings Agent and AI Memories apps are pretty much useless by comparison.
09:54Still, these tools are there to be used, or not used, so you can still enjoy the benefits of the
09:58Magic 8 Pro without engaging in its hit-and-miss software. And a quick word on the phone's cameras,
10:02its three rear lenses deliver plenty of colour and detail, particularly in nighttime environments,
10:05though Honor is guilty of some rather aggressive AI processing if you zoom in much further than
10:09the Magic 8 Pro's 3.7x optical capabilities. So, the Honor Magic 8 Pro is a strong Android
10:14contender that performs well in most areas, though it's not as specialised as some of the other
10:18phones on this list. And there you have it, our round-up of the best flagship phones you can buy
10:21in 2026. For our full reviews of each device, head over to TechRadar.com and check out the description
10:26box below for the latest deals on every phone featured in this video. Which model is your favourite?
10:30Let us know in the comments below.
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