Tom's Guide Awards 2026: Our favorite phones of the year
These are Tom's Guide Awards 2026 winners in our phones category which includes everything from flagships and foldables to camera phones and more.
Best phone: The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max have been named the best phones of 2026, thanks to their powerful A20 Pro chip, variable-aperture main camera, and advanced Siri features. These flagships also feature longer-lasting batteries and superior performance compared to their Android counterparts.
Best Android phone: The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra stands out as the top Android phone, offering a combination of excellent cameras, high-performance hardware, impressive battery life, and innovative software features. It also includes support for the S Pen stylus and a unique Privacy Display.
Best camera phone: The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is also crowned as the best camera phone, thanks to its diverse quad rear camera setup, a 200MP main sensor, and 50MP 5x optical telephoto lens. Its video recording capabilities, manual controls, and support for external microphones and 8K capture make it a versatile tool for creators.
Best AI phone: Google Pixel 11 Pro XL takes the top spot for AI phone, thanks to its wide range of AI features powered by the Tensor G6 chipset. These include advanced dictation, Magic Capture, Live Translate, and various other AI-driven tools that enhance user experience and productivity.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Guide's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
