The best smartphones for summer 2026: A comparison of 26 phones

Yes, Chinese phone makers consistently receive top ratings from us for their high-end offerings. So what? Samsung, with its Galaxy S26 Ultra (starting at around 1,130 euros on amazon.de), has once again released an outstanding flagship phone.

A special feature this time is the Privacy Display, a display coating that makes it difficult for bystanders to see the screen. An integrated S Pen and a long update promise come included. Battery life is the only aspect that Samsung engineers could improve upon.

This Vivo flagship smartphone series, which is slightly more affordable and focused on design and gaming, is hardly on anyone's radar in the West. To get your hands on an iQOO 15 Ultra, you would need to order it from overseas, say, from TradingShenzhen.

Those fine with the extra bother will be rewarded with a very high-quality smartphone for under 800 euros, complete with gaming features like LED lighting effects and shoulder buttons, long battery life, and an excellent camera system that outdoes several high-end phones.

And here we have a Vivo again, this time a flagship phone, which is also available in the West. The Vivo X300 Ultra's camera setup is among the best currently available, and a massive battery helps keep the smartphone running for a long time.

However, paying top dollar doesn’t always guarantee top performance on all fronts. With the X300 Ultra, it's speakers and heat dissipation that could do with improvements.

Yet another phone contending for "Best flagship of the year", Oppo's Find X9 Ultra aims to impress with not one but two 200-megapixel cameras; it also sports premium build quality, powerful speakers, and a massive battery.

The device is available to buy in the West, though at rather steep prices exceeding 1,500 euros. But you really do get a lot for your money with this one.

Samsung can make phones of a compact and affordable kind, too. That's what the Korean company is aiming for with this year's smaller flagship, the Galaxy S26. You can get it starting at around 650 euros, and it still comes with a great display and long-term software updates, as expected.

Prospective buyers will have to do without some flagship features, like fast charging. Costs had to be cut somewhere.

Samsung's and Apple's super-thin phones did not do particularly well. Now, Honor is giving it a try with the Magic8 Pro Air and aims to make as few compromises as possible.

The cameras performed surprisingly well in our test, and the battery also impressed. However, the device isn’t officially available in the EU, so the only option for now is to but it from overseas. Our partner TradingShenzhen can help, among other options.

For the Editors' Choice Award, we ask our editors what products impressed them the most over the past few months. The product's review rating isn't the deciding factor.

And so, anything goes, from outdoor phones with unusual features to exceptional budget phones, all the way to great all-rounders that our editors want to put in the spotlight once again.

The iPhone 17e is not a true flagship, but for someone who desires an Apple, it may be the perfect solution that does not require one to skip their mortgage payments. Cost savings are delivered by not including higher-end features like UWB and fast charging. Performance is top-notch, and the phone is lightning-fast while boasting an appealing visual design.

Battery life and software updates are also impressive here. You’ll have to put up with the 60-Hz display refresh rate, though, which is hardly up to today’s standards.

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The table above shows all smartphones tested during the period in question, along with their overall and category ratings from our in-depth review, as well as a selection of key metrics and benchmarks. You can find all results and details in the linked review articles.