Right now, it's easy to get bored with smartphones. After all, at the high end they are all very powerful, have excellent cameras, generally decent battery life, and very similar features to their predecessors and rivals, so there may be little to really set them apart. But trust us: there are still interesting phones made.
And when we say “interesting phones,” we mean phones that do something really new or unusual, or that go far beyond typical flagship specs. Phones that aren't afraid to experiment and see what works.
We arguably saw a few of these phones in 2025 (the Huawei Mate XT, for example), but in 2026 we expect a larger number to be launched. So, below, you'll find a look at five upcoming phones worth getting excited about, even (or especially) if you're getting bored with most smartphones.
1. Xiaomi 17 Pro Max / Xiaomi 17 Ultra
The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max has already been announced, but it's not yet available outside of China, and leaks suggest it could see a global launch in January.
This phone, and the smaller Xiaomi 17 Pro, mainly stand out for having a screen on the back, so you can view notifications, control media, and more, without even interacting with the main screen.
Of course, this secondary screen can also be used to frame photos, so you can use the rear cameras for selfies. And if you pair the phone with an official Game Boy-type case, you can even use the secondary screen to play games.
The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max also has a massive 7500 mAh battery, which is a much larger capacity than most phones can claim. This phone supports 100W wired charging and 50W wireless charging, which also beats most phones, and the rest of the specs are in line with what you'd expect from a high-end phone, including a top-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset and four 50MP cameras (if you include the selfie camera).
So what's up with the Xiaomi 17 Ultra? Well, that hasn't been announced yet, not even for China, but leaks suggest it could launch in China before the end of 2025, with a global launch possible in 2026. It will probably be a phone similar to the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, but even better, with leaks suggesting its key upgrade could be a larger 1-inch camera sensor, which, as with so many things in this series, would have outperformed most rivals.
2. Samsung Galaxy Z triple
The Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold is another phone that's already been announced, but it probably won't be available outside of South Korea until 2026. Even then, while a US launch has been confirmed, it may not be sold in the UK or Australia.
Still, if you're lucky enough to be somewhere you can buy this device, you might want to do so, as this is Samsung's first triple smartphone; In other words, a phone with two hinges and three screen sections, allowing it to be the size of a 10-inch tablet when unfolded, but only a 6.5-inch smartphone when folded.
This isn't the world's first triple phone, as Huawei arrived first with the aforementioned Huawei Mate XT, but it could be the first remotely mainstream one.
It also has some impressive specs and features, with a thickness of just 3.9mm when unfolded and a 200MP main camera.
3. iPhone Fold
The long-rumored iPhone Fold will be Apple's first foldable phone, and the vast majority of leaks now agree that it will arrive in 2026.
It'll probably land in September, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, but it'll probably be a lot more exciting than any of its siblings and could be the foldable phone that makes this style of phone really popular.
As for the specs, leakers disagree, but it will likely have a foldable screen measuring between 7.6 and 7.9 inches, along with a clamshell screen measuring around 5.5 inches.
It may also have two rear cameras, along with an under-display front camera, something Apple has never done before. If the selfie camera is below the display and the phone does not support Face ID as reported, then it could have an all-screen design.
Another design highlight could be the lack of a crease, with several sources suggesting that the iPhone Fold may not have a crease in the area where the screen folds. Or that, if it does, it could be almost invisible. Apple's desire for a wrinkle-free design is also reportedly part of why we've been waiting so long for this phone to arrive, as the technology apparently wasn't ready until now.
4. OnePlus 16
The OnePlus 16 may seem like a strange inclusion here because we don't know anything about this phone yet, but what we do know is that the OnePlus 15 is an excellent phone and one of the few we've given a five-star review to, so it's fair to say we're excited about its successor.
Not only does the OnePlus 15 get all the basics right, it also goes beyond what most phones can handle, with, for example, a massive 7,300 mAh battery and a 165 Hz display. Most flagships max out at 120 Hz and typically have batteries smaller than 6,000 mAh.
So we hope OnePlus continues to push things forward with the OnePlus 16, because if it does, this could easily be one of the most interesting phones of 2026.
5. Ayaneo Pocket Game
The Ayaneo Pocket Play is likely a niche device, but it's also very different from any current smartphone. Our closest point of comparison is the old Xperia Play, because, like that device, this is a phone and a portable console all in one, with physical swipe controls.
That should give the Pocket Play an edge over typical gaming phones, which may have shoulder triggers but otherwise rely primarily on their touchscreen or accessories for gaming.
But while we've seen images of the Ayaneo Pocket Play and assume it will likely launch in 2026, we still don't know much more about it, so it remains to be seen what the specs and pricing will be.
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