7 smartphone tendencies I want would die in 2026

On the entire, 2025 was a fairly good yr for Android telephones. Some manufacturers stepped up with extra respectable replace insurance policies, a wide range of producers now provide telephones with completely gigantic batteries, and top-end units have a loopy quantity of horsepower.

It’s not all sunshine and roses, although, as we additionally noticed quite a few disappointing practices throughout the business in 2025. So listed below are the smartphone tendencies that I don’t wish to see return in 2026.

I used to be amazed by 40W wired charging again in 2018 after I purchased my HUAWEI Mate 20 Professional, and I initially dismissed criticism that the cellphone charged extraordinarily slowly through USB-PD. Quick-forward to 2025, although, and I’m downright aggravated when any cellphone doesn’t help super-fast charging through the user-friendly USB-PPS protocol. So I actually hope we don’t see crappy speeds through this protocol in 2026.

The excellent news is that extra manufacturers have just lately joined Google and Samsung in embracing quick charging through PPS. Telephones just like the Xiaomi 17 sequence and POCO F8 Extremely truly provide 100W speeds through PPS. Even units just like the OPPO Discover X9 Professional and realme GT8 Professional provide  as much as 55W speeds through these plugs. Sadly, the OnePlus 15 reportedly tops out at 36W through PPS, however 80 or 120W through the SuperVOOC adapter. Nonetheless, issues are positively shifting in the proper course, however it’s time for a number of stragglers to catch up.

I don’t recall anybody asking for super-thin telephones final yr, however Samsung and Apple each launched slim units anyway. We noticed the 5.8mm Galaxy S25 Edge again in Could, whereas the 5.6mm iPhone Air was unveiled in September.

Apple and Samsung made main sacrifices to their digital camera {hardware}, battery capability, and different areas to supply these skinny and light-weight designs. Is it, subsequently, any shock that each of those handsets had been reportedly industrial flops? For sure, I actually don’t wish to see extra ultra-thin telephones in 2026. If something, I’d a lot relatively see extra small telephones.

One main development we seen with a number of Snapdragon 8 Elite telephones is that they prioritize peak speeds over sustained efficiency. This implies we get telephones that excel at one-off artificial benchmarks however completely wrestle to keep up that efficiency in stress checks because of excessive temperatures. This has real-world penalties when taking part in demanding cellular video games and bleeding-edge emulation.

Sadly, it tentatively appears like producers are persevering with this observe with Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 telephones. We seen poor sustained efficiency in telephones just like the OnePlus 15 and realme GT8 Professional. OnePlus has fortunately addressed this drawback with a subsequent replace, however I actually hope this isn’t an indication of issues to return from different flagship Android telephones in 2026. Hey smartphone makers, it’s okay to prioritize stability and a cool system as a substitute of attempting to beat the iPhone for an inexpensive PR win.

The observe of including dummy digital camera lenses to smartphone digital camera bumps has been happening for years, however I nonetheless discover it ridiculously annoying and downright silly in 2025. There’s merely no technique to justify it, because it appears to be a concerted effort to mislead clients into considering a cellphone has extra cameras than it actually does.

Funds telephones from manufacturers like OPPO, Xiaomi/POCO, Motorola, and realme are regularly essentially the most high-profile offenders right here. In any occasion, it’s excessive time that these corporations cease with this frankly silly method to smartphone design. I can settle for a flash situated in one among these digital camera cutouts, however not a dummy digital camera lens that serves no actual objective.

Replace insurance policies for high-end telephones have come a great distance within the final 5 years. It’s not unusual for flagship units to get 5, six, and even seven years of Android OS and safety upgrades. Sadly, many low-cost telephones nonetheless lag far behind with extraordinarily brief replace guarantees.

Motorola is maybe the worst offender, as units just like the Moto G Stylus 2025 solely provide two main Android upgrades and three years of safety patches. Equally priced telephones from manufacturers like realme, HONOR, and Xiaomi are additionally disappointing. It’s not all dangerous, although. For instance, the $200 Samsung Galaxy A16 5G will get a formidable six years of Android OS upgrades. However this dedication is an exception relatively than the rule in 2025.

In any occasion, I hope brief replace pledges are a factor of the previous throughout the board in 2026. I’m not anticipating seven years of updates for $200 or $300 telephones, however 5 – 6 years would nonetheless be a serious improve.

Whether or not it’s picture era, audio transcriptions, or summarization smarts, it looks as if no Android cellphone launch is full with out point out of its generative AI capabilities. Sadly, we’ve additionally seen a development over time of generative AI getting used to cover a scarcity of {hardware} upgrades.

Samsung is maybe essentially the most distinguished, if solely, instance of this unwelcome development. The Galaxy S25 sequence solely actually provided a brand new processor, so the corporate selected to focus on new Galaxy AI options like Now Temporary, Sticker Technology, and pure language search. This manner, it didn’t have to handle the truth that it’s been utilizing the identical digital camera sensors and batteries for years now.

I actually want the Galaxy S26 telephones would buck this development and ship some main {hardware} upgrades. Nevertheless, leaks typically level to extra of the identical in 2026.

I get it. Cellphone makers typically limit launches to some markets for a wide range of official causes. They could solely have sufficient inventory for a small-scale launch, it is perhaps a cellphone designed for a particular market, or they is perhaps testing the waters with an idea earlier than launching a successor extra extensively.

Nonetheless, we noticed a number of glorious telephones launching in 2025 that didn’t get a large launch. This contains the OPPO Discover X8 Extremely, the vivo X200 Extremely, the OPPO Discover N5, and the vivo X Fold 5. The Extremely telephones specifically had been two of the perfect digital camera telephones we’ve seen shortly.

The excellent news is that distinguished leaker Yogesh Brar says OPPO and vivo’s upcoming Extremely telephones are lastly going international. I actually hope this leak turns into actuality.