The 5 Best Smartphones You Can Buy in 2026

We’ve made vocal arguments in favor of going against the grain and getting an Android or Windows device, but at the end of the day it’s all too easy to stick with the iPhone. Of the current iPhones you can buy from Apple (17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, 16, and 16e ), the 17 Pro is the one we are most likely to recommend if you asked us point blank.

It’s not merely the we’ve seen the most in the wild, it’s the best bet for an iPhone that will last you another four years. And while we can’t say we love the new design, it’s been easy to get used to. And functionally, it’s the iPhone Pro we know and love. It is fast, it’s got a smooth 120-hertz screen and it has one of the best cameras you can get on a phone. If there’s one upgrade we truly feel each time we get a new phone, it’s the camera. The set on the 16 Pro models are no exception, with crystal-clear resolution even at 8x zoom (that’s even better than the 5x zoom on the iPhone 16 pro).

The sapphire-crystal Camera Button added by the iPhone 16 generation is a classy, functional addition that makes taking one-handed photos as natural as can be. And the Action Button can now be reprogrammed with any number of quick actions, from silent mode to Shazam to Apple’s new Visual Intelligence AI camera. It’s also the toughest iPhone yet, with Ceramic Shield protection, which Apple Claims is four times as protective as what it was working with before.