The best Samsung phones of 2026, tested and reviewed

Other Samsung phones to consider

If you don’t see a Samsung phone mentioned in this guide, it may be because it’s not sold in the US and is a little harder to find for testing. But here are a few other Samsung phones I’ve tested for consideration.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.

Photo: Julian Chokkattu

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge for $1220: Have you ever wanted indeed thin and light phone? no? Well, Samsung has an option for you after all. The Galaxy S25 Edge (6/10, WIRED Review) sits in the middle of Samsung’s flagship lineup and matches several features of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, such as a titanium frame, stronger front glass, and 4K 120fps video recording. All cameras even have autofocus. But it made a few sacrifices to achieve its astonishingly thin 5.8mm bezel (for context, the S25 Ultra is 8.2mm thick). There is no stylus, no telephoto camera, and worst of all, the battery capacity has been reduced. We’ve seen this before – thin phones have always compromised on battery life, and it’s no different here. I was constantly having to strain the 3900 mAh battery on this phone with medium to heavy usage and it’s just not acceptable. (The iPhone Air did it better.) If you’re constantly near a power source and think you’ll enjoy the thin and light design, then go for it. Rumors suggest that the Edge has underperformed and may not see a successor in 2026.

Samsung Galaxy A17 5G for $200: On paper, the Galaxy A17 (5/10, WIRED Review) looks like a really great deal. Six years of software support, an AMOLED screen, expandable memory and a decent camera. Unfortunately, this is hampered by poor performance. The problem is specifically the very limited 4 GB of RAM in the US model, which seriously ruins the entire experience of using the phone. If you need to use your smartphone in an emergency, I wouldn’t trust the reliability of the A17. But if your needs are extremely minimal, it might be enough.

Samsung Galaxy A36 5G for $395: The Galaxy A36 (6/10, WIRED Review) doesn’t quite measure up to its peers from Nothing and Motorola. Performance is too choppy and that’s not acceptable at this price. It’s manageable – not so slow as to frustrate you – but you can do better. If your needs are very minimal, it’s an OK phone and the camera system is good, with all day battery life, a nice AMOLED screen and 6 years of software updates.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 or Galaxy Z Flip6: If you don’t want to pay more for a new foldable phone, then consider the 2024 Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip7 (7/10, WIRED Review). The Fold6 has a close to « normal » smartphone experience on the external 6.3-inch screen. Flip the phone open and you’ll see a huge 7.6-inch AMOLED screen staring you in the face, turning this foldable phone into a tiny tablet. The Flip6 isn’t as pretty as the newer Flip7 – the latest model’s bigger and brighter roof screen is a step up – but it’s worth considering over the new Galaxy Z Flip7 FE. Technically, it’s almost identical to that phone, but the FE uses a Samsung Exynos chip instead of a Qualcomm processor, and performance may not be as smooth. The main drawback? Battery life isn’t great. Make sure you don’t pay MSRP for these 2024 phones.

If you’re looking to save some cash, you’re good to go with Samsung’s Galaxy S23 lineup or the 2023 Galaxy S23 FE, as long as the prices are well below the original MSRP. (They’re hard to find at most major retailers.) These phones will still get support for a while, and they’re pretty cool. I don’t think it’s worth buying anything older.

Should you invest in the Samsung ecosystem?

Photo: Julian Chokkattu

Samsung is one of the few smartphone makers that can compete with Apple in its hardware ecosystem. The company doesn’t just make smartphones, but you can also expand your experience by adding a Galaxy Watch8 smartwatch, Galaxy Buds3 Pro headphones, Galaxy Ring fitness ring, Galaxy Tab S11 and even a Galaxy Windows laptop.

There are some advantages to this, such as how some features of the Galaxy Ring and Watch8 are only available when paired with a Samsung phone, and its earbuds will automatically switch between Samsung devices based on what you’re using. There aren’t many exclusive features when using a Galaxy phone with a Galaxy laptop, but features like Quick Share let you quickly send photos and documents between your devices.

Again, it’s not necessary, and these other devices may not be right for you in their respective categories, but if you’re after hardware parity, you have that option with Samsung.

What is Galaxy AI?

Photo: Julian Chokkattu

With the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung launched « Galaxy AI », a selection of artificial intelligence features, many of which are powered by Google’s big Gemini language models. They enable smart features that can be useful every day, such as real-time translations during phone calls, real-time transcriptions in the Samsung Voice Recorder app, the ability to summarize long paragraphs of text in the Samsung Notes app, or change the tone of a sentence with the Samsung keyboard.

In the Galaxy S25 series, Galaxy AI has expanded to include Gemini as the default voice assistant and the ability for Gemini to run multiple apps simultaneously. It also debuted Drawing Assist, which lets you sketch or type a prompt and get an AI-generated image. Now you can also use real-time video with Gemini, even from the cover screen of the Galaxy Z Flip7.

You can find many of these features by heading over to Settings > Galaxy AI to turn them on or off. We have an explanation of how to limit Galaxy AI to device processing as well.

What is Samsung DeX?

Courtesy of David Nield

Samsung’s DeX (short for « desktop experience ») launched in 2017 and is a way to plug your Samsung phone into an external monitor and run a desktop version of the Android operating system, all powered entirely by the phone. You can find a list of compatible Samsung phones here – the Flip7 is the first Galaxy Flip to support DeX – and you’ll need a monitor, mouse and keyboard, plus a cable to connect the phone to the monitor. (You can also cast DeX to select screens wirelessly.)

When in DeX mode, you can resize Android apps and have them all open in separate windows. It’s a decent PC platform, though you probably won’t want to use it as a permanent laptop replacement or anything like that. It’s great if you’re visiting another office or working out of a coffee shop or airplane (if you have a portable display). We have a whole guide to setting up and using DeX here.

How to test phones

I’ve been reviewing smartphones for a decade, but one of my earliest smart devices was a Samsung Galaxy Captivate that I got for « free » from my carrier at the time. After working during college, I finally saved enough money for a Galaxy S3, my first flagship. I spent years using Samsung phones in my personal life and it wasn’t long before I started reviewing them for work.

With any Samsung smartphone, I always put my personal SIM card inside and spend as long as I can (several weeks) using the phone as my own. I do camera testing and compare the results to similarly priced devices, I compare performance and play graphically demanding games to see how they fare, I try out all the new features and even take calls to make sure the old feature is still working fine.

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