Here Are the Best Smartphones to Give As Gifts This Year.
So, someone you love needs a new smartphone, and you want to give it to them. It’s a challenging task. There are a multitude of smartphones on the market, and while they’re similar in many ways, there are key differences that may or may not matter to the recipient. Does they prefer iOS or Android? Do they want a standard phone or a foldable one? (Or even a flip phone?)
My first piece of advice is to ask them exactly what they want. The more specific they are, the easier it will be for you to choose. If they don’t have a specific model in mind, don’t worry: there are plenty of great phones to choose from. If you have even a little information about the gift recipient, you can choose a smartphone that’s most likely to suit them. Here are my recommendations for the best smartphones to give, grouped by category.
Best iPhone Gift: iPhone 17e
You’ve probably heard a lot about Apple’s newest iPhones. Sure, there’s the iPhone 18 Pro, but everyone’s talking about the iPhone Duo, the company’s first foldable phone. It’s undeniably cool and arguably Apple’s most revolutionary iPhone since the original model. However, its price starts at $1,999—not the most ideal gift option. The iPhone 18 Pro isn’t as expensive, but it’s still quite pricey, starting at $1,199. While the 18 Pro may be Apple’s “best” iPhone to date, I’m not sure it’s necessarily the best iPhone to give as a gift.
When choosing the best iPhone as a gift, I wanted to choose a device that offers the best value for the money. It had to fulfill all the expectations of iPhone owners without breaking the bank—and Apple products are already expensive, even at the best of times. Therefore, I believe the iPhone 17e is the best choice in 2026. It’s not Apple’s best iPhone. It doesn’t have the best display or the best cameras. But it does offer a solid 1170p display with a 60Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 800 nits (1200 nits for HDR content). It has a single 48-megapixel rear camera (the same as the iPhone 17’s main camera) and a 12-megapixel front camera. It also includes features Apple might have left out of its “budget” iPhone, including MagSafe charging, 5G support, and a Ceramic Shield 2 display. (In my experience, the Ceramic Shield 2 screen protector on my iPhone 17 Pro Max is the most durable I’ve ever used, so I can’t say enough about it.)
Most importantly, the iPhone 17e is powered by the same A19 Pro chip as Apple’s other 17-series iPhones, minus one GPU core. This means the iPhone 17 may have a slight edge in gaming over the 17e, but not by much. The 17e supports all the same iOS 27 features as the iPhone 17, including Siri AI, though both devices lack some “Pro” AI features. Of course, there are other omissions: there’s no second or third camera like other iPhones, nor is there a camera control button; the front-facing camera isn’t as high-quality or feature-rich as other devices; the display isn’t as bright or fast; and battery life isn’t as long as other iPhones. But these tradeoffs aren’t too significant when you consider the significantly lower starting price—$699, which is $500 cheaper than the 18 Pro.
The bottom line? The iPhone 17e does almost everything you’d expect from an iPhone. If your gift recipient wants a telephoto lens or a brighter display with a high refresh rate, you might need to upgrade. But for those who simply want a great overall iPhone experience, the 17e is the best choice.
Best Android Smartphone Gift: Google Pixel 10a
It’s difficult to choose just one Android smartphone to recommend. You can spend very little on a functional Android device, or you can spend a couple thousand dollars on a sophisticated pocket computer. But, as with the iPhone, choosing the best Android smartphone as a gift means weighing features, price, and availability. With all this in mind, my vote goes to the Pixel 10a.
If using the latest Android features is a priority, Pixel is the best choice. It’s Google’s own smartphone line, meaning it gets the latest Android versions—and all the new features that come with them—before any other manufacturer. Flagship Pixel phones tend to rival models from rivals like Samsung in everything but pure performance—in practice, you likely won’t notice much of a difference between a comparable Pixel and a Galaxy smartphone in day-to-day use.
And the 10a is a great phone in its own right. It features a 6.3-inch 1080p display with a 120Hz refresh rate (take note, Apple), as well as dual rear cameras—a 48-megapixel wide-angle lens and a 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens—and a 13-megapixel front-facing camera. Unlike the vast majority of modern smartphones, the 10a’s rear cameras are flush with the back panel, a feature former Lifehacker tech editor Michelle Erhardt praised in her review of the phone . Google devices are known for their outstanding photography capabilities, especially in the software department, and the 10a is no exception—though it certainly falls short of the flagship Google Pixel 10 and Pixel 11 models. Expect good results with point-and-shoot photography, though reviews note that the final products often show less detail than more expensive competitors.
The Pixel 10a uses Google’s G4 Tensor chip, which isn’t the most powerful on the market (even in this price range), but it’s more than enough to run Android 17, including all of Google’s new AI features. These include Circle to Search, which lets you start a Google search by highlighting anything on the screen; AI-powered photo editing features like Magic Eraser and natural language editing; and Gemini for voice assistant support. You can upgrade to the Pixel 11 for these features, but the G4 Tensor chip in the Pixel 10a can handle them just as well. Google has also promised to support devices for seven years after release, meaning the Pixel 10a will continue to receive updates until March 2033.
You can find a capable Android device in almost any price range. But with a suggested retail price of $499, the Pixel 10a is arguably the best value Android device right now—especially if you can find it on sale. If your gift recipient is a die-hard Samsung fan or wants the best mobile cameras on the market, you might want to look elsewhere. But for most Android users, the Pixel 10a is the perfect choice.
The Best Gift for Android Power Users: Galaxy S26 Ultra
Let’s say you have someone on your list who values not just “price-performance,” but “maximum quality.” They want their smartphone to be as powerful as possible and have the highest-quality cameras. In this case, we need to avoid “budget” or “mid-range” devices and focus on phones that cost significantly more than $1,000. If this is your market, I have one top recommendation: the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Samsung’s latest “Ultra” series device lives up to its name. It features a 6.9-inch display with a 1440p resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, and a peak brightness of 2600 nits. While many high-end smartphones have excellent displays, only the Galaxy S26 Ultra features ” Privacy Display “—a hardware feature that makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for others to view your screen. This isn’t necessarily a compelling reason to buy the S26 Ultra, but it’s worth considering given how few new hardware improvements are available in modern smartphones.
The S26 Ultra’s hardware isn’t boring. The S26 Ultra is powered by Samsung’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, the same one found in the rest of the S26 lineup. However, unlike other S26 devices, you can upgrade the S26 Ultra’s RAM from 12GB to 16GB if you opt for the 1TB storage option. Unlike the Tensor G4, this processor doesn’t compromise, as demonstrated by the benchmark results. In fact, the entire S26 lineup ranks high in Android benchmarks, according to Geekbench .
Perhaps the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s biggest highlight is its camera system. You get a 200-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom, a 10-megapixel telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens. There’s also a 12-megapixel front-facing camera, which isn’t the highest megapixel count we’ve seen on a front-facing camera, but it performs well. According to CNET, this camera is designed to more accurately capture natural skin tones and textures in all lighting conditions.
Like Google, Samsung is betting on artificial intelligence , so the Galaxy S26 runs on the company’s latest features. This includes versions of the Google features we mentioned above, including AI-powered photo editing , as well as exclusive features like Now Brief and Now Bar . And since this is the “Ultra” model, it comes with the S Pen stylus. While I’m glad the iPhone Duo will support the Apple Pencil, I wish Apple would also extend this feature to its standard smartphones, as Samsung has.
The best gift for experienced iPhone users: wait before you buy.
If you’d asked me last month which iPhone was best for the power user, I would have said the iPhone 17 Pro Max . If you ask me next week, I’d probably say the iPhone 18 Pro Max . Unfortunately, we’re at a crossroads: Apple announced the iPhone 18 Pro Max last week, but it won’t be released until Friday, September 18. Reviews haven’t been published yet, either, meaning we don’t know exactly how this phone will perform.
That said, Apple usually puts a lot of thought into iPhone launches, so I’m guessing the iPhone 18 Pro Max will offer a modest “real” upgrade over the iPhone 17 Pro Max, making it the “best” Pro Max to date. But I can’t say for sure. Perhaps the new variable aperture doesn’t work quite as advertised; perhaps the A20 Pro chip has too much of an impact on battery life. Again, I don’t think this is true, but until we know for sure, I can’t advise readers on which Pro Max to buy. Therefore, I recommend holding off on purchasing until we learn more about the 18 Pro Max.
Best Foldable Android Smartphone Gift: Galaxy Z Fold 8
The number “8” is there for a reason. This is Samsung’s eighth foldable smartphone, and it shows. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a polished and impressive version of Samsung’s foldable smartphones. Moreover, CNET’s Abrar Al-Hiti declared the Galaxy Z Fold 8 one of the most enjoyable devices she’s ever used .
When closed, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has a 5.5-inch display with a 1248p resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. You could probably get by with the external display without opening the device. But when you unfold it, you get a much larger 7.6-inch display. This internal display also has a 120Hz refresh rate, but its brightness reaches 3000 nits. This is the main advantage of a foldable device like the Z Fold 8: you can use it like a “regular” smartphone, then unfold it when you want a tablet-like experience, whether watching TV shows and movies on a larger screen or running multiple apps simultaneously. Like all foldable devices, there is a crease in the large screen, but judging by reviews, you’re unlikely to notice it when looking at the display straight ahead.
Like the Galaxy S26 series, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip and comes with 12GB of RAM. You can get 16GB if you opt for the 2TB storage version, but that may cost more than the additional RAM or storage. This chip should be more than enough to power both the internal and external displays, as well as all the Android features you’ll be using, including Samsung’s AI capabilities mentioned above.
This foldable smartphone features dual rear cameras—a 50-megapixel wide-angle camera and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera—as well as 10-megapixel front-facing cameras on both the inner and outer displays. While the Z Fold 8’s cameras are decent, they aren’t the best among Samsung foldable smartphones. For that, you’ll need to upgrade to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, which has a 200-megapixel wide-angle camera and a 10-megapixel telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. If your gift recipient wants the best foldable Android smartphone money can buy, the Ultra might be the one for them. But for the price, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a better buy, though it’s not cheap.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is arguably the best foldable smartphone option available. But if the gift recipient wants a pure Android phone, the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold is also a great choice . If they’re looking for a flip phone, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 offers many of the Z Fold 8’s advantages in this form factor, followed by the Motorola Razr Ultra .
In a normal year, Apple wouldn’t be mentioned in this section, but this isn’t a normal year. The company officially entered the foldable device market with the iPhone Duo , though it faces the same problem as the iPhone 18 Pro: it hasn’t been released yet, meaning it hasn’t been tested yet. Furthermore, Apple won’t release the Duo until mid-October, so it’ll likely be some time before any official recommendations can be made. Still, while I can’t yet rank it over the Galaxy Z Fold or Pixel 11 Pro Fold, it’s the only choice for foldable device fans who want to stick with iOS. If your gift recipient wants a foldable phone that can send iMessages, this is your only option.