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TechRadar names iPhone 18 Pro, Honor and Oppo among 2026 Product of the Year winners

TechRadar has announced its expert-chosen Product of the Year 2026 winners across nearly 100 categories, with Apple's iPhone 18 Pro taking Phone of the Year and Honor named Phone Brand of the Year.

AI News Feed · 2026-10-28 06:31

The awards follow TechRadar's Readers' Choice Awards 2026. TechRadar said its writers and editors chose their favorite products across the kinds of devices it reviews, and that they agreed with readers in some cases and disagreed in many others.

In the phone and tablet categories detailed by TechRadar, the iPhone 18 Pro took Phone of the Year. The publication said the phone may not have the biggest camera sensor or the longest-lasting battery on the market, but it offers a near-unrivaled combination of premium flagship features, including variable aperture, pro-level video, strong performance and a high-quality display. TechRadar described it as a Swiss Army knife for 2026 smartphones.

Honor was named Phone Brand of the Year. TechRadar cited the Honor Magic 8 Pro as an extremely capable flagship, the Magic V6 as one of the best foldables available, the Honor 600 series for value in the mid-range sector, and the MagicPad 4 as a tablet that beats the iPad in several ways. It also noted that Honor's products are not globally available in the same way as Apple's or Samsung's, but said those who have tried the brand's phones and tablets will know its level of hardware quality. The Honor Robot Phone won Phones Innovation of the Year, with TechRadar saying Honor deserved credit for bringing something wildly different to the market, at least in China. TechRadar said it doubted the Robot Phone and its fully motorized mechanical gimbal arm would reach Western markets, but that did not make it less exciting.

Motorola's Edge 70 Fusion was named Best Value Phone. TechRadar said it costs almost exactly half the price of the iPhone 17e while offering an extra camera, a much larger battery, faster charging and a higher display refresh rate. It called the Edge 70 Fusion not flashy but a phone that punches above its budget price tag. Apple's iPhone 17 was named Best Mid-Range Phone. TechRadar said the phone is now over 12 months old and just slips into this year's eligibility window, and that it was not replaced with a successor in September. It cited the 120Hz refresh rate, two rear cameras, the A19 chipset and the Center Stage selfie camera, and said the iPhone 17 is still the model it recommends to most people.

Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 was named Best Folding Phone. TechRadar said it is the only globally available passport-shaped foldable it has fully tested and that is eligible for this year's awards. It said it was skeptical about the practicality of the Z Fold 8's stumpy form factor, but after living with the phone for a month it came around to its charming oddness. Motorola's Razr Ultra 2026 was named Best Flip Phone. TechRadar said the Galaxy Z Flip 8 has better software, a newer chipset and a slightly lower price, but the latest Razr Ultra has a larger battery, faster charging and better cameras. It called the choice close-run but said the Razr Ultra is the flip phone it would choose.

Oppo's Find X9 Ultra was named Best Camera Phone. TechRadar said it has a 200MP main lens, a 50MP ultra-wide lens, a 200MP 3x telephoto lens and a 50MP 10x telephoto lens with an f/3.5 aperture. It said that combination helped the phone beat the Galaxy S26 Ultra and hold its own against the Lumix TZ300 and Nikon Z8 in head-to-head comparisons. TechRadar called the Find X9 Ultra heavy, thick and eye-wateringly expensive, but the closest it has come to a truly camera-rivaling smartphone. The RedMagic 11 Pro was named Best Gaming Phone, with TechRadar citing its exposed water-cooling system, capacitive shoulder buttons, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset and 6.85-inch OLED display, and describing it as more handheld console than phone. TechRadar's list also named the Google Pixel 11 P as Best AI Phone.

Editor's Summary

TechRadar's 2026 Product of the Year awards selected Apple's iPhone 18 Pro as Phone of the Year and Honor as Phone Brand of the Year, while the Honor Robot Phone won Phones Innovation of the Year. The list also recognized Motorola, Samsung, Oppo, RedMagic and Google across value, foldable, camera, gaming and AI phone categories. The awards are TechRadar's editorial picks across nearly 100 categories and are separate from its Readers' Choice Awards.