The Best AI Phones of 2026

Best for AI photography: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Best Android: Google Pixel 10 Pro
Best iPhone: iPhone 17 Pro Max
Best AI assistant: HONOR Magic8 Pro
Best flip phone: Motorola Razr 70 Ultra
Best fold phone: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7
Best affordable AI smartphone: Samsung Galaxy A57 5G

Artificial intelligence has completely transformed smartphones since its emerged on the scene in the early 2020s. With all the new innovations in AI constantly cropping up, how do you decide which handset to buy?

We’ve gathered together the best AI phones on the market to help you choose the ideal device, including top options from Apple, Samsung, Google and more.

Explore our AI phone round-up and find even more AI-powered handsets in our pay monthly and SIM free ranges from iD Mobile. brought to you by Currys. If you're planning to make the most of these phones' cameras, video and creative tools day-to-day, our unlimited data SIM only plans mean you'll never have to hold back.

Best for AI photography: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra in Cobalt Violet

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There’s nothing worse than looking back through your holiday snaps and finding that the beautiful night sky or sunset you snapped is just dull and flat. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is built to close that gap so your photos actually look like what you saw, thanks to AI-powered processing.

With a huge 200MP main sensor and a wide aperture to let more light in, making your shots crisper, brighter and more true-to-life is simple. AI steps up with any photography that might need a helping hand, like low-light shooting or far-away subjects.

AI photography has come on leaps and bounds in the few short years it’s been integrated into our smartphones, and the S26 Ultra is truly leading the charge. There’s an AI tool for every snapping scenario you’ll need. Samsung’s smart Nightography uses AI to clean up any noise and enhance details, so your date night pictures at that restaurant with mood lighting won’t come out grainy or muted. The S26 Ultra’s AI-powered extreme zoom of up to 100x helps you get closer than ever without losing any detail or clarity. And with an AI Image Signal Processor tuned specifically for selfies, finer details shine, and skin can stay looking like skin rather than a smoothed-out filter.

If that didn’t cement the S26 Ultra’s spot as our best pick for AI photography, the photo editing features seal the deal. Photo Assist makes professional-level editing accessible for anyone, letting you simply type or say what you want changed – and poof! – that selfie photo-bomber or landscape-ruining bin is gone.

Best Android phone for AI: Google Pixel 10 Pro

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The latest and greatest of Google phones, the Pixel 10 Pro’s similar design to the Pixel 9 Pro hides a wealth of AI features. Imbued with Gemini AI – which is so impressive that it’s also used by Honor and Samsung – this handset is a fantastic canvas for enhancing your productivity and creative pursuits.

Not only does Gemini continue to demonstrate greater intelligence when answering prompts, you also have Nano Banana, which can be used to create imaginative scenes and make detailed edits. Much of this is only possible because of the lightning-fast and powerful Tensor G5 chip under the hood.

Keeping on the photography and filmmaking train, the AI short video feature on the Pixel 10 Pro is really impressive. Simply provide a prompt and the 10 Pro will create a video, complete with sound, too. Have an idea you want to bring to life before starting a project? This is a brilliant way to visualise it.

You can’t talk about the Pixel 10 Pro’s AI capabilities without also mentioning Magic Cue. This handy feature surfaces the information you need without you having to scour around your apps for it. Imagine a friend needs an address for a meet-up; Magic Cue will find the address for you.

Best iPhone for AI: iPhone 17 Pro Max

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The iPhone 17 Pro Max deftly combines outstanding performance and AI excellence, easily cementing it as our top AI iPhone choice. Largely this is down to Apple Intelligence which, despite not being as feature-rich as Google or Samsung’s AI suites, has received some noteworthy updates that iPhone users might find enticing.

One of the pillar AI features that arrived alongside iOS 26 is Live Translation. It makes communicating with people in different languages a breeze, and is baked into Messages, FaceTime and the Phone app for convenience. Live Translation’s core functionality works brilliantly, but the real magic happens when using it with AirPods Pro 3. Pop them in, let Live Translation do its thing, and communicate naturally in real time; a true science-fiction-made-real moment.

Visual Intelligence is another AI-powered feature that significantly improves productivity. It works in a similar vein to Google’s Magic Cue, enabling you to search for information from the screen you’re on. Press the screenshot button and the 17 Pro Max will help you learn more about the subject; you can even ask ChatGPT for more detail without having to open the ChatGPT app. Much like Live Translation, Visual Intelligence works like a dream thanks to the performance power provided by the A19 Pro CPU.

Best AI assistance on a smartphone: Honor Magic8 Pro

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On the Honor Magic8 Pro, AI assistance has been integrated into every part of the phone, from security to cameras and there’s even a dedicated AI button on offer.

A long press of this button opens up multiple AI functions in one go, a double tap jumps straight into the camera, and you can even set it up to trigger your preferred AI tool, so AI assistance is always just one press away. Honor’s in-built AI Screen Suggestions can read the context of anything on your screen and provide useful shortcuts like AI Summary to help you with a long email or Content Creation for the perfect Instagram caption.

It’s not just how you use your phone that benefits from Honor’s AI assistance; you benefit too. The Magic8 Pro’s intelligent AI Circadian Night Display adjusts the screen’s colour and brightness through the evening to work with your eyes rather than against them. Pair that with integrated AI Deepfake Detection and AI Voice Cloning Detection, and you’ve got an AI assistant that prioritises your safety and wellbeing, too.

Best flip phone: Motorola Razr 70 Ultra

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Whether it’s the nostalgia element or the perfectly pocket-friendly design, you can’t beat a flip phone. Especially a flip phone that’s built for today, like the Motorola Razr 70 Ultra. However, it’s the AI that’s packed into this phone that truly makes it a winning pick.

The 4-inch, 165Hz cover display is where a lot of that intelligence shows up day to day, with all the AI you need right at your fingertips or even hands-free. Rather than unlocking the phone to scroll through your stack of notifications, you can just say "catch me up" and get a short, tailored summary instantly. Without needing to unfold the phone, you can even reply to messages, answer a call or skip a song, which is a lifesaver if you’ve ever fumbled to open your phone one-handed on a busy train or while juggling a coffee.

Flex View lets you fold the phone half-open like a tiny laptop, so video calls, hands-free photos, and following recipes can also happen without having to lean the phone against anything. It’s also the perfect companion to the Razr 70 Ultra’s integrated Gemini Live. With this tool, you can simply prop open the phone, ask it a question, and it responds in real time, giving you a second opinion tucked right into your pocket. Flip the phone the other way into camcorder mode, and the bottom half becomes the camera grip, using AI-powered software and processing to add in more detail and colour, and even automatically keep your subject in focus.

Best foldable phone for AI: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7

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If you prefer the larger display experience of a foldable phone, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 is the handset of choice. It cleverly makes use of the folding design to further enhance the AI features on show, some of which will likely be gamechangers for the photographers out there.

A perfect example of this is the Suggest Erases feature, which can be found in Generative Edit. On paper the feature is simple: you tap the button and the Z Fold7 will suggest what to erase from your photo. However, when you factor in the unfolded screen, things become significantly more interesting. From this screen, you can compare before and after the edits without needing to remember what it looked like, which makes landing on a final result you’re happy with much easier.

Gemini Live also gets a unique twist thanks to the unfolded display. The larger amount of space that’s available allows for easier prompting and discussions with Gemini; something that a typical smartphone screen can’t offer. Not only that, the Now Brief feature that gives you a detailed summary of your day is much easier to look at and digest.

Best affordable AI smartphone: Samsung Galaxy A57 5G

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AI on a smartphone tends to get sold as a flagship perk, something you pay a premium for alongside the best camera and the fastest chip. The Samsung Galaxy A57 5G proves otherwise, bringing Samsung's Awesome Intelligence suite to a good, reliable phone without the flagship price tag.

Circle to Search, within this suite, is just one example of that everyday usefulness – and a firm favourite feature of ours. Spot an outfit you like on someone's Instagram story, circle it, and get results for the top, the shoes and everything in between in one go, without switching apps or typing a single word. You’ll forget how you ever searched before. On the camera side, AI-powered tools like Object Eraser clean up your shots, removing anything that doesn’t fit your vibe and filling the gap seamlessly. At the same time, Edit Suggestion looks at your photos and suggests tweaks, like reducing shadows or sharpening a shot, before you've even thought to ask – no editing skills required.

Thanks to the Exynos 1680 chip, these AI features can work faster and more smoothly, without draining the excellent 5,000mAh battery. For anyone who assumed efficient, smart AI meant forking out, the Galaxy A57 5G is the phone that proves them wrong.

Summary

As you can see, there is a vast array of AI phones available to choose from in a variety of sizes and designs. If you’ve decided on the best choice for you and want to learn more about AI, take a look through our collection of expert guides, including a deep dive into Samsung’s Galaxy AI.

FAQs

Is Galaxy AI free?

Yes, Galaxy AI is free to use, you’ll only have to pay for the cost of the phone.

Do AI assistants drain your phone battery?

When an AI assistant or feature is being used, this will contribute to battery use; just as using any other feature on a phone will drain the battery.

Can you get AI on Android phones?

AI is present on many Android phones, but the features on offer won’t all be the same. For example, Samsung phones come with the brand’s own Galaxy AI suite, and Pixel phones are packed with Google’s AI tools.