Der "Handy-Krieg" zu Beginn des Jahres: Chinesische, amerikanische und südkoreanische Hersteller kämpfen um die Spitze, High-End- und Einsteiger-Modelle in einem wilden Durcheinander, das den ganzen Weg lang spannend bleibt.
Scarcely had I returned to my workplace when I already sensed the smell of gunpowder in the mobile phone market. In just two days, Samsung will hold its global Galaxy Unpacked press conference and introduce the top models of this year's S26 series.
But this is just the first shot of the year - even greater tensions await us.
At the beginning of March, Apple's Spring Event will take place as planned, featuring the iPhone 17e and the new MacBook series;
On the international stage, Xiaomi's Leitz Phone will quietly appear, and Honor's Robot Phone will be officially presented at MWC.
In addition, vivo's X300 Ultra and OPPO's Find N6 are getting closer...
It's a fierce battle between Chinese, South Korean, and American manufacturers - incredibly exciting.
Which brands will enter the market with new forms in this wave of new mobile phones, and which product innovations are worth shelling out money for?
Samsung S26's Anti - Spy Screen is here - is it really useful?
Last year, 2025, was not an easy time for Samsung. Its DS department, which manufactures memory, confronted the MX department, which produces mobile phones, with a "supply interruption", thus postponing this year's Galaxy S26 series press conference until the end of February.
But good things come to those who wait. According to various rumors, Samsung has finally delivered a long - overdue hardware update: an innovative technology in the field of anti - spy screens, not just a pure parameter race.
At MWC 2024, Samsung demonstrated a technology called Flex Magic Pixel. This technology was originally developed for automotive systems. When the viewing angle is too large, the pixels light up selectively, so that the driver sees the display as black, thus avoiding distraction from too much information.
Now, Samsung has transferred this technology to mobile phones - an "active anti - spy screen" based on this technology will be developed for the S26 series. By controlling the lighting angle of the sub - pixels, the display can turn the side view black when entering a password or displaying sensitive notifications.
This approach, which combines hardware and software, is fundamentally different from the pure software solution that detects and stops notifications. Samsung's solution is applicable in more scenarios and more elegant.
If this technology becomes widespread, the anti - spy films that severely affect the view can be almost completely replaced.
However, due to the special hardware, this function will probably only be available on the Ultra model of the S26 series. The normal models will have to do without it for the time being, and the Z Fold8 in the second half of the year will also have to wait.
Looking at the core parameters, besides the expected Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Special Edition chip, there is an old acquaintance - Samsung's own Exynos SoC.
Rumors say that Samsung will use the Exynos 2600 processor based on 2nm GAA technology for the first time in the South Korean version of the S26. The official statement is even convinced that it is a full 39% faster than the chip on last year's Z Flip7. According to the benchmark data that has been leaked so far, it even beats the special - version Snapdragon on last year's S25.
After many years, the much - mocked Exynos chip finally has the strength to compete head - to - head with Qualcomm again. Together with the legendary Xclipse 960 GPU based on AMD's RDNA4 architecture, this chip raises expectations.
However, due to the above - mentioned internal supply - chain issues, the entire S26 series will still start with 12 GB of RAM, and the overall price will probably increase by 500 to 700 yuan.
In terms of the design and housing details of this generation, Samsung has also found a difficult balance between addition and subtraction.
The good news is that the long - criticized 45 - W fast charging has finally been overcome. The S26 Ultra will support a maximum 60 - W super - fast charging for the first time, and the battery capacity will remain stable at 5000 mAh.
The bad news is that the highly anticipated integrated magnetic charging was cancelled at the last minute. The reason is very regrettable: the magnetic elements at the bottom layer would strongly interfere with the writing precision of the S - Pen. Between accepting new industry trends and preserving the brand position, Samsung finally chose the latter and only left a series of official magnetic accessories as compensation.
The development of the design is also full of compromises and stances - the S26 series has completely adopted the design of the Z Fold7, abandoned the independent lens design, and returned to a module with a central island.
Fortunately, Samsung still refuses to blindly follow the large and eye - catching round lens modules on the market. This is one of the few flagship mobile phones on the market where you won't often bump your index finger into the lens when holding it - but the price is that the camera parameters remain almost unchanged.
To make the feel of the whole device even softer, the R - corners of the S26 Ultra's housing have been further rounded. This seemingly insignificant change has directly led to a restriction of the structure at the end of the S - Pen in the lower - left corner of the housing. This stylus, which has accompanied users for ten years, probably can't be blindly reversed and inserted in the future.
Overall, the basic stance of the Samsung S26 series remains to refine on a mature form. In an era when screen resolution and brightness are almost excessive, Samsung has abandoned the abstract parameter narrative and instead focused on the differential experience in the field of anti - spy screens. These small innovations that focus on real problems could lead to a quantitative change in the future.
The cheapest iPhone is back - only for 3000 yuan?
Let's take a look at Apple's Spring Event. In contrast to the mobile - phone - ocean strategy in the Android industry, Apple's flagship models are focused on the autumn. The iPhone 17e to be released in a few days is designed for affordability. This series can not only consume the inventory of components from several generations but is also an inevitable response to the mobile - phone - ocean strategy.
According to current rumors, the core advantage of the iPhone 17e is very focused. It will probably get the same A19 chip as the older iPhone 17 (with a downgraded GPU) and support a maximum 25 - W MagSafe magnetic charging for the first time.
In addition, like last year's iPhone 16e, the iPhone 17e is Apple's "training ground". The new C1X cellular baseband chip and the N1 Wi - Fi chip will be used on this mobile phone for the first time. Together with the possibility of adding an ultra - wideband chip for the new AirTag, this cheap iPhone is even at the forefront in terms of lower - level connectivity.
However, these improvements are in areas that are not usually easy to notice. When you focus on the screen and the camera, where the difference is most obvious, the large gap is inevitable.
The photo performance of the single - photo camera is comparable to that of the iPhone Air; the old USB 2.0 port shows that savings are made everywhere.
Regarding the front appearance of the device, there are currently two rumors:
Some say that the iPhone will still be equipped with a "notch", others say that the "Dynamic Island" will finally be downgraded. But the discussion about the form actually doesn't make much sense, because all the clues finally lead to a familiar and regrettable reality: The iPhone 17e still uses a 60 - Hz screen.
Rumors say that the iPhone 17e will keep the price of $599 (in China, it will probably cost from 4499 yuan, and possibly from 3999 yuan after government subsidies). The storage will probably start from 256 GB. One could say that there is more, but the price remains the same.
But at the beginning of 2026, this price is definitely not suitable for buying at the first release: The iPhone 17 with a dual - camera, high refresh rate, and Dynamic Island, as well as the iPhone Air, which is designed for extreme lightness, can be only about 1000 yuan more expensive after various subsidies in different channels. Surrounded by its older brothers, the ecological niche of the iPhone 17e is threatened.
We described the previous product, the 16e, as a "soy - sauce - like" mobile phone that gets better over time. It's also worth waiting for the price of the iPhone 17e series to drop further before buying it.
There is no comfort zone for Chinese manufacturers - this year, it's still a tough fight for honor
In contrast to the staggered competition between Apple and Samsung overseas, the atmosphere in China is much more intense. Xiaomi, Honor, and the two manufacturers OV have new ideas and actions in the next one to two months.
At the beginning of this year at CES2026, Honor first introduced its "Gimbal Mobile Phone", the Robot Phone. This mobile phone has hollowed out the rear camera module and installed a gimbal camera system inside, which skillfully combines the two forms of the popular DJI Pocket and the mobile phone in recent years.
According to reliable information, the Honor Robot Phone will be officially presented at MWC in March. You can read the detailed information in ifanr's on - site report at CES2026: Honor Robot Gimbal Phone could come to the market after March | CES 2026
Let's take a detour from mobile phones and talk about gimbal vlog cameras: In addition to Honor, reports have shown that Huawei and Xiaomi are also interested in this field; Vivo and OPPO have successively announced their product plans for a counterpart to the DJI Pocket;
Vivo's counterpart will enter the market in 2026, and it is reported that OPPO's model is personally led by Liu Zuohu, the chief product manager and deputy chairman. The product will also enter the market this year.
Before the Chinese New Year, Insta360 also announced the release of a gimbal vlog camera product; the DJI Pocket 4 is about to be released...
Will Vivo and Insta360 overtake DJI? How long can the DJI Pocket continue to dominate?
Whether the gimbal vlog camera market will be successful depends on the performance of these first - movers. Once the market logic is confirmed, the waiting giants will surely swarm in. Then the market that has been dominated by DJI for years could quickly become a bloody battlefield.
Back to mobile phones.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica, which was introduced at the end of last year, has recently changed overseas. Rumors say that a special Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica has appeared in an overseas Xiaomi store. The horizontally placed "Coca - Cola logo" on the Chinese model has been placed vertically. The photo watermark of the model reads "LEITZPHONE powered by Xiaomi".
The certification information from the Thai... (The original text seems incomplete here)