Apple unveils a large foldable phone, and all mobile phones are equipped with large sensors. 2026 will be a "big" year for mobile phones.

Big

Is it always better?

Next year will be a "big" year for high - end smartphones.

This doesn't just mean that new phones will have good product capabilities. It also means that their configurations and forms will be "bigger" than before - bigger screens, more powerful imaging systems, and larger batteries.

This will undoubtedly bring about a three - fold leap in user experience. However, just like the two sides of a coin, a piece of bad news that can't be ignored has also emerged.

First "big": Smartphone screens are getting bigger

Since the first - generation Samsung Galaxy Z Fold, the large - fold smartphone category has been iterated for six consecutive years. The product forms of various manufacturers have basically matured - about 4mm when unfolded and 9mm when folded, with a body weight of no more than 250 grams, and the folding crease is almost invisible.

▲ Top: First - generation Galaxy Z Fold, Bottom: Galaxy Z Fold 7. Image source: YouTube @FavoriteTechX

Next year, three high - end brands, Apple, Samsung, and Huawei, will make significant moves in this category, driving the popularity of foldable phones to an unprecedented level.

According to the leak, Samsung will release its first triple - fold phone, the "Galaxy Z TriFold", as early as December this year.

The unfolded screen of this phone is about 10 inches. The three panels have uneven thicknesses, which are 3.9mm, 4.0mm, and 4.2mm respectively. When folded, the screen size is 6.5 inches, and the thickness is 12.1mm, slightly thinner than the 12.9mm of the Huawei Mate XTs.

According to the prototype previously announced by Samsung, the folding method of the Samsung triple - fold is not the same "Z" shape as Huawei's, but a double - inward - fold scheme similar to the letter "G", which means this phone cannot be presented in a double - fold form.

Patent information shows that this phone is equipped with three independent batteries, which are distributed in different folding modules to optimize battery life. The battery capacity will reach 5600mAh.

In terms of performance, the Galaxy Z TriFold is expected to be equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Extreme Edition processor, support 100x digital zoom, and have an upgraded reverse charging function. The hinge uses a multi - rail structure, and laboratory tests show that it can withstand more than 600,000 folds.

This phone is expected to be available only in some countries and regions such as Asia and the United States, with a price of 4.4 million won, equivalent to about 21,000 yuan.

The second triple - fold phone, the Huawei Mate XTs, launched this year, is more like a "half - generation" upgrade, with few visible updates. The real big move is more likely to be made next year. We can look forward to improvements in thickness, hinge, and battery life.

▲ Top: First - generation Galaxy Z Fold, Bottom: Galaxy Z Fold 7. Image source: YouTube @FavoriteTechX

Compared with the cutting - edge exploration of triple - fold phones, what the market is eagerly waiting for is Apple's first foldable iPhone in the second half of next year.

According to the latest leak from Mark Gurman, an Apple expert at Bloomberg, the foldable iPhone will feel like "two iPhone Airs side by side".

The outer and inner screens of the iPhone Fold may be around 5.5 inches and 7.8 inches respectively - and the inner screen is not a common square, but a widescreen with an aspect ratio of about 1.4 to 1, similar to the Huawei Pura X.

The price of the iPhone Fold will surely be quite high. However, with Apple's high - end brand effect, it is likely to still sell well. It can also help more consumers understand foldable phones through its strong ability to educate the market, boosting the overall shipment volume of this category.

More importantly, the triple - fold form, which is still in the "uncharted territory", is starting to attract followers. Samsung has become the second player to enter this field, and it will definitely not be the last. As more manufacturers test the waters, the physical boundary of smartphone screens is being pushed to 10 inches - a size that used to belong only to tablets.

Second "big": Larger imaging sensors, wider dynamic range, and higher pixels

The mid - range and high - end flagship phones of various manufacturers have been released. Next, it's time for the ultra - high - end imaging flagships to compete.

According to industry information, this year's "Ultra" models are coming earlier than usual: Xiaomi continues to lead the way, and the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is targeted for release this year. The OPPO Find X9 Ultra and vivo X300 Ultra will follow closely, and are expected to be released in March and April next year.

The imaging capabilities of high - end flagship phones are getting stronger, and there is even a sign of "challenging the higher - end models". How should next year's imaging flagships live up to the name of "ultra - high - end"?

First of all, the CMOS size should be large enough.

Although not officially released yet, the information about Sony's new - generation LYT - 910 CMOS sensor has basically been exposed: it has a 1/1.1 - inch large sensor, 200 million pixels, a pixel size of 0.7μm, and supports LOFIC high - dynamic range.

▲ Image source: Weibo @fenibook

Mobile imaging requires making the most of limited space. In recent years, manufacturers have been constantly adjusting their choices of sensor sizes, trying to find a balance between size and quality. Although the size of the LYT - 910 is slightly smaller than that of the 1/0.98 - inch LYT - 900, it is still a very powerful and balanced choice.

Whether it's OPPO, which used a sensor larger than 1 inch this year, or vivo, which strategically abandoned the ultra - large sensor, the ultra - high - end flagship phones of both manufacturers are likely to choose this sensor next year.

As for the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, it is rumored to use the domestic 1 - inch Omnivision OV50X sensor, continuing the ultra - large - sensor route.

But the more important new technology is the lateral overflow integration capacitor (LOFIC for short).

If we think of the tens of millions of pixels on the sensor receiving light as tens of millions of water cups collecting water, then the dynamic range refers to the difference between the minimum and maximum amount of water these cups can hold.

The function of LOFIC is equivalent to placing a small cup beside the water cup. When there is too much water (strong light), it catches the overflowing water (over - exposed information), preserving the brightness information that would otherwise be lost directly, and supporting a wider range of dynamic levels.

▲ Left: Insufficient dynamic range; Right: High dynamic range

In other words, the photos taken by a sensor equipped with LOFIC technology will be closer to the beautiful light scenes seen by the human eye, and can retain more details in highlights and shadows under more extreme lighting conditions.

In addition, the advantages of LOFIC also include the ability to take single - frame HDR photos, without the need to take several photos with different exposures like the traditional multi - frame synthesis method.

With a large - size sensor and a wider dynamic range, high - pixel capabilities will be more useful.

This year, many high - end phones have all chosen a 200 - million - pixel telephoto solution. Naturally, the ultra - high - end models won't miss it - especially vivo, which focuses on "image quality". The vivo X300 Ultra is likely to be equipped with both a 200 - million - pixel main camera and a telephoto camera.

▲ The main camera of the vivo X300 takes photos in 200 - million - pixel mode.

The consensus on large sensors, high dynamic range, and high pixels has been reached, and the hardware quality and solutions are becoming more and more similar. In the second half of the competition, the focus will be on the technical accumulation of hardware and the aesthetic concepts formed through years of imaging exploration. We have reached an inflection point in mobile imaging.

Third "big": Large batteries comparable to power banks

In the past two years, domestic smartphone manufacturers have made breakthroughs in silicon - carbon battery technology, and the battery capacity of smartphones has been improving rapidly: in the first half of the year, everyone was still competing for 6000mAh, and in the second half of the year, high - end flagship phones are basically standard with 7000mAh or larger batteries.

▲ OPPO Find X9 series press conference

This is not the end. There have been leaks about Honor, Realme, and Xiaomi. Smartphone batteries with a capacity of 10,000mAh are about to be launched. They will first be tested on mid - and low - end product lines at the beginning of the year, and then gradually introduced to high - end flagship models.

The technology of consumer electronics is advancing, but battery life and user experience are still restricted by the battery. When the battery capacity of smartphones is comparable to that of power banks, the battery anxiety that has troubled users for more than a decade may come to an end next year.

However, when the average battery capacity increased from 4000mAh in the previous two years to 7000mAh now, the charging frequency changed from once a day to once every one and a half days, and the improvement in experience was obvious. But if the battery capacity is increased from 7000mAh to 10,000mAh, will the improvement still be as noticeable?

For foldable phones and imaging flagships with limited physical space, an increase in battery energy density is even more important.