Though 2026 has been a tumultuous time for technology when it comes to price hikes and shortages, the tech that's reached us has been excellent — in fact, it's been a banner year in most areas, just with some downsides for your wallet.

We've already crowned the best tech of the year as chosen by you in our TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 — but this is where we let our experts have their say.

Our writers and editors chose their favorite products in nearly 100 categories, ranging across all the kinds of products we review. In some cases, we agree with the readers; in lots of cases, we don't. So read on to see which gadgets we rate as being the most impressive of the last 12 months.

Phones & tablets

Phone of the Year

Apple iPhone 18 Pro

Wherever you look, the iPhone 18 Pro excels. It might not have the biggest camera sensor or the longest-lasting battery of any phone on the market, but it does offer a near-unrivaled combination of premium flagship features. From its variable aperture feature and pro-level video capabilities to its phenomenal performance and gorgeous display, the 18 Pro is the Swiss Army knife of 2026 smartphones.

Read our full iPhone 18 Pro review

Phone Brand of the Year

Honor

The Chinese company has brought something competitive to the table at every turn in 2026. The Honor Magic 8 Pro is an extremely capable flagship. The Magic V6 is easily one of the best foldables you can buy. The Honor 600 series offers some serious value for money in the mid-range sector. The MagicPad 4 is an iPad-beating tablet in several ways. And the Robot Phone is, well, the Robot Phone. Honor’s products aren’t globally available in the same way as, say, Apple's or Samsung’s, but those who have tried the brand’s phones and tablets will know about their level of hardware quality.

Phones Innovation of the Year

Honor Robot Phone

Sticking with Honor, it’s hard to see past the Robot Phone as the most exciting Phones Innovation of the Year in 2026. There's been some competition from foldables in this area this year, but Honor deserves credit for bringing something wildly different to the market (in China, at least). Will we ever see the Robot Phone and its fully motorized mechanical gimbal arm in Western markets? I doubt it — but that doesn’t make it any less exciting.

Read our Honor Robot Phone hands-on

Best Value Phone

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion

The Motorola Edge 70 Fusion is in another world for pure value compared to most phones — for example, compared to the iPhone 17e, it costs almost exactly half the price and offers an extra camera, a much larger battery, faster charging, and a higher display refresh rate. The Edge 70 Fusion is not a flashy phone, but it certainly punches above its budget price tag.

Best Mid-Range Phone

Apple iPhone 17

The Apple iPhone 17 is over 12 months old now (it just slips into this year’s eligibility window), and it wasn’t replaced with a successor in September — but it didn’t need to be. With its 120Hz refresh rate, two great rear cameras, powerful A19 chipset, and still-industry-leading Center Stage selfie camera, the iPhone 17 is still the iPhone we recommend to most people.

Best Folding Phone

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the only globally available passport-shaped foldable we’ve tested fully (and that's eligible for this year's awards), and it's earned our pick as the Best Folding Phone of the year. We were skeptical about the practicality of the Z Fold 8’s stumpy form factor, but after living with the phone for a month, we came around to its charming oddness.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z fold 8 review

Best Flip Phone

Motorola Razr Ultra 2026

The Motorola Razr Ultra 2026 (or Motorola Razr 70 Ultra, as it’s called in certain regions) is, for us, the best phone you can buy in this category. The Galaxy Z Flip 8 has better software, a newer chipset, and is slightly more affordable — but the latest Razr Ultra has a larger battery, faster charging, and better cameras. It’s a close-run thing, but this is the flip phone we'd choose.

Best Camera Phone

Oppo Find X9 Ultra

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is an absolute beast of a camera phone. It boasts a 200MP main lens, a 50MP ultra-wide lens, a 200MP 3x telephoto lens, and a 50MP 10x telephoto (f/3.5) lens, which is a combination that helped it beat the Galaxy S26 Ultra and hold its own against even the Lumix TZ300 and Nikon Z8 in our head-to-head comparisons. It’s heavy, thick, and eye-wateringly expensive, but the Find X9 Ultra is the closest we’ve come to a truly camera-rivaling smartphone.

Read our full Oppo Find X9 Ultra review

Best Gaming Phone

RedMagic 11 Pro

If you’re looking for an unashamedly gamer-y smartphone, it doesn’t get much better than the RedMagic 11 Pro. With its exposed water-cooling system, capacitive shoulder buttons, powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, and gorgeous 6.85-inch OLED display, it’s more handheld console than phone.

Read our full RedMagic 11 Pro review

Best AI Phone

Google Pixel 11 Pro

Even though Google’s latest Pixel series doesn’t bring much newness to the table, it’s hard to argue against the Pixel 11 Pro’s status as the Best AI Phone money can buy. There’s Camera Coach, Magic Cue, Magic Editor, Magic Capture, Rambler, and, of course, system-wide Gemini integration to take advantage of with Google’s latest flagship. If AI is your jam, the Pixel 11 Pro should be your phone.

Read our full Google Pixel 11 Pro review

Best Phone Accessory

DJI Osmo Mobile 8P

Phone gimbals aren’t the flashiest products around, but the DJI Osmo Mobile 8P deserves credit for being one of the best phone accessories money can buy. As we noted in our review, the 8P adds a remote control and even better tracking capabilities to the already impressive Osmo Mobile 8 formula, and as such, it’s an easy recommendation for content creators.

Read our full DJI Osmo Mobile 8P review

Best Tablet

Honor MagicPad 4

The Android tablet market is a real mix of good, bad, and terrible right now, but the Honor MagicPad 4 surprised us by being a genuinely iPad-rivaling slate in testing this year. For a lower price than the latest iPad Air, the MagicPad 4 offers a thin and lightweight design, a stunning OLED screen, an excellent eight-speaker stereo setup, and near-unbeatable update support. Here’s hoping Honor continues its hot streak into 2027.

Read our full Honor MagicPad 4 review

Best eReader

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025)

The last 12 months have seen plenty of great ereaders and digital note-takers come to market, but the Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025) has become our go-to recommendation for those after an ereader/notebook hybrid. It's pricey, yes, but the Scribe’s 11-inch E Ink Carta 1300 display is a joy to behold.

Read our full Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025) review

Cameras & drones

Camera of the Year

Sony A7R VI

Perfect ratings are rare, but the A7R VI earned five stars with its 66.8MP stacked full-frame sensor, image stabilization, new processor and improved subject-detection autofocus, which combine for class-leading quality and performance. Whether you shoot landscape photography or action, the A7R VI can handle it all, and its excellent handling and new and improved battery was the cherry on the cake. Our verdict? "Sony can stop making cameras now."

Read our full Sony A7R VI review

Brand of the Year

Sony

Following a relatively quiet year, Sony has stood out in 2026 with three top cameras and a raft of new lenses. We gave a perfect five-star rating to the Sony A7R VI, which received high praise from our veteran Cameras Editor who said it had "no weaknesses". The A7 V took top spot in our best mirrorless cameras guide, while the RX10 V revived bridge cameras and extended Sony’s lead at the top in this category. Add Sony’s stellar macro lens to the mix and this award was inevitable.

Camera Innovation of the Year

Antigravity A1

The Antigravity A1 was a first-of-its-kind drone, one that can shoot true 360 degree video thanks to its dual camera array. The Insta360-backed company effectively gave us an airborne Insta360 X5, with immersive 8K video recording that sees in every direction. At the launch event, we donned the company’s goggles and followed racing cars around a track, and the whole experience was intuitive — but most of all immersive. You don’t need to worry about framing the shot, because that happens later using Insta360’s clever software, which can frame and compile videos after the fact.

Read our full Antigravity A1 review

Best Beginner Camera

OM System PEN

It was a tight call between the OM System PEN and the Lumix L10, but ultimately we felt that the PEN is the better starting point for beginner photographers, at a much lower price point. Not only is the PEN easy on the eye, but it features image stabilization, a rangefinder-style EVF, a weatherproof body, and a host of clever computational photography modes that smartphone upgrades will feel at home with, and that encourage creativity. A huge choice of lenses and a new weatherproof kit lens complete the package.

Read our OM System PEN review

Best Mid-range camera

Sony A7 V

The mid-range full-frame category is fiercely contested by Canon, Nikon, Sony and Panasonic, but Sony stole back its crown with the new A7 V, in a year that Canon also released the stellar EOS R6 Mark III. Between those two 5-star cameras, we felt the A7 V had the (slight) edge overall; there's nothing to choose in terms of resolution, but the A7 V has a partially stacked sensor for what should be quicker readout speeds, plus snappier subject detection autofocus, wider dynamic range, versatile flip-and-tilt screen, and class-leading battery life.

Read our Sony A7 V review

Best Professional Camera

Sony A7R VI

It’s actually been a quiet year in the professional camera category, but that's probably good for the other companies, because the A7R VI would’ve been hard for anyone to compete with. It ups the bar with a class-leading 66.8MP full-frame stacked sensor that's backed up with the power, speed and pro-grade body that make the camera a formidable tool in any pro photography scenario. We shot landscape, portrait and wildlife photography, and the pro camera thrived in all situations.

Read our full Sony A7R VI review

Best Compact and Instant Camera

Ricoh GR IV

Being intimately familiar with the GR III, we were super excited about the GR IV launch and the upgrades it would bring. A new 26MP APS-C sensor with five-axis stabilization and improved battery life topped the improvements, but we’ll have to keep fingers crossed for next time for the improved build quality, a tilt screen and built-in-flash we wished for. Even still, the GR IV can shoot the best quality photos from a truly pocketable camera, with a dedicated Monochrome edition that came alter to boot. The price hike stung, but no other brand is making a compact like Ricoh is.

Read our Ricoh GR IV review

Best Action and Vlogging Camera

DJI Osmo Pocket 4P

It’s been a busy year in this category, with Insta360 and DJI in particular trading blows. First came DJI's Pocket 4, which was a modest upgrade of the Pocket 3, but DJI had something extra special up its sleeve; a twin-lens gimbal camera Pocket 4P, which would change the game for vlogging. Insta360 then tried to steal DJI’s thunder with its innovative Luna Ultra's twin lenses and removable remote module — but DJI's Pocket 4P feels like the more polished of the two, and the one we have found ourselves turning to more often for shooting stabilized 4K content.

Read our DJI Osmo Pocket 4P review

Best Camera Lens

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | Art

Lenses is a competitive category year after year, and 2025-2026 was no different, with a top Sony macro optic, Nikon's slimmed down 70-200mm f/2.8 and a number of superb-value Viltrox optics. However, we must recognize innovation and give credit where it's due, which is why Sigma’s first 135mm telephoto lens with a f/1.4 aperture blew us away. Bulky, yes, but we gave it five stars in our review, calling the 135mm F1.4 DG / Art the 'bokeh master' — if you want the dreamiest portraits, look no further.

Read our Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | Art review

Best Camera Accessory

Insta360 Mic Pro

DJI and Insta360 have been trading blows all year, but it was Insta360’s Mic Pro that was the final piece of the jigsaw for the 360 camera maker’s ecosystem. Insta360 fans using the likes of the class leading X6 360-degree camera, Ace Pro 2 action cam and Luna Ultra vlogging cameras can enjoy all the benefits of direct compatibility with one of the best wireless mics we’ve ever tested — mixing and matching their camera with a third party mic is no longer necessary. And what a mic it was — the Mic Pro has DJI-beating noise cancellation and an eye-catching, customizable e ink display.

Read our Insta360 Mic Pro review

Best Drone

DJI Avata 360

First came the Antigravity A1 drone, and then came the DJI Avata 360, which felt like the more polished and versatile 360-degree drone of the two. Where the A1 has two fixed lenses to capture 360-degree footage, the Avata 360’s twin lenses are mounted to a gimbal which can rotate 90 degrees to switch between regular (front-facing) single-lens and top/bottom facing 360-degree use. The product also joins DJI's existing Avata ecosystem, which already includes superb FPV goggles and motion controller accessories. Bottom line — the A1 came first, but the Avata 360 upped the bar, and it costs much less.

Read our DJI Avata 360 review

Computing

Laptop of the Year

Apple MacBook Neo

If there's one laptop that has made the biggest impact in 2026, then it's the MacBook Neo. When Apple announced its brand-new MacBook earlier this year, along with the impressively-affordable starting price of $599 / £599 / AU$1,049, it sent shockwaves through the industry. That might sound like hyperbole, but by releasing a budget laptop that still features a premium-feeling (and looking) design and without too many compromises when it comes to features and performance, the MacBook Neo shook rival PC makers out of their complacency and got them to up their budget laptop game. We had numerous laptop makers freely admit that they were releasing $600 laptops to challenge the MacBook Neo. For the sheer impact alone, the MacBook Neo has to be our pick as laptop of the year.

Read our full MacBook Neo review

Computing Brand of the Year

Nvidia

Once again, Nvidia has dominated the computing industry this year — all without releasing a new consumer graphics card. While the AI bubble, and Nvidia's role in it, continues to have a huge impact on the computing industry, the company has continued to innovate. DLSS 4.5 brought improved image quality to Nvidia's upscaling tech, while also introducing 6x Multi Frame Generation that can help improve gaming performance, especially on lower-end cards. Nvidia also released RTX Spark, its Arm-based System-on-Chip (SoC) aimed at taking on Apple's M-series chips, especially in regards to creative and local AI tasks. Even its controversial DLSS 5 feature has won over some critics since its announcement.

Best Computing Innovation

Intel Arc G3 Extreme

This year's release of the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip — yes, another SoC, this time one that's been specifically designed for mobile gaming devices by concentrating on graphics performance and power efficiency. So, it's not surprising that it is the beating heart of many of the most powerful and exciting PC gaming handhelds that have come out this year, including the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, Acer Predator Atlas 8, and OneXPlayer 3. They're all expensive, sadly, but they offer truly brilliant gaming performance in even the most graphically-intensive titles, and the Intel chip is why.

Best Value Laptop

Dell XPS 13 (2026)

While we were very tempted to give the MacBook Neo our award for the best value laptop of 2026, we've actually gone for one of the laptops it influenced: this year's XPS 13. In the past, Dell's XPS 13 laptop was a premium thin and light laptop, but Dell relaunched it as an affordable alternative to Apple's laptop, initially targeting the same $600 starting price. This isn't a conspiracy — Dell explicitly compared the XPS 13 to the MacBook Neo when showing off the laptop to us. The reason we're giving the XPS 13 the edge is that it feels like Dell made fewer compromises with its affordable laptop, especially when it comes to backlit keyboard and faster USB-C ports.

Read our full Dell XPS 13 (2026) review

Best AI Laptop

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