Apple raised the price of its Pro iPhones by $100 this year. The base iPhone 18 Pro now starts at $1,199 and the Pro Max at $1,299, and CNET lists the cost as the main drawback of both. Here is how that and the rest of its phone picks stack up.
Apple
The 18 Pro Max earns praise for outstanding cameras, especially in low light and at night, a sturdy build, and Focus Tracking that keeps fast-moving subjects such as a kid or pet sharp. Fast charging added 77 percent to its battery in 30 minutes. A Reference Image feature gets a nod too, welcome while AI-altered imagery floods feeds. The complaints: it weighs 249 grams, which tires the wrist, and Camera Control cannot adjust aperture or shutter speed. Apple Intelligence still feels like a work in progress.
Yet CNET’s pick for most people is the older iPhone 17, at $929 or $899 through a carrier. It gained a 1-120Hz variable refresh rate, always-on display, a 3,000-nit peak brightness and an anti-reflective screen. Ceramic Shield 2 gives three times the scratch resistance, Apple says. Storage starts at 256GB, up from 128GB on the iPhone 16, and the ultrawide camera jumps from 12 to 48 megapixels. In CNET’s three-hour streaming test, the battery fell from 100 percent to 89 percent, against 86 percent for the iPhone 16. Photography fans and heavy users should look at the 17 Pro or 18 Pro for the telephoto lens and longer battery life, while lighter users can save with the $599 iPhone 17E.
In October 2026 CNET added the iPhone Duo, a foldable. It runs iOS 27 across both displays, has a matte inner screen that cuts glare and hides the crease, an IP68 rating, and 48-megapixel wide and ultrawide cameras. It lacks Face ID and a telephoto camera, and left-handed people may find the right-side controls awkward one-handed.
Samsung and Google
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is the thinnest and lightest Ultra, at 7.9mm and 214 grams. Its standout is a Privacy Display that hides the screen from onlookers and can be toggled for banking apps or the lock screen. Horizontal Lock keeps video level while the phone rotates 360 degrees. The battery lasts well over a day and a half, with 60-watt wired charging. Camera specs match last year’s, and the price is steep.
The standard Galaxy S26 costs more than last year’s model, starts at 256GB, runs a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 with 12GB of RAM, and gets seven years of software and security updates. CNET calls it an easy all-around choice that does not win any single category. Its charging is a slow 25W, and most upgrades are software.
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 has a squat, passport-sized body, a 7.6-inch inner display with a 4:3 shape and a 5.5-inch cover screen. Google’s Pixel 11 Pro gets slimmer bezels, a slightly larger cover screen and plenty of AI and software updates, though CNET says its cameras and battery step down from other Pixel 11 Pro models and the lack of an anti-reflective display makes the crease more obvious.
