In 2025, many developments occurred in the field of technology and AI. New technologies and gadgets have released and revolutionized the global market, and new AI chatbots, LLMs, and other use cases have been open to the general public for more construction, idea generation, and much more! So today, let us see what people, companies, and corporations have visualised for the next year : 2026!
First up, let’s discuss the global smartphone market. Let’s begin with the one company that everybody knows about : Apple. Apple is a company which produces technology like phones, tablets, computers, and more, but it is most famous for its iPhones. Last year, they released their newest model : the iPhone 17. However, it seems that this year, they will NOT release a new lineup! For years, you were able to set your calendar by Apple’s iPhone releases, which usually released every fall. Although this has been going on for way over a decade, it seems that they will only be releasing the iPhone 18 in 2027!
There will also be some gaming phones for the people who want to play heavy games on mobile. For these guys, phones such as the ASUS ROG Phone 9 and the RedMagic 10 Pro will be coming out. As for a budget option, the iQoo Neo 10 and the Poco F7 GT will be available.
Samsung on the other hand, will be revealing the next model in the Galaxy lineup : the Samsung Galaxy S26 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra! OnePlus will also be releasing their new model : the OnePlus Ace 6T, which seems to hold some promise! There will also be a lot of new foldables and flipphones available.
Next, lets talk about computers. This year, the focus will be computers which are powered by AI-chips, which is supposed to make the computer more powerful, and these chips will be powered by companies like Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm. As for hardware computers, Intel will be releasing their Panther Lake, and LG will introduce its LG Gram. Apple will also be releasing their brand new lineup of Macbook Pros and Airs, as well as a new potential budget Macbook for new customers.
There are also talks of rollable screens, dual-screen laptops, and many more innovative designs. New motherboard supporting technologies like PCIe5.0 and DDR6 RAM are expected to become standard. Mini PC’s will also be getting more upgrades, with new models featuring the latest AMD Ryzen AI 9 H 465 chip and Intel Core Ultra 7 366H processors.
The GPU market expects to see the launch of Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 50-series and AMD’s Radeon RX 9000 series graphics cards, with a strong focus on AI upscaling technologies like DLSS 4.
Now we enter the field of AI and robotics. Moving beyond simple chatbots, AI’s will be able to plan, reason and execute complex, multi-step tasks autonomously across different applications, which helps a lot for people, basically making them a digital employee.
AI is also slowly converging into robots, which is seen in a LOT of places worldwide. For example, companies are starting to use AI to automate jobs, and making physical versions of themselves, like Elon Musk’s Optimus AI robot which is still being developed. Many cafes in Japan and South Korea have also started incorporating robots into their livelihoods. A cafe in Japan is fully automated by robots, so humans only have to do the cooking, which surprisingly spares them half the work!
Moving into 2026, people hope AI robots will be used in more variety and in larger denominations. These types of robots, even if they are powered by humans, can help as they help people with disabilities to do daily jobs, even if they cannot physically be present.
However, there is also the problem of AI taking jobs. As AI gets better and smarter and is able to do jobs better than most humans can, then companies would simply get rid of the current employees and just use AI to finish tasks. This can cause major unemployment and cause a loss in the economy. This puts many potentially useful people at risk and causes a loss in skill and knowledge. Humans wouldn’t be appreciated for anything anymore.
Hence, we also have to keep AI in hand, so that we control it instead of it being the other way around. If AI is able to grow so far that it is able to do stuff that is not in OUR control, the entire earth COULD be at risk.
Now lets talk about VR, AR and MR. AR stands for Augmented Reality. This is when you put things that don’t actually exist in your own living environment through the help of a device which allows you to visualise objects. Then there’s VR : Virtual Reality. In this, you use a device, which is usually a headset or a device that is put around your eyes. MR is Mixed Reality, and it is a combination of both AR and VR. Last year, we had the release of the Apple Vision Pro. While it was released as a pro version with no base model, there are rumours of a new version with both base models and pro versions, with even some ideas of a Pro Max edition. Meta will probably release their new lineup of the Oculus Quest. Android XR will also be revamped this year.
Next we have Tablets. Not the tablets that you consume when you get sick, but the tablets that you use as technology everyday. This year, Apple is likely to release their new generation ipads, the Gen 12, and also add an Apple Air with a good chip. They may also release a mini and a budget model, which could be combined in one. The mini will be the eight generation, the first in a few years. They may also release an M5 chip. Samsung will be releasing their Galaxy Tab S12 and the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra, the better version. Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi will release their new lineup. Vivo will also be releasing new models such as the ‘Pad 3 Pro’, and Honor will release their new MagicPad 3. Lenovo will show the new IdeaTab and the Xiaoxin Tab Pro 12.7. Microsoft may release their Surface Pro 12 which has some rumours that it could contain the M5 chip.
Tablets this year will contain more chips and better hardware, with Apple possibly releasing new M5 chips, and a new snapdragon chip. Tablets are getting better nowadays!
Next up, we have the console field. Consoles are very loved by gamers, and many people use them daily to have fun with friends and play games with people online. Many people around the world use them as their main way to communicate and have some enjoyment. So what new advancements will be made this year in the field of gaming and consoles? Let’s see!
First of all, more XBOX hardware will be unveiled and put for sale in 2026, but the new PS6 will not be released until potentially late 2027 or 2028. Then, Nintendo will be releasing more games and extra hardware and extensions for the Nintendo Switch 2, and maybe a few upgrades for the base Nintendo Switch. Now let’s talk about the games getting released. Let’s begin with talking about Grand Theft Auto 6, which is a game which everyone wants to be released soon, and many memes online have been made on it, an example being and i quote, ‘We got the iPhone 17 before GTA 6!’ This game is very popular. However, the game may not be released due to some problems with Rockstar Games, the developer of GTA 6, as they seem to have laid off quite a big amount of employees. Apart from this, the games Marvel’s Wolverine, Resident Evil : Requiem, and Crimson Desert will potentially be released this year. XBOX is also making some of their console exclusive games available on other platforms, which Playstation doesn’t seem to be thinking about expanding yet. Consoles are a huge part of people’s lives, and will continue to be so.
To conclude, 2026 is going to be a big year for technology, as there are a lot of new technology and games coming out, which the public will thoroughly enjoy. However, it does seem like this year has a bit less to offer when compared to the previous years, which had groundbreaking technology. AI will reign supreme this year, as the technology has advanced a lot in the past 2 to 3 years. But many more technological advancements will be made to stop AI from getting too powerful, or at least to the point where it doesn’t start taking jobs and destroying lives. Hardware on phones and tablets are getting much better, and they will continue to do so in the future. The world is truly moving forward at a faster pace, and if we don’t keep up, we will be left in the dust. Finally, let’s hope that this year will be a good and productive year for technology.
Here’s to a great 2026!
By: Pradyun Reddy Chintala
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