Welcome to 2026. Well, welcome to almost 2026 anyway. A new year means new stuff, new features for the stuff we already have, and new companies doing new things. 2026 will give us all of this, but maybe a bit differently than we're accustomed to or expect.
The tech market depends on more than just good ideas and fast chips -- the economy is a driving factor, and that will dictate what we see in the coming year. Combined with supply constraints, I expect all manufacturers to sell fewer products in 2026 than in 2025. Here's why.
One thing that isn't going to change is the breakneck pace of companies racing to outdo each other and "corner" the AI market. It's extremely expensive to keep rolling out the infrastructure, but it's equally lucrative. For every million spent, more than a million comes back.
Some of it will be beneficial; expect breakthroughs in medicine and healthcare, or even ways to farm the food we eat more efficiently. Some will be terrifying: laser guidance weaponry with AI targeting and all the science fiction you can think of.
Some may actually be helpful for us. As tech companies keep trying to make AI into a helpful addition to our daily routine, they bang out a few hits along with the misses. Agentic AI, where your electric buddy tries to help you without asking for it, is going to be a big deal, and you expect to see your next smartphone filled to the gills with it.
Due to the high demand for AI and component manufacturers' limited capacity to meet it, the prices of your gadgets will continue to rise, with "cheap" gear being affected the most.
We'll see plenty of incentives trying to justify it all, like free accessories or free access to otherwise paid services, but that doesn't address the unsolvable issue of supply and demand.
Eventually, I think by mid-year, some company will find a way to tame the price problem. I can see a company with access to cheap labor finding a way to build the $400 flagship-level phone again when the Apples and Samsungs of the world want well over a thousand. It would be a perfect time for an Asian company like TECNO to make the leap to marketing in the West.
When a company has to charge you more than $1,000 for a phone, it has to find ways to make it seem worthwhile. Packing it full of features, both the existing ones we love to use and all the new ones they love to tell us about, is one way to do it.
Unfortunately, another approach is to exclude those features from products with lower profit margins. We already see this on some level; the new features of the Pixel 10 would be fine running on a Pixel 9, but Google wants you to spend $999, so it holds them back. Apple and Samsung do the same.
In 2025, a budget-friendly phone may lack some things the previous model had to entice you to spend more and to save the company, making it a few pennies per unit by not including them. It all sounds petty until you translate those few pennies into 40 million units.
Samsung, for example, will never stop making the Galaxy S Ultra. It's their pride and joy, showcasing what the company is capable of in one sleek, beautiful package. I'm not a fan of everything Samsung does, but as a phone nerd, I love the company's Galaxy S Ultra because it does it all. Others feel the same way about the iPhone Pro Max or the Pixel Pro XL. They go beyond the flagship and are a true showcase.
Ditto for foldables. Samsung will never stop making the Galaxy Z Fold, nor will it stop trying to pack even more into it. Motorola, Google, and all the rest are the same. 2026 may even be the year Apple gives its customers what they want in a foldable phone.
This can't change because enthusiasts will gather torches and pitchforks if it does. The issue ties back to the cost. It will cost even more to add more and build these uberphones, so the manufacturer is forced to charge more.
Fewer people will buy them, but those who do will love using them.
A lot of this sounds like gloom and doom, but really, it's not. Some executives will see a bit less of a bonus, and not as many dollars will end up in corporate accounts, but it will mostly be business as usual, both good and bad. We already see this, and for every great new startup, there is a mass layoff somewhere else.
Companies have planned for times like this, and while we may see one or two pull out of the consumer market, most will stay the course.
We should stay the course as well and accept that sometimes there will be an off year. Maybe you don't buy a new gadget in 2026 because they can't stay in stock, or you can't/won't spend more on one. That's not a big issue -- get ready to do it in 2027!