Behemoth batteries and ultra cameras – smartphones are taking an interesting new direction
While tech bands push the AI message, it's hardware that still resonates
Quick summary
The first phones announced for 2027 show a leap in camera specification backed up by huge battery capacity designed to extend the experience for longer.
With new hardware powering these devices, it's hardware features that buyers actually want, while AI features are pushed by manufacturers.
Every year in September there's a flurry of smartphone launches. It's a relatively recent phenomenon, with the impetus coming from Apple's iPhone launch, which has taken place each September since 2012.
Brands that once launched in February are now launching in September, as if to say that anything Apple can do, we can do better. That competitive drive has also pulled supply chain launches forward. For example, Snapdragon Summit - which sees the launch of new Snapdragon hardware to power new devices - now takes place in September, rather than its slot 5 years ago, which was in November.
The emerging trend is clear, however: smartphones are now packing in huge batteries and ultra-tier cameras, looking to push these devices into a whole new experience.
Battery life remains top of consumer wants
Battery life has long been at the top of smartphone buyers' wish lists. That was verified in a YouGov survey (albeit from 2023), ratified in a CNET survey in 2026, and it's playing out in real time thanks to the evolution of silicon-carbon tech.
The move from lithium-ion to silicon-carbon batteries comes with a downside, but it's led to battery capacities that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. We recently reported on Honor's phone that is launching with an 11,000mAh battery - that's double what you'll find in the iPhone 18 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.
That's not an isolated case. Following the announcement of Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 hardware (which for the first time also comes in an Extreme version), we saw the announcement of the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max, with an 8500mAh battery, while the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max has an 8000mAh battery.
These phones are not only expanding the physical capacity of their batteries (in many cases paired with fast charging too), but with the core hardware moving to 2nm and driving new efficiencies, multi-day use should become commonplace.
The camera is still a key battleground
If you watched the launch of the new iPhone 18 Pro, you'll have noticed that the very first frame of the intro video was dedicated to the camera. While Siri AI and performance were the first topics discussed, the camera section took up nearly 30% of Apple's presentation of the new iPhone. That highlights just how important the camera still is for smartphone users.
While Apple settled on variable aperture (a feature that I've tried and is really impressive) the big spec battle rages elsewhere. It's no longer about flagship phones, it's about ultra phones with ultra cameras. The "ultra" naming trend, started by Samsung, is wearing thin with multiple brands choosing the Pro Max name instead, but the trend remains.
Big cameras are in, and the best-dressed smartphones for 2027 will have one, two, or maybe three 200-megapixel sensors. Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra with its solitary 200-megapixel main camera looks a little under-specced, while the Honor Magic 9 Pro Max is set to come with two 200-megapixel cameras, developed with ARRI. (It also has an 8800mAh battery.)
The Xiaomi 18 Pro has a dual 200-megapixel camera developed with Leica, while the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max has no less than three 200-megapixel cameras developed with Hasselblad. The Motorola Signature 27 also gets a 200-megapixel telephoto camera, not to be left out.
Gargantuan housings and snap-on telephoto lenses offering 200x zoom are now common, leaving the humble 48-megapixel sensor feeling a little pedestrian.
We've been through this megapixel race before, however, and we know that more megapixels don't make for better photos. Large sensors, precise image processing and quality lenses do make a difference, which is why we see names like Hasselblad and Leica lending their weight to proceedings.
Hardware matters, but software gets highlighted
These hardware trends for 2027 point to smartphone makers addressing things that real customers want, but that often seems at odds with the message that brands push.
Samsung's recent Galaxy Z launch was dominated by new Galaxy AI features, much of the talk at Snapdragon Summit was about the power for AI that the expanded NPU (neural processing unit) can supply, while Apple's iPhone launch focused on Siri AI for a large part.
AI is in its ascendency, the so-called tech bros whipping the industry into a frenzy over the potential that AI brings, but so often landing in a frivolous feature, like cartoony image generation, or something that wants to make decisions for you that you could easily make yourself.
According to Pew Research, only 10% of Americans reported being excited about AI, while 50% say they are more concerned than excited. Equally, research from Stanford University suggests that anxiety around AI is rising globally.
While the AI message that tech brands want to push might not land as they expect, the promise of longer battery life and a camera that's even more capable should give smartphone buyers the features that they actually want in 2027's best smartphones.
