Are Fancy Phones From Apple, Google, Samsung Worth the Money?

Though foldables have been around for several years — Samsung was a pioneer — these hybrid phone/tablets are still something of a niche. But they could appeal to older adults with disposable income, given the devices’ relatively large, easier-on-the-eye displays in tablet mode.

Leaning on AI, Better Cameras

All of these mainstream phones rely on varying degrees of artificial intelligence. They boast features that showcase hocus-pocus AI tricks, some but not all of which are useful.

By now, for instance, all the top phones let you edit out unwelcome objects that mar the background of what would otherwise be a very nice photo.

In general, new devices get improved cameras and photo features that sometimes feel incremental, especially if you already have a phone with a decent camera, which most top-echelon devices have had for several years.

But if you’re constantly taking pictures of the grandkids, say, and it’s been some years since you bought your last phone, you might consider taking the plunge now. The current generation of smartphone cameras is collectively excellent.

New Galaxy cellphone from Samsung

Courtesy Samsung

With the Pixel 10 series, Google has added a potentially helpful Gemini AI-powered feature called Camera Coach. It offers step-by-step tips on lighting, zoom, framing and so on while you’re composing your shot.

You may see Camera Coach provide a recommendation to tilt the phone to focus on something else. Or it may advise to change the zoom, say, to 2x.

For its part, across the new iPhone 17 line, Apple introduced a front camera feature it calls Center Stage that should appeal to people who routinely take selfies — and that’s many of us. With the feature, you no longer have to awkwardly rotate the device to produce selfie pictures and videos in landscape mode. The feature leverages machine learning to adjust the field of view and keep you centered in the frame — a major upgrade.

“Getting rid of objects or people that you don’t want in your frame, combining people together to get the best shot with your eyes open — all of those things are amazing and usable by regular people,” said Avi Greengart, a tech analyst with Techsponential in New Jersey who attended Apple’s event but was speaking more generally about AI and smartphones. “When it comes to ‘Do I want my phone to give me a good-morning briefing?,’ the answer is yes, but I mainly want to know weather and traffic, and you don’t need AI for that.”

Google’s Magic Cue AI tool, new with the latest Pixels, is still in its early stages and according to early reviews has been a mixed bag so far. But the promise is that Magic Cue will anticipate your needs and deliver information on a timely basis, according to Google, by connecting the dots across all your apps.

For example, if your flight is delayed, the Pixel can surface the customer service phone number you need to rebook the trip, without you having to ask first.

With privacy in mind, you’ll have to grant Google permission to scrape the data from your various apps.

For all the attention Google and others are paying to AI, Apple, which is perceived as lagging its rivals in the space, gave the topic relatively short shrift during Tuesday’s event. Most notably, there were no announced enhancements for the Siri personal assistant. Nor did Apple, unlike a year ago, spend much time talking up Apple Intelligence.

Battery Life

Perhaps the number one feature consumers most ask about every year is battery life. Apple is generally coy about the longevity of the batteries in its iPhones, typically employing the vague phrase “all-day battery life” in its descriptions. But it did tout its new top-of-the-line iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max models as having the best-ever battery life of any iPhone, up to 33 hours for the iPhone 17 Pro and 39 hours for the 17 Pro Max.

New iPhone 17 from Apple

Courtesy Apple

Apple accomplished this in part by eschewing a physical SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card in its devices in favor of a digital eSIM, so there’s more space inside for a battery.

Obviously, there’s no extra space for a larger battery on the slim iPhone 17 Air, so Apple introduced a MagSafe battery pack specially designed for the device, even while claiming that this phone too has an all-day battery. The pack magnetically attaches to the back of the Air and in tandem with the phone’s own battery can deliver up to 40 hours of video playback, Apple says.

And across all the iPhone 17s, Apple can adjust battery life on the fly based on how you are using your phone. The feature, part of the iOS 26 software update, is called Adaptive Power Mode. Such intelligent power management features are already on Google and Samsung devices.

Lowering the Cost

Trading in old handsets can lower the sky-high prices for these premium phones to some degree. You can also reduce sticker shock by paying the devices off monthly.

Another key consideration is whether the phone you already own can take advantage of new features that come with free software updates.

In the case of the iPhone, that’s iOS 26. This latest mobile operating system will be available to iPhones dating back to 2019’s iPhone 11, though new enhancements that rely on Apple Intelligence AI require an iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 series, or one of the all-new iPhone 17 models.

Among the iOS 26 enhancements are live translation tools that can help you communicate in real time with people who don’t speak the same language as you. With this feature Apple is playing catch-up with Samsung and Google. You can do live translation wearing the new Apple AirPods Pro 3 earbuds that Apple also announced at its event on Tuesday.

Also coming via iOS 26 is a feature where the iPhone can wait on hold for you while you wait for a live customer-service agent to come on the line.

Android’s most recent facelift arrived via its Android 16 operating system, which Google hopes to make more personal through what it calls Material You Expressive design. It came first to the new and some older Pixels, with versions of the software also made available on some Samsungs and other Androids.