Tech gifts to watch for Black Friday 2026
Black Friday is only a few weeks away, and the holiday shopping season is already taking shape. If you’re building a tech wish list—or looking for a gift for someone else—these are some of the notable electronics released in 2026.
There’s no getting around the cost. Gadgets are pricey, and the ongoing memory shortage has pushed prices up further. A CNET survey found that families plan to spend less on technology gifts this Christmas, making it especially important to get good value for your money.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday could bring some of this year’s most sought-after devices down in price. It’s hard to know in advance which ones will be discounted, but these are the launches worth keeping an eye on.
Foldable smartphones
Foldable phones had a big year. Samsung introduced the first Galaxy Fold in 2019, and other manufacturers gradually joined the category. Apple, which had held back until now, finally unveiled its first foldable phone this fall.
The iPhone Duo has a 5.4-inch outer screen that opens to reveal a 7.6-inch display. The larger screen gives it a tablet-like feel—almost like carrying a small iPad Mini in your pocket.
It runs on Apple’s A20 Pro chip, designed to support the company’s latest Siri AI features. The chip also handles demanding games such as Genshin Impact, Roblox and No Man’s Sky, which recently arrived on iOS and iPadOS.
The catch is the price. The 256GB model starts at $1,999, while the 2TB version costs $3,199. Stock is limited, too: some orders placed through Apple’s website aren’t expected to ship until January. If you find one available elsewhere, you may want to move quickly; otherwise, it could be a long wait.
Samsung also released a wide-format foldable this year. The Galaxy Z Fold8 has a 5.5-inch cover display that unfolds into a 7.6-inch screen. Its Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, made for Galaxy phones, is built to handle everyday use, AI features and games.
Unlike the iPhone Duo, the Z Fold8 is generally available without major shipping delays. It’s still expensive, starting at $1,899.99 for 256GB and reaching $2,499.99 for 1TB. The phone was discounted during October’s Prime Day sales, so another price drop during the holiday season seems possible.
Conventional smartphones
Samsung and Apple both made notable changes to their flagship phones this year.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra adds a privacy display that limits what people beside you can see. It can dim parts of the screen across the board, or focus on sensitive information such as passwords and banking details. The feature comes at a cost: Samsung recently raised the phone’s price to $1,399.99. Current deals may bring it down temporarily.
Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro models use the company’s first 2nm processor, the A20 Pro. It’s intended for demanding AI tasks that run on the device and graphics-heavy activities, including extended gaming. Apple has also added a vapor chamber to help keep the phones cool under heavy workloads. The starting price is $1,199, up $100 from last year.
Google’s Pixel phones are a harder recommendation this time around, largely because of the company’s Tensor chip. Google has focused on on-device AI, while CPU and graphics performance have continued to lag behind some competitors. The Tensor G6 offers only modest improvements, with benchmark results comparable to an iPhone 15 from 2023. At $1,099, the Pixel 11 Pro is difficult to justify at full price. Waiting for a sale—or choosing the $899 Pixel 11—may make more sense.
Top laptops
Laptops got a little more interesting this year, with Nvidia and Apple bringing new ideas to a crowded market.
Nvidia, known for its gaming hardware and AI technology, announced a new range of Windows laptops using its RTX Spark chips, developed with MediaTek.
The RTX Spark N1X is an ARM-based processor intended to run open-source AI models locally. It comes in two configurations, with the highest offering a 6,144-core CUDA GPU and a 20-core CPU. The laptops are aimed at AI creators, but some can also run games from stores such as Steam, with ray tracing and DLSS 5 support.
Nvidia worked with six Windows PC makers on the launch: Microsoft, Dell, ASUS, HP, Lenovo and MSI. Prices are steep, starting at $2,599 and climbing beyond $4,000 for higher-end configurations.
Apple introduced two very different MacBooks this year. The MacBook Neo is its lower-cost model, with a 13-inch display, an aluminum body and several color options. It includes 8GB of memory and up to 512GB of storage, with an A18 Pro chip—the same processor used in the iPhone 16 Pro lineup. It isn’t as powerful as other Macs, but its $699 starting price could make it a practical choice for students or everyday use at home.
At the premium end, Apple launched its first MacBook with a touch screen: the MacBook Pro with a PROLED XDR display. Buyers can choose a 14-inch or 16-inch screen, an M5 Pro or M5 Max chip, between 24GB and 128GB of memory, and storage options from 1TB to 16TB.
The base 14-inch model starts at $2,899. A fully configured 16-inch version costs as much as $14,549—an eye-watering sum. There are plenty of configurations in between, though, so a capable model doesn’t have to cost quite that much.
More to come
This is only part of the 2026 holiday tech list. Tablets, wearables and accessories are still to come, and some could be worth watching as Black Friday approaches.
