The best AI-powered smartphones are the new favorites of the mobile community in 2026. The rapid evolution of generative AI has forced every smartphone brand to incorporate artificial intelligence in its devices. Running language models locally has become a baseline standard, while neural-driven camera systems enhance the quality of captured photos and videos.
However, with the abundance of products on the market, it can be difficult for potential buyers to choose the best AI-powered smartphones in India. This article discusses five of the best picks to help buyers shortlist.
Some of the best AI-powered smartphones in India
Here is a list of the best AI-powered smartphones in India
- Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
- Google Pixel 10 Pro
- Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
- OnePlus 15
- Nothing Phone 3a
1) Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
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The Samsung S26 Ultra features a flagship SoC (Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5) with a 39% faster neural processing unit (NPU) for AI-readiness. The phone features a Photo Assist tool, which helps you make studio-level edits with simple prompts. Galaxy AI proactively analyzes your screen to suggest instant actions, such as adding events to the calendar. The System UI also summarizes chat threads on the Notifications bar and consolidates updates like weather, calendar events, and more.
2) Google Pixel 10 Pro
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Google’s Gemini makes the Pixel 10 Pro one of the best AI-powered smartphones currently available in India. It uses Google’s in-house flagship-tier Tensor G5 SoC with a heavily upgraded TPU delivering up to 60% more computing power for machine learning tasks. The Gemini Live feature helps you hold a fluid conversation with Google’s AI. It is among the first mobiles with Native Gemini Nano Support, enabling it to run genAI like Magic Cue for real-time translated calls.
Google also incorporated an AI feature called Camera Coach in the Pixel 10 Pro to help you capture better photos with step-by-step guides. The Summarise option can deliver a bullet-point synopsis of any recording. It also includes the Circle to Search AI feature, which helps you instantly search for any onscreen text or image on Google.
3) Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
This flagship smartphone from Apple features Live Translation in Messages, FaceTime, and Phone apps that help you to communicate in any language. Apple’s Image Playground has a built-in ChatGPT support for custom style-based prompts. The AI Writing Tools in the contextual menu help you proofread or rewrite entire sections, and the Notes app can transcribe recordings as well.
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However, a phone must also feature a powerful SoC to run the AI features smoothly. Apple incorporated its in-house A19 Pro chipset with a 16-core Neural Engine and neural accelerators. A dedicated neural accelerator for each of the six GPU cores delivers potent on-device neural processing speeds, allowing for complex generative AI (genAI) tasks to be carried out locally. Such powerful specs and features make it one of the best AI-powered smartphones in 2026.
4) OnePlus 15
The OnePlus 15 is among the best premium AI-powered smartphones in India in 2026. It features the Plus Mind AI Memory Hub as a centralized workspace for organizing textclips, voice memos, links, and more. The integrated global search option helps you use natural language to control the device. The AI Perfect Shot automatically locates and fixes imperfections in your photos, while the AI Reflection Eraser removes glares, window pane reflections, and more from photos.
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The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset features a tri-chip setup for faster multitasking. This chipset also makes the smartphone AI-ready with 39% faster NPU than previous generations. The massively upgraded NPU can run advanced LLMs smoothly.
5) Nothing Phone 3a
The Nothing Phone 3a features a popular mid-range Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset. Despite being a mid-range SoC, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 helps the device run models like Llama 2, a powerful text summarization tool. The Hexagon NPU delivers over 30% better performance than previous-generation chipsets.
The Phone 3a comes with impressive AI features like Circle to Search and Gemini Live, just like the Pixel phone. It also comes with Essential Space, Nothing Hardware’s unique AI-powered productivity hub for your screenshots, voice notes, and important links. The Essential Search feature dials into your contacts, calendar, and more, and can also help you with web searches in your natural language.
Edited by Sandeep Banerjee
