May is shaping up to be a great month for smartphone releases. Chinese heavyweights Vivo and Oppo will strengthen their portfolios with the launch of their flagship Ultra models. Motorola has something in store for flip phone enthusiasts. There will also be some midrange action this month, with OnePlus bringing back the ‘Lite’ model to its CE series. Here are the major upcoming smartphones in May 2026.
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In This Article
Vivo X300 Ultra and X300 FE
The decked-out Vivo X300 Ultra will hit the market this month alongside the ‘Fan Edition’ variant. The Ultra model packs Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC under its hood. Its 6.82-inch LTPO AMOLED display has a 144Hz refresh rate and supports HDR10+. The camera setup is the biggest highlight of the device. It comprises a 200MP primary shooter, a 200MP telephoto lens with 3.7x optical zoom, and a 50MP ultrawide lens. Buyers can also opt for add-on zoom lenses with 2.35x and 4.7x optical zoom.
Meanwhile, the X300 FE brings a 6.31-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 5,000 nits. It is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset. Its rear camera bar houses a 50MP primary shooter, a 50MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, and an 8MP ultrawide lens. Buyers can also opt for an add-on lens with 2.35x optical zoom.
Launch Date: May 6.
Oppo Find X9 Ultra and Find X9s
Oppo, too, will launch its new Ultra flagship alongside a compact variant this month. The Find X9 Ultra packs the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 under the hood and runs the Android 16-based ColorOS 16 out of the box. Its 6.82-inch LTPO AMOLED display has a 144Hz refresh rate and can reach a peak brightness of 3,600 nits. The camera array comprises a 200MP primary shooter, a 200MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, a 50MP telephoto lens with 10x optical zoom, and a 50MP ultrawide lens. The 7,050mAh battery pack supports 100W wired and 50W wireless charging.
On the other hand, the Oppo X9s has a 6.59-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 3,600 nits of peak brightness. At the heart of the device lies the MediaTek Dimensity 9500s chipset. The triple camera array on the back panel comprises three 50MP sensors, one each for the primary shooter, ultrawide lens, and 3x telephoto lens. The 7,025mAh battery pack supports 80W wired charging.
Expected Launch: Early May.
OnePlus Nord CE6 and Nord CE6 Lite
OnePlus will strengthen its presence in the midrange segment this month with the launch of the Nord CE6 and Nord CE6 Lite. The Nord CE6 is expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset. Its 6.7-inch AMOLED display will have a 144Hz refresh rate. Not much is known about the camera array so far, but it will comprise a 50MP primary shooter. An ultrawide lens will most likely join this sensor. The smartphone will pack an 8,000mAh battery.
After skipping the Nord CE5 series, the ‘Lite’ model will make a comeback in the Nord CE6 series. It will be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Apex chipset. It won’t feature an AMOLED display. Instead, it’ll get a 6.7-inch IPS LCD panel with 144Hz refresh rate. The good news is that it will support expandable storage. Its rear camera array will comprise a 50MP primary shooter and an auxiliary lens. There will be a 7,000mAh battery pack on board.
Launch Date: May 7.
Vivo Y600 Pro
The Vivo Y600 Pro went on sale in China last month. It is expected to get a global release in May. The smartphone packs a massive 10,200mAh battery. It supports 90W wired charging. The 6.83-inch AMOLED display has a 120Hz refresh rate. Powering the device is the MediaTek Dimensity 7300e chipset. Software duties are handled by Android 16-based OriginOS 6. There’s IP68/IP69 protection on board. The rear camera cutout houses a 50MP primary shooter. A 32MP front-facing camera is nestled in a punch-hole cutout on the display.
Expected Launch: Mid-May.
Moto Razr 70 Series
Motorola unveiled its Razr 70 Series last month. The lineup comprises the Razr 70, Razr 70 Plus, and Razr 70 Ultra. The base model will have a 6.9-inch folding LTPO AMOLED display and a 3.6-inch LTPS AMOLED cover display. The Plus model will rock a 6.9-inch LTPO Extreme AMOLED display and a 4-inch LTPS Extreme AMOLED cover screen. Lastly, the Ultra variant will flaunt a 7-inch Extreme AMOLED inner display and a 4-inch cover display.
The base model will be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7450X chipset. Meanwhile, the Plus and Ultra models will have the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 and Snapdragon 8 Elite chipsets under their hoods, respectively. The Ultra variant will have the biggest battery out of all three models – a 5,000mAh unit with support for 68W wired and 30W wireless charging. Interestingly, the base variant will pack a larger battery pack (4,800mAh) than the Plus model (4,500mAh).
Expected Launch: Late May.
iQOO Z11
The global variant of the iQOO Z11 was recently spotted on the Geekbench database, leading us to believe that a May release may be on the cards. The China-spec version of the smartphone flaunts a 6.83-inch AMOLED display with a 165Hz refresh rate and 5,000 nits of peak brightness. It is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8500 chipset, although the global variant is expected to get a Snapdragon processor. The rear camera panel houses a 50MP primary shooter. The 9,020mAh battery pack supports 90W wired charging.
Expected Launch: Mid-May.
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Final Thoughts
These are our 11 most anticipated smartphones in May 2026. Samsung could join the party with the release of a budget Galaxy A series model. Which release are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments!
