The five best tech gadgets worth waiting for in 2026
Here are the top five tech gadgets to anticipate in 2026, including Apple’s M5 MacBook Air, affordable micro-LED TVs, revolutionary foldable smartphones, advanced AR glasses, and AI-powered laptops enhancing battery life. Picture: Michael Sherman/IOL
Image: Michael Sherman/IOL
As always, the new year will usher in a number of products, and 2026 will certainly be one to remember in this regard.
With AI advancing at a meteoric rate, new display technologies driving the prices of TVs, and the usual premium products put out by Apple— it’s a great time to start saving up for a real quality of life improvement.
For me, 2025 felt like a year of refinement rather than revolution, and therefore holding out for a few products that are around the corner makes a whole lot more sense.
Here are five products (in no particular order) worth waiting for in 2026.
Apple’s M5 MacBook Air
The M4 MacBook Air, which was released in March this year, redefined what Apple could produce as their cheapest laptop. It’s now regarded as the best value laptop on the market around the R20,000 mark (the price has fluctuated between R22,499 and R17,999). While no design upgrades are expected, and it will mostly be a spec bump— it’s expected to offer slightly more performance than the M4 for the same price.
In the best value laptop Apple offers, that alone is worth investing in.
Affordable micro-LED TVs may go mainstream
High-quality display technology found in micro-LED TVs is expected to drop dramatically in price in 2026. The biggest hurdle to purchasing a micro-LED has always been the price, and a number of manufacturers are now planning on introducing smaller, more affordable options aimed at competing at entry-level prices.
Truly functional foldable smartphones
Foldable smartphones have been around for a while now, but in 2026, this segment of the market is said to be turned on its head. The biggest indicator of this actually being the case is the fact that Apple is believed to be entering the market with a foldable smartphone. The tech giant is renowned for not actually pioneering new technology but entering the market when it’s confident it can offer the best premium product in that segment.
Even if Apple doesn’t offer the best or come out with a model early in the year, the rumours of its entry into foldables mean competitors will have to up their game if they want to keep up.
Next-Gen AR glasses
Augmented reality glasses have promised a lot and delivered very little — so far. That could change in 2026, as lighter, more powerful AR glasses are expected to arrive from multiple tech giants.
AI-powered laptops that boost battery life
AI has so far been revolutionary in the way it can improve the written word and image editing, but one thing that has so far been lacking is how it helps the performance of a computer.
This is also set to change in 2026, as next-generation chips from Intel, AMD, and Apple promise massive efficiency gains, allowing laptops to run advanced AI tasks locally while increasing battery life rather than draining it.