WhistleOut Awards 2026: Best High Performance Phone
Announcing the phone WhistleOut's reviewers judged the strongest raw performer of the past 12 months.
Winner: Xiaomi 17 Ultra
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra pairs high end specifications with an impressive camera and assertive pricing. At a time when every flagship device keeps getting more expensive, a rival that goes toe to toe with the best while remaining well priced clearly stands out.
Runner-up: OPPO Find X9 Pro
The OPPO Find X9 Pro was Highly Commended for its strong flagship level performance.
An award-winning journalist, Alex has been writing about consumer technology for over a decade.
Fergus Halliday is a journalist and digital content editor at WhistleOut Australia. He’s written about technology, telecommunications, gaming and more for over a decade.
How we judge this award
The Best High Peformance Phone Award looks at the upper echelon of devices released in the past 12 month, and is weighed heavily toward processing power, camera capabilities, and battery life. Value for money is still considered, however.
The Judges
Alex Choros
Fergus Halliday
Digital Content Editor
Past winners
| Year | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | OPPO Find X8 Pro (Highly commended: iPhone 16 Pro Max) | - |
| 2024 | iPhone 15 Pro Max (Highly commended: OPPO Find N3) | - |
| 2023 | iPhone 14 Pro Max (Highly commended: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra) | - |
| 2022 | iPhone 13 Pro Max (Highly commended: Google Pixel 6 Pro) | - |
| 2021 | iPhone 12 Pro Max (Highly commended: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra) | - |
| 2020 | iPhone 11 Pro Max | - |
| 2019 | Huawei P30 Pro | - |
FAQs
Who won Best High Performance Phone in 2026?
Xiaomi 17 Ultra was named the 2026 winner of the Best High Performance Phone award.
Has Xiaomi won this award before?
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra marks the first time Xiaomi has won the Best High Performance Phone Award.
Does WhistleOut get paid by award winners?
No. Award placements are editorially independent of any commercial relationship with providers. See our How We Work page for details on how WhistleOut earns money.
