The NexPhone could already be the most important hardware launch of 2026 — here's why

1. Computing
2. Software
3. Windows

The NexPhone could already be the most important hardware launch of 2026 — here's why Opinion By Darren Allan published 24 January 2026

NexPhone is an exciting glimpse of the future of computing — and in the here and now, it could help avoid the pain of PC price hikes

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This week, the NexPhone has been making serious waves. In case you missed the revelation of this piece of hardware, it's a three-operating-systems-in-one smartphone, a seriously clever idea that's set to ship in Q3 2026, and it caught me completely by surprise.

The 6.6-inch NexPhone runs Android, as well as desktop Linux and Windows 11. As was made clear when we interviewed the CEO of the maker Nex Computer, it's essentially trying to bridge the gap between the phone and the PC by turning that phone into a computer.

So, it's a phone that can be a phone (obviously), but it can also boot a desktop OS and effectively be a computer, either running that environment on the small phone display – with tweaks so the OS works better here – or more ideally, connected to an external monitor of some kind, with Windows or Linux depicted in its full glory.

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It's not a new idea, but the way it's done here is very remarkable. You can boot to Android or to Linux (Debian) and still access all your files on the Android system. Or you can go in another direction entirely, and boot Windows 11 (without Android file access, mind) – but this isn't some cut-down flavor of Microsoft's desktop OS. This is full-blown Windows 11.

Why am I so stoked about this prospect? Well, firstly, it's just really cool to think you can have your Windows 11 setup accessible on your phone, to the point that it's just a matter of plugging in the handset to a monitor, and away you go (with some additional input peripherals, naturally).

You'll be able to run all your Office apps on the NexPhone when it's acting as your Windows 11 PC and carry out other basic computing tasks. I've seen people worried that the admittedly somewhat old mid-range ARM mobile CPU (it goes back half a decade or so) might struggle running Windows 11, but based on YouTube footage of the device in action, which has been aired this week, it seems like the OS should work fine with the basics.

Of course, you won't be able to do anything remotely demanding – but for emails, browsing, dipping into Office, and so on, it all looks relatively okay in performance terms. There's 12GB of RAM backing up the Qualcomm CPU, incidentally, which should be enough. It's also worth noting that the CPU has been picked for its long-term support, with 10 years of that in the pipeline, a comforting prospect.

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Money talks

(Image credit: Nex Computer)

The second thing that excites me about the NexPhone is its potential to save people money. While it's more targeted as a secondary phone, or work smartphone (it's a rugged model, incidentally), I can see a market for this later in 2026 for people who are priced out of buying a PC, perhaps.

We've got the RAM crisis, of course, and SSD prices are also heading skywards, so it's no secret that PCs are going to become a good deal more expensive this year. Indeed, these price hikes are widely predicted to get even worse before the situation improves (or even stabilizes), and the reality is that some folks may need to buy a new computer in 2026, but may not be able to afford one. Even though their current PC may be in dire need of replacement and on its very last legs.

If they're also mulling a new (affordable) phone in the near future, the NexPhone could be a tempting middle ground that gives them entry to both worlds. The $549 price will effectively secure two devices: a new mid-range smartphone and a Windows 11 (or Linux) PC. That could seem quite the bargain in a time of spiralling prices (RAM has got truly ridiculous now).

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For this niche set of buyers, the NexPhone could be a way to sidestep this whole PC pricing nightmare. It's your phone, it's your PC, and if you get (or already have) a portable display (and Bluetooth keyboard), it could be your laptop, too.

Just scratching the Surface

The final reason the NexPhone is a truly intriguing development is not the device itself, but what it points to in the future. Now this hardware exists – and if the reality of how useful it seems actually pans out, it'll surely pave the way for others to make similar devices.

Even if performance does feel a bit wonky with the Windows 11 side of the equation on the NexPhone, which is one of the main points of skepticism – that and 'who wants Microslop Copilot on a phone' (just use the Linux desktop, then) – a beefier version of such a phone can remedy that.

Further to that, here's another thought: maybe this could prompt Microsoft to consider creating its own higher-end version of this concept? I may be wrong, but I've got a feeling the NexPhone could be a very important step forward in terms of bringing together the worlds of mobile and desktop computing, which, one way or another, is going to be the future.

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TOPICS Windows 11 CATEGORIES Phones Desktop PCs Darren Allan

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

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