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Technology

Mat Gallagher

T3 Awards 2023: Headline award winners announced

Apple Samsung Target (Organization) Sony Currys Garmin LG Sonos Timberland

On Wednesday 7 June 2023, at an exclusive venue in London, we revealed the headline winners in the T3 Awards 2023. We can now share those winners with you here. Earlier in the week, we announced the winners from our technology, home and active categories covering a total of 68 awards, which leaves only our headline and design awards to go.

The eight awards that make up our headliners represent some of our most prestigious accolades. The Brand of the Year celebrates the company that has achieved the most in the last 12 months, while the Product of the Year goes to the single device that has outshone the competition. Retailers in both the UK and US are recognised in their respective awards, while sustainability and tech innovation are highlighted too.

For the first time this year, we also featured a readers' choice award, voted for by our readers, and chosen from a shortlist that was also open to public nomination. The live event also revealed the winner of T3's Best Streaming Service, in association with ShortList, and our Design Awards, in association with Wallpaper*.

As always, picking just one winner for these headline award categories is a tough job, as there are so many worthy contenders. There must be a winner though, and each of these winners truly deserved it. Congratulations to all of our shortlisted entries and to our 2023 winners.

Nowadays, hardcore gaming setups look more like a console from the Starship Enterprise draped in RGB lighting. They’re powerful computing monsters with copious amounts of power for running CPU- and GPU-intensive games without losing quality. Now, with the Asus ROG Ally, that kind of power is distilled into a handheld package. The ROG Ally looks set to dominate the field. It packs a mean spec sheet, which dwarfs the competition – it makes the Steam Deck look like a calculator.

A gorgeous device, it effectively balances looking gamer-centric with generally looking sleek and impressive. It’s also been well engineered to feel comfortable in use: the sculpted ends feel great in the hand, and it’s lightweight enough to never cause fatigue on longer sessions. It’s a big old beast, but that’s to be expected when you’ve got a whopping 7-inch display.

When it comes to hardware, it features a purpose-built AMD Ryzen Z1 processor, with RDNA 3 graphics. This makes for a system that’s fully capable of running AAA titles and intensive indies without breaking a sweat. To help that further, a custom-designed cooling system is in place to maximise performance. The ROG Ally features a Zero Gravity thermal system, where high-friction heat pipes ensure that cooling is always effective, regardless of what angle it’s held at. That’s combined with ultra-thin heatsink fins, which provide a greater overall surface area, and a dual fan system, which keeps everything cool.

Of course, for top-tier gaming, you’re going to want a top-quality display. The ROG Ally delivers in that department too, featuring a 1080p panel with a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth motion. There’s also 500 nits of max brightness, bright enough for most environments.

The headline award winners

Product Of The Year

Sonos Era 300

The Sonos Era 300 takes all-around sound to new levels, handily smashing its rivals in terms of volume and clarity. Whether it’s Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or a direct connection, this is the best one-stop way to listen to just about anything. Even compared to the more expensive Sonos Five, the Era 300 provides a more enveloping sound, partly thanks to the addition of Spatial Audio.

If that sound's not enough, it also comes with a unique design that is unlike any other speaker in the Sonos range. Of course, the benefit of the Sonos system is that this can be paired with other devices for multi-room sound, or even made into a stereo pair with a second Era 300. If you want class-leading sound in your living room from a single speaker, the Era 300 is the best choice right now.

Product Of The Year shortlist

Sky Stream, PlayStation VR2, Apple Watch Ultra, Arlo Pro 5, Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, Bowers & Wilkins PX8.

Brand Of The Year

Nothing

There are very few brands that can create hype around the release of a phone, but Nothing is proving that it can be done outside of Cupertino. The company's founder, Carl Pei launched the company in January 2021, announcing its first earphones, the Nothing Ear (1) in July that year. However, it was the launch of its first phone, the Nothing Phone (1) in March 2022 that really put them on the map.

This year, Nothing's credence has continued to grow, with the launch of its second earphones, the Nothing Ear (2) and the teasing of an upcoming second phone that is expected to launch as early as July 2023. The see-through cases and stark monochrome designs are instantly recognisable and have become highly desirable items. We can't wait to see what Nothing has in store for us next, as we know we'll be talking about them for many years to come.

Brand Of The Year shortlist

Dyson, Samsung, LG, The North Face, Sky, Simba, Garmin, Apple

Retailer Of The Year (UK)

Currys

Currys has spent the last year innovating. It has overhauled its online and off-line customer experience, with new advice programs, an expanded range of kit, and slicker integration between its online and brick-and-mortar efforts, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. The company has expanded its sustainability efforts, given its workers multiple pay rises, and even invested in exoskeletons to boost its warehouse staff over Black Friday. Currys is a retailer that seems to be doing right by everyone.

Retailer Of The Year (UK) shortlist

Amazon, Currys, John Lewis, Argos, Net A Porter/Mr Porter, Very, Box, AO.com, Samsung

Retailer Of The Year

Target

Target offers consumers in the US one of the widest selections of products, and it does this both online and in-store. It boasts 1,943 brick-and-mortar stores in total and a comprehensive website, all offering everything from groceries to TVs. Target also makes a serious effort for inclusivity, with support for events such as Pride Month. Target’s brand collaborations in recent years have seen more than 150 Apple at Target store-in-stores, as well as Disney and Levi experiences.

Retailer Of The Year shortlist

Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Home Depot, Abt Electronics, Adorama, B&H Photo, Target

Sustainability Award

Timberland

Timberland has long been a champion of sustainability, with its Earthkeepers boot – made using entirely recycled, organic and renewable materials – landing way back in 2007. The company launched a ten-year pledge that its products would have a ‘net positive impact’ on nature in 2020, but rarely have we seen such a pledge acted on so quickly. First came regenerative sourcing of leather, then cotton, and now regeneratively grown natural rubber, set to feature in 120 styles this year. Timberland is changing the way supply chains work without sacrificing the quality and diversity of its output. That’s the way it should be done, and a positive example that other companies would do well to follow.

Sustainability Award shortlist

eBay, Patagonia, Panda London, Apple, Arc'teryx

Tech Innovation Award

PlayStation VR2

Tech innovation was certainly in no short supply this year. In the era of advancing artificial intelligence (AI), more trackable security features, and advancing television technologies, of everything the T3 team has seen it's been Sony PlayStation's second-gen virtual reality kit for the PS5 that's really taken us by storm.

Strap this headset on and it'll open up a whole new world of possibilities. It's a truly immersive VR experience with superb eye-tracking technology and a headline first-party game to add further differentiation – Horizon: Call of the Mountain is a special experience for not only VR technology, but the series as a whole.

Playing its part in the advancement of videogames history, adding further ability to story-telling and player interaction, PSVR2 is a stellar bit of kit that, above all else, is just a damn lot of fun. And we all need a slice of fun in 2023.

Tech Innovation Award shortlist:

Sony PlayStation VR 2, LG OLED G3, Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehyde, Apple M2 Max, Satellite SOS Apple, Garmin SetIQ

Readers' Choice Award

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

Apple's smartphone range continues to push forward with each iteration. While the iPhone 14 may have seen to be a more subtle progression, the Pro models took another giant leap, with the introduction of the A16 chip, a 48-million-pixel main camera and the Dynamic Island.

The larger iPhone 14 Pro Max model might not offer any more features but that larger 6.7-inch super retina display and larger battery – capable of up to 29 hours video playback – make it the one to go for.

Readers' Choice Award shortlist

Nothing Phone (1), PlayStation VR 2, Samsung S23 Ultra, Saucony Endorphin Elite, Tower 9 litre Dual Basket Digital Air Fryer, Sonos Era 300, Google Pixel 7 Pro.

Best Video Streaming Service (in association with ShortList)

Apple TV+

Probably the most hotly discussed T3 Awards 2023 winner this year regarded the best video streaming service – and it's no surprise, given the sheer strength of exclusive releases we've witnessed on various platforms, in addition to top access to many of our favourite shows.

From Ted Lasso's latest season to the acclaimed Black Bird, and For All Mankind to Slow Horses, Apple TV+ has accelerated from having a good start to going into overdrive for 2023. It doesn't look like it'll slow down in any way, either, with hot new shows anticipated throughout the year and beyond. Where streaming is concerned, this is 2023's rising star.

Best Video Streaming Service shortlist:

Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, NOW, Paramount+, YouTube Premium

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