Expert Reviews Product of the Year Awards: Technology

It’s been an astonishingly busy year for the Expert Reviews team. More tech has passed across our desks in the past 12 months than ever before, and although we’re working remotely, we’ve mastered the art of testing, benchmarking and reviewing from home.

Are we at risk of being turfed out by our friends, partners and pets as their patience wears thin? Yes. Is it worth it to bring you the very best product reviews and impartial buying advice? Absolutely.

We know how challenging it can be to plot a course through the endless aisles of online storefronts looking for the right product, and that’s why we’ve been busy rigorously testing the latest technology to provide you with unbiased, trustworthy advice. We hope that when it’s time to choose a new smartphone, laptop or TV, our verdicts will help steer you towards the perfect model.

As with last year, we’re splitting our Product of the Year awards into two categories: home and tech. This page is dedicated to the latter: from TVs to tablets, dash cams to video doorbells, what follows is a celebration of our favourite technology of 2022.

We’ve selected a winner and a runner-up across 29 different tech-related categories, and then crowned an overall Product of the Year that we feel marks a turning point for the industry.

Welcome to the Expert Reviews Product of the Year Awards 2022.

Tech Product of the Year | Winner

Samsung S95B | From £1,399

It’s been almost a decade since Samsung last released an OLED television, and the S95B proves well worth the wait. Its highly advanced blue OLED panel incorporates quantum-dot layers and the resulting picture quality is superb. Filmmaker mode delivers supremely accurate SDR pictures, and high peak brightness enables the TV to render HDR content with detail, clarity and plenty of punch. Features including 4K/120Hz and Variable Refresh Rate make the S95B a great choice for gamers, too, while the ultra-thin design ensures it has the stylish looks to match its sensational performance. Make no mistake about it, Samsung is back in the OLED TV market with a bang.

Tech Products of the Year

Soundbar of the Year

Winner | Samsung HW-Q990B | £1,599

The Samsung HW-Q990B delivers a level of immersion unmatched by any other soundbar we’ve tested this year. The width of the soundstage is breathtaking, as is the quality of the audio. Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks sound fantastic, with the system generating a sense of sonic envelopment that emulates the feeling of being at the cinema wonderfully well. Not only does the HW-Q990B sound brilliant, but it’s crammed with impactful features such as built-in Alexa, AirPlay 2 support and Q Symphony compatibility with Samsung TVs. But regardless of the television you own, the HW-990B is a soundbar par excellence.

Highly Commended | Devialet Dione | £2,000

Devialet’s debut soundbar is a thing of a beauty and has the audio prowess to match its striking aesthetic. The Dione incorporates a whopping 17 driver units in a 5.1.2-channel configuration and handles Atmos content very capably for a standalone soundbar lacking discrete rear speakers. Devialet’s patented Orb speaker does an exceptional job of articulating dialogue, and it can be rotated to fire forward when the Dione is wall-mounted, which is an ingenious touch. Room calibration and spatial upscaling tech help optimise audio quality no matter where you are or what you’re watching and contribute to a magnificent all-in-one soundbar package.

Value Soundbar of the Year

Winner | Sonos Ray | £279

Sonos has wowed us with some incredible soundbars over recent years, and the Ray continues that rich vein of form. It’s the most compact bar the company has produced, meaning it can be slotted into any home AV setup no matter the size of your TV. But what impressed us most about the Ray is the phenomenal sound it’s able to create given its size. Mids and treble are clear, crisp and balanced, while there’s more bass on show than a bar this small has any right to produce. And with a reasonable price tag to match its diminutive frame, the Ray is unbeatable value, too.

Highly Commended | Creative Stage 360 | £200

Support for the Dolby Atmos audio format typically doesn’t come cheap, but the Creative Stage 360 provides it at a very appealing price. Despite lacking up-firing drivers, it’s able to deliver a pretty convincing sense of sound coming from above you, and audio cues are positioned accurately in what is a broad soundstage. The compact design of the bar is another big plus, while the inclusion of two HDMI inputs in addition to an HDMI (ARC) port is very welcome, too. If you want affordable Atmos to help enhance your televisual experience at home, the Stage 360 is the soundbar to buy.

Bluetooth Speaker of the Year

Winner | JBL Flip 6 | £130

The best Bluetooth speakers keenly balance power, portability and sound quality, and the JBL Flip 6 does so remarkably well. It’s lightweight and supremely easy to carry around, while an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance ensures it can survive just about any weather conditions. The Flip 6 goes extremely loud for a speaker of its size, filling small rooms with ease, and there’s a deeply satisfying weight to its low-end reproduction. Mid-range clarity is excellent, too, and this impressive performance combined with the Flip 6’s rugged, compact housing secure it the title of best Bluetooth speaker of the year.

Highly Commended | Huawei Sound Joy | £100

The Sound Joy is proof that Huawei’s partnership with high-end audio manufacturer Devialet is starting to pay off. The sound quality delivered by the racetrack-shaped driver, tweeter and passive radiators is punchy and energetic – ideal for small gatherings at home or further afield. Effective sonic dispersion makes the Sound Joy an engaging listen outdoors, and with up to 26 hours of battery life, it’s a speaker that keeps going long after the party has wound down. A multi-coloured LED ring adds a welcome flourish of colour, though you’ll need access to the Android version of AI Life to benefit from it.

Premium Headphones of the Year

Winner | Sony WH-1000XM5 | £379

Considering the quality of their predecessors, the WH-1000XM5 have a lot to live up to, and they don’t disappoint. A new design gives them a more minimalist look and serves a practical purpose too, reducing the impact of wind to help boost noise-cancelling performance. That performance remains first rate and benefits enormously from Sony’s super-smart Adaptive Sound Control technology, while a broader soundstage allows for a more detailed sonic presentation. They may be more expensive than the fourth-gen model was at launch, but the WH-1000XM5 improve on their predecessor in just about every way and are the best over-ear headphones we’ve tested this year.

Highly Commended | Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2 | £379

The Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2 exhibit the beautifully balanced audio the UK manufacturer is renowned for and are some of the most attractive headphones on the market to boot. Sonic neutrality doesn’t come at the expense of detail or low-end impact, however – the S2 deliver sparkling treble and rich, satisfying bass. Active noise cancellation is effective at blocking out external distractions, and a comfortable fit ensures the S2 can be worn happily for hours on end. They may not be as clever as the Sony WH-1000XM5, but their combination of accurate audio and sophisticated style makes them a compelling choice nonetheless.

Value Headphones of the Year

Winner | Beats Studio Buds | £160

Once dismissed as overpriced and bass-heavy, Beats headphones have turned a corner in recent times and its Studio Buds offer a great audio experience for a very competitive price. They’re small, lightweight and possess an IPX4 rating, so are perfect for use while exercising, but their sonic chops mean they stand head and shoulders above most buds in their price bracket. Clarity and instrument separation are top notch, and active noise cancellation is great for the money, too. You don’t get all the fancy features you would with the more expensive Beats Fit Pro, but you won’t find better-value headphones this year.

Highly Commended | Creative Zen Hybrid | £100

Creative specialises in affordable products and its Zen Hybrid headphones tick the right boxes if you’re looking for value-for-money noise-cancelling cans. Bluetooth 5.0 ensures solid connectivity, while battery life in excess of 25 hours means you’re covered for long-haul flights and extended listening sessions. The soundstage has decent breadth and instrument separation is impressive as a result, as is the balance between bass, treble and mid-range frequencies. Noise cancellation and ambient modes come in handy in numerous situations, and the Zen Hybrid also benefit from support for Creative’s Super X-Fi holographic audio format, though only when you’re listening to locally stored files.

Wireless Earbuds of the Year

Winner | Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 | £220

It’s a case of third time’s a charm for Sennheiser’s flagship wireless earbuds. The Momentum True Wireless 3 improve on their predecessors in numerous ways – sound quality and noise cancellation are better than ever, the design is more ergonomic and the case can now be charged wirelessly. They also benefit from new smart features, the most useful of which is “Sound Zones”, which applies specific audio settings when you move between registered locations. Thanks to that handy functionality, excellent audio quality and effective adaptive noise cancellation, the Momentum True Wireless 3 are our pick of the wireless earbuds we’ve tested this year.

Highly Commended | 1MORE Evo | £180

1MORE may not have the pedigree of more established audio manufacturers, but its Evo earbuds have all the qualities to succeed in what’s an extremely crowded true wireless market. Their audio is dynamic and impactful, particularly when you’ve created your own bespoke SoundID profile, noise cancellation is effective, and quality-of-life features such as wear detection, customisable touch controls and multipoint pairing all bolster the Evo’s appeal. Add to that an easy-to-navigate companion app and you’ve got a pair of very capable earbuds worth every penny of their reasonable asking price.

Gaming Headset of the Year

Winner | Bang & Olufsen Beoplay Portal | £450

The Beoplay Portal is so much more than just a gaming headset. With active noise cancellation built in and a virtual boom arm replacing the intrusive physical versions found on most gaming headsets, the Beoplay Portal is in many ways the ultimate pair of do-it-all headphones. Stylish to behold and exceptionally comfortable to wear, this is a headset you won’t mind walking out of the house in – and you’ll want to, too, because the Beoplay Portal produces a seriously good sound. In other words, this headset is in its element both at home in front of a gaming monitor and on a packed commuter train. It’s a clear winner.

Highly Commended | Razer Kaira Pro (PlayStation) | £200

There’s not much room for innovation in the world of gaming headsets, but Razer has managed it with the Kaira Pro. This high-end headset has the most refined example of built-in haptics (that is, vibration) we’ve seen thus far, and it’s supplemented with great sound quality and a pair of plush memory foam ear cushions for a properly enjoyable gaming experience. Solid build quality and up to 50 hours of battery life simply sweeten the deal.

Premium Smartphone of the Year

Winner | Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 | From £999

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is an elegantly refined successor to last year’s award-winning foldable. Featuring a handful of upgrades, including superior performance courtesy of the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 CPU, as well as a substantial battery life boost, the Z Flip 4 surpasses the previous model by a huge margin, all without sacrificing that pocketable half-size design we’ve grown to love. Add it all up, and it’s clear that the Z Flip 4 is the best-value folding smartphone yet – nothing else comes even remotely close.

Highly Commended | Oppo Find X5 Pro | £1,049

A sumptuous smartphone in all metrics, Oppo’s Find X5 Pro is truly one of a kind. A flagship that looks the part, with its unique unibody form factor and reflective rear finish, the Find X5 Pro is a stunner with high-end performance to match. The 120Hz display is exceptional, and the 24-hour battery life can’t be missed, either. Pair that with top-notch low-light shooting, and you’re looking at a phone that’s remarkably well rounded.

Value Smartphone of the Year

Winner | Xiaomi Poco X4 Pro 5G | From £259

As far as value is concerned, nothing quite beats the Poco X4 Pro 5G. For a fraction of the cost of this year’s high-priced flagships, the Poco X4 Pro 5G offers a whole lot of stuff for not a lot of money. In fact, it barely places a foot wrong, with its 120Hz AMOLED display, 108MP main camera and stellar battery life. If there were a more prestigious award than a Best Buy award, the Poco X4 Pro 5G would have earned it.

Highly Commended | Motorola Moto G62 5G | £195

The Moto G62 5G is Motorola’s best-value smartphone in years. We were surprised at how little it costs, with the G62 5G going toe to toe with handsets that cost double the price, thanks to its terrific battery life and solid performance. Add the fact that you’re getting 5G connectivity for very little money, and the G62 5G is guaranteed to make an impression for years to come.

Laptop of the Year

Winner | Apple MacBook Air (M2) | From £1,249

The 2022 MacBook Air is a phenomenal machine. It’s thin and light, a redesign has kept it looking fresh and the latest Apple silicon means it’s just about the fastest, most responsive ultraportable we’ve ever used. Couple that with killer battery life and silent running and you have what is perhaps our favourite ever laptop.

Highly Commended | Dell XPS 17 | From £2,099

The Dell XPS 17 is a real Rolls-Royce of a laptop. It’s big, luxurious and an absolute joy to use, and the gloriously expansive 17in Mini-LED touchscreen display is the star of the show. It’s powerful, too, featuring Intel’s 12th Gen Alder Lake silicon and discrete Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-series GPUs. It may be big but this laptop is a real beauty.

Value Laptop of the Year

Winner | Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 | From £529

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is a budget laptop with premium build quality and, for that reason alone, it tops our Value Laptop category this year. But it wins for more than good looks alone. Its 12.4in touchscreen is impressively crisp and colourful, the keyboard is comfortable and, most importantly, even the cheapest model has an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 CPU. It’s a magnificent all-rounder

Highly Commended | Acer Swift 3 (2022) | From £599

The Acer Swift 3 is a stalwart of the budget laptop sector and always delivers on value for money. This year is no exception, with the 2022 model delivering a generous specification for the money and prices starting at £599 at the time we reviewed it for an 11th Gen Intel Core i3, 8GB of RAM and a large 256GB SSD. It’s slim, light and well made, too, with excellent battery life to boot.

Gaming Laptop of the Year

Winner | Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 (2022) | From £2,400

Asus’ gaming laptops have been consistently superb in recent times and the Strix Scar sits right on the bleeding edge. The version we tested crammed in a hugely powerful specification, with a 12th Gen Core i9 CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, 16GB of RAM, 2TB of SSD storage and a stonking 240Hz 1440p display. Combined with a brilliant optical mechanical keyboard and a lovely compact chassis, this is the best all-round gaming machine money can buy.

Highly Commended | Acer Nitro 5 (2022) | From £850

The Acer Nitro 5 (2022) squeezes in a hugely generous specification for the money, including a fast 12th Gen Core i7 12700H CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti graphics for well under £2,000. Coupled with a fantastic 165Hz 15.6in 1080p display, there’s no game that this machine cannot cope with.

Chromebook of the Year

Winner | Acer Chromebook 514 (CB514-1W) | From £399

It’s not often that we can describe a Chromebook as speedy, but the Acer Chromebook 514 is just that. The Pentium Gold processor under the hood keeps things moving at a surprising pace, which means this little laptop can handle your daily workload without breaking a sweat. It’s the best-value Chromebook we’ve encountered, too: despite costing precious little, the CB514-1W is well made, looks good and packs in a remarkable amount of connectivity (including USB-C and a microSD slot) for such a tiny thing. Even the screen defies expectations. It all adds up to our favourite Chromebook of the year and a deserving winner.

Highly Commended | Asus Chromebook Flip CX5500 | From £599

This “speedy and versatile big-screen Chromebook” (as our reviewer put it) takes the Highly Commended spot this year by almost single-handedly reviving its corner of the market. Asus has managed to keep the Flip CX5 slim and light while still delivering a large, good-quality touchscreen, which is no mean feat. Of course, it helps that this is a fast, efficient Chromebook with good battery life and a versatile design.

Tablet of the Year

Winner | Apple iPad Air (M1) | From £569

Apple regularly tops the charts with its iPad releases, but this year’s M1 iPad Air really takes some beating. The fifth-gen iPad Air has inherited the stellar M1 chip from Apple’s Pro range of tablets, and in doing so has been transformed into a remarkably nippy performer. Pair it with Apple’s excellent range of keyboard accessories and the Apple Pencil, and you’ve got a portable workhorse on your hands.

Highly Commended | Amazon Fire 7 (2022) | From £60

Amazon is the undisputed king of budget tablets, and the 2022 Fire 7 is no different. Featuring a handful of improvements including double the RAM, updates to Amazon’s FireOS and a speedier MediaTek processor, the brand-new Fire 7 is as well rounded as ever. It’s a tablet that’s more than worth the magnificently low asking price.

VPN of the Year

Winner | NordVPN | From £2.44/mth

NordVPN picks up a win in the VPN category this year for the second year running. It’s thanks to a stellar combination of performance and features that we’ve yet to see beaten by rival VPNs; Nord consistently sits at the top of our pecking order for speed, privacy and support, making it a formidable all-round choice. It’s been independently audited to prove that it doesn’t store user information and has a straightforward user interface that makes navigating its many features a doddle. Whether you’re just trying to catch up on your favourite TV show while abroad or you’re hoping to avoid the prying eyes of your ISP, NordVPN is the way to do it.

Highly Commended | ExpressVPN | From £4.94/mth

In close second place this year is ExpressVPN, another excellent VPN that’s particularly well suited to streaming. Unfalteringly secure and incredibly easy to use, ExpressVPN has also been independently audited, and it operates a strict no-log policy for maximum peace of mind. In our tests, ExpressVPN proved more than fast enough to stream Netflix in 4K without a hitch, having very little impact on our internet speeds in all but the most demanding cases. A worthy runner-up.

E-bike of the Year

Winner | Tenways CGO600 | £1,499

Representing e-biking in its simplest form, the Tenways CGO600 earns its spot here by carving out a niche in an increasingly crowded market. This is a great torque-sensing bike with a sporty profile and enough grunt for steep hills despite its single gear. It’s packed with features usually attributed to more expensive e-bikes, including alloy rims, fast-rolling, puncture-protected tyres and hydraulic disc brakes, and it’s light enough to carry if needed. Add in a good battery and room for extras – such as mud guards – and it’s not hard to see why the CGO600 comes out on top.

Highly Commended | GoCycle G4 | £3,299

The GoCycle G4 is a commuter’s dream. Our favourite folding e-bike is effortlessly straightforward to use but packed with depth, with a get-on-and-go attitude to cycling underscored by a high level of adjustability available via the GoCycle app. It’s light enough to be carried short distances and comes with mud guards as standard, too, so you won’t be caught out by wet city streets. It’s the perfect bike for anyone with no space for bikes.

Satnav of the Year

Winner | Garmin DriveSmart 76 | £230

Garmin scoops up both awards in this year’s Satnav of the Year category, and it’s the DriveSmart 76 that leads the charge. Nestled comfortably in the middle of Garmin’s range, the DriveSmart 76 is everything a good satnav should be; ease of use is the name of the game here, with a big, clear 7in screen, a straightforward user interface and voice and visual guidance that’s near impossible to misinterpret. Crucially, it’s also excellent at picking out the optimal route and offers plenty of useful info along the way, including live fuel prices. This is the ultimate satnav.

Highly Commended | Garmin DriveSmart 86 | £260

Big sibling to this year’s winning satnav, the Garmin DriveSmart 86 is a worthy runner-up. With a big, bright 8in screen and the same top-of-the-line features found on the DriveSmart 76, this is a mighty satnav for anyone with room for it on their dashboard. Alongside the excellent UI and precise mapping abilities, the DriveSmart 86 also has Bluetooth built in to display smartphone notifications and Amazon Alexa support, too.

Dash Cam of the Year

Winner | Nexar Beam | From £140

The Nexar Beam is an awful lot of dash cam for very little cash. Compact and easily attached to your windscreen, the Nexar Beam connects to your smartphone via built-in Wi-Fi; you can use the Nexar app to reposition the lens and view footage, and it will also automatically back up incidents to the cloud, giving you the option to easily share the footage plus full incident reports with anyone from anywhere. Footage is remarkably good for such an inexpensive dash cam, with very little grain at night or compression in the daylight. On the whole, then, a thoroughly deserving winner.

Highly Commended | Miofive 4K Dash Cam | £150

For luxury at a reasonable price, the Miofive 4K dash cam is our pick. For one thing, the high-resolution footage this dash cam captures is incredibly impressive: view an incident on your PC or laptop and you’ll be able to make out details such as number plates with greater clarity. It’s also easy to use – connecting via 5GHz Wi-Fi to your smartphone and the straightforward Miofive app – and clings stubbornly to your windscreen via the 3M adhesive pad.

TV of the Year

Winner | Samsung S95B | From £1,399

Crowned our Tech Product of the Year, the Samsung S95B is the complete smart TV, delivering jaw-dropping OLED images, a comprehensive smart platform, connection options aplenty and a whole host of next-gen gaming features. It’s Samsung’s first OLED since 2013 and a highly advanced one at that, with a panel boosted by the use of quantum dot technology. The result is natural, nuanced pictures characterised by flawless blacks, excellent shadow detail and highly impressive motion handling. It’s been a long time coming, but the Samsung S95B is our pick of the TVs to buy right now, OLED or otherwise.

Highly Commended | LG C2 | From £1,400

The C2 may have missed out on making it back-to-back TV of the Year awards for LG, but it’s still an exceptional television. Picture performance when delivering SDR and HDR content is stunning, with sharp images exhibiting great detail in the shadows and dazzling bright highlights. It’s brighter than last year’s model thanks to the use of an OLED evo panel on screen sizes 55in and above, while the addition of a new 42in model is a blessing for those in search of the benefits of OLED technology in a more compact package.

Monitor of the Year

Winner | AOC Q27P2CA | £300

AOC’s Q27P2CA is an understated monitor that represents unbeatable value. This 27in, 1440p display is impeccably well built and packed with features that help make it a stand-out product for home offices. There’s the supremely versatile stand, capable of height adjustment, tilt, pivot and swivel; and the USB hub, complete with four USB-A ports and 65W USB-C for simultaneous power delivery and video transmission. It’s a great performer, delivering a very solid set of results in our in-house tests, and it doesn’t cost the earth. In other words: it’s a clear winner.

Highly Commended | LG Gram Plus View | £300

Something of a surprise launch this year, the LG Gram Plus View has quickly cemented itself as our favourite portable monitor. There’s nothing too complex here, just a top-class screen presented in a stylish package. With two USB-C ports for video and power plus a volume rocker on one side, just about anyone can use the Plus View with zero hassle – but it does have a companion app that allows for vertical orientation if you want added depth.

Gaming Monitor of the Year

Winner | Sony Inzone M9 | £999

“The best next-gen gaming monitor we’ve tested thus far.” That’s how we described the Sony Inzone M9 in our review, and it’s not an exaggeration: this 4K gaming monitor is head and shoulders above the others we’ve tried out this year. Delivering a blistering peak brightness and vivid colours, the M9 manages remarkably good HDR, with relatively complex full-array local dimming helping squeeze even more contrast out of the backlight. Thanks to these stunning visuals and some impressive motion handling, gaming on this monitor is glorious.

The space-age design might not suggest practicality, but the M9 provides a good selection of ports and consumes impressively little space on a desk. All told, it’s a ferocious next-gen monitor and a worthy winner.

Highly Commended | Philips Momentum 279M1RV | £720

Philips’ first effort at a next-gen gaming monitor is a great one. The Momentum 279M1RV is surprisingly good value for money, with comparatively high-end HDR – including 16-zone local dimming – and a deliciously vibrant panel, plus a healthy selection of ports and Philips’ trademark Ambiglow rear lighting, all packed into a monitor that should cost far, far more than it does. Although it’s officially built for Xbox Series X/S, this is a cracking all-rounder.

Value Monitor of the Year

Winner | Acer K273 | £160

The Acer K273 is a textbook example of an unbeatable value monitor. It’s a 27in 1080p display, which means you’re getting plenty of screen real estate for very little cash. That’s the real draw here, but it helps immensely that the K273 is a surprisingly strong performer: it’s nice and vibrant with a decent peak brightness and great viewing angles, which are the essentials for office use. It’s a good-looking thing, too, and it’s phenomenally light, which makes it an ideal candidate for impromptu work setups at the kitchen table. In brief: the K273 delivers the goods at a great price. What more do you need?

Highly Commended | BenQ GW2785TC | £220

Coming in a close second in this category is the BenQ GW2785TC. It sits at the upper end of the value spectrum but compensates with a huge number of useful features. The stand is fully adjustable and the panel’s rear is absolutely bristling with ports, including – but not limited to – a 60W USB-C port and a DisplayPort Out port for daisy-chaining with a second monitor. Throw in a good set of results in our tests and it’s clear the GW2785TC earns its place here.

Mesh Router of the Year

Winner | TP-Link Deco X90 | £474

The TP-Link Deco X90 was our favourite mesh Wi-Fi system in our Remote Working Awards earlier this year and it’s still the best around today. The X90 uses Wi-Fi 6 technology to deliver super speedy data transfer speeds over huge distances and its HomeShield provision also adds basic security and parental controls. It may be expensive, but there’s no better all-round mesh wireless system.

Highly Commended | Linksys Atlas Pro 6 | £380

It may not be quite as rapid as the TP-Link Deco X90, but Linksys’ Atlas Pro 6 system puts in an impressive performance nonetheless, making use of Wi-Fi 6 technology to deliver blazing speeds at consistent levels at close and long range but using only dual-band wireless radios. A sterling performance from one of the wireless industry’s stalwarts.

Router of the Year

Winner | Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 | £340

It may be nominally a gaming router but the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 is so good that we’d recommend anyone looking for speedy, reliable wireless connectivity at home to put it right at the top of their shortlist. Speeds are great – both wireless and wired – the user interface is slick, it comes packed with useful features for gamers, and even includes some security features and parental controls. A deserving winner.

Highly Commended | Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 | £550

One of the fastest wireless routers we’ve ever tested, the Nighthawk RAXE500 employs bleeding-edge Wi-Fi 6E technology to deliver peak data transfer speeds that wouldn’t look out of place on a hard wired Gigabit Ethernet network. It performed brilliantly in our tests and demonstrates just what this next-generation technology can deliver.

Wearable of the Year

Winner | Garmin Epix (Gen 2) | £900

There’s no question that the Epix is the best multisport watch Garmin has ever made. With a bright 1.3in AMOLED touchscreen display and the same ruggedised design and features of the Fenix 7 series, there’s no other wearable quite like it.

In addition to logging all manner of activities, it offers full-colour maps and accurate positional tracking via multi-band GNSS. There’s also the option to store your favourite Spotify playlists offline so you can keep listening when you don’t have your phone to hand. A watch that’s just as well placed for everyday fitness tracking as accompanying you on a multi-day hike, the Epix Gen 2 is the best wearable in 2022.

Highly Commended | Coros Vertix 2 | £599

Coros’ tough-looking Vertix 2 is a heavy-duty, multitalented multisport watch. Built from titanium with a comfortable silicone wristband, the Vertix 2 is overflowing with activity-tracking options, from running and climbing to multi-day expeditions, and uses dual-band GPS to provide pinpoint-accurate mapping even in steep terrain. Add in the sensational battery life (up to an incredible 240 hours), the sapphire crystal screen and the accurate heart-rate monitoring, and it’s a deserving runner-up.

Video Doorbell of the Year

Winner | Ezviz DB2 | £100

The Ezviz DB2 soundly triumphs over fierce competition in this category to take the top spot. A stellar example of getting bang for your buck, the DB2 is a straightforward battery-powered video doorbell that takes no time at all to set up and very little effort to use. Simply stick or screw it to your door frame, place the chime “hub” nearby and download the intuitive Ezviz app to access the video feed and play with the huge range of features on offer here. It’s great at identifying visitors – via infrared or “human shape” detection – and produces a remarkably solid video quality. Oh, and did we mention that it’s tantalisingly cheap?

Highly Commended | Amazon Blink Video Doorbell | £50

This year’s runner-up in the Video Doorbell category gives another masterclass in value for money. The Blink Video Doorbell from Amazon has everything you’ll need, and it comes free of any subscriptions, too – just plug it into the mains or slot in a pair of AA batteries and you’re ready to go. Footage quality is great and the companion app is easy to navigate, plus it’s part of Amazon’s ecosystem, meaning it can use an Echo speaker as an auxiliary chime.

Home Security Camera of the Year

Winner | Nest Cam (indoor, wired) | £90

It’s a total category domination for Google’s home security cameras this year. The indoor Nest Cam earns the win with a great feature set and easy integration into the Google ecosystem – which, as more people buy into the world of smart homes, is a hefty bonus. Image quality is great, even in low-light conditions, and the AI detection features – that is, recognition of people, pets and vehicles – work remarkably well. It’s impeccably well made and effortlessly simple to use, and although the asking price is high, we’re confident you’re getting one of the best home security cameras around.

Highly Commended | Nest Cam with Floodlight | £270

There’s a lot to like about Google’s outdoor Nest Cam. It comes with everything you need to mount it on an external wall and uses two exceedingly bright LED floodlights in tandem with an IR sensor to effectively illuminate the surrounding area. The Nest Cam itself records good-quality 1080p footage and has the same great AI detection features as its indoor cousin. If you’re invested in the Google ecosystem, it’s a must-have.

Action Camera of the Year

Winner | GoPro Hero 10 Black | £380

The Hero 10 Black once again reaffirms GoPro’s position at the top of the action camera heap. With an all-new processor, the flagship Hero 10 delivers twice the performance of its already highly impressive predecessor. Richly detailed 5K video can be recorded at up to 60fps, while 4K clips can be shot at up to a staggering 120fps. GoPro’s latest image stabilisation tech, HyperSmooth 4.0, is also the most effective implementation we’ve seen to date, ensuring incredibly stable clips in almost any environment. Combined with GoPro’s extensive array of accessory mods and mounts, the Hero 10 Black is the best action camera on the market today.

Highly Commended | Insta360 One RS | £280

With a fully modular design, the Insta360 One RS is the most versatile action camera we’ve ever tested. With a selection of interchangeable single- and twin-lens camera modules to choose from, the One RS can be used as a traditional or 360 camera and modified on the fly. The One RS produces crisp, punchy footage, and Insta360’s FlowState stabilisation, combined with full 360-degree horizon levelling, can tame the shakiest of clips. For creators looking to think outside the box, few devices come close to rivalling the flexibility of the Insta360 One RS.