Best Gadgets for the Home: Tech Awards 2022 Editor's Choice (Part 2)

Note: This feature was first published on 8 April 2022.

Best Gadgets for the Home (Tech Awards 2022)

Though the world is steadily reopening and we are spending more time outside now, home is still where the heart is. And for most of us, it is still the place where we spend most of our time. Therefore, it makes sense to invest in the absolute best gadgets that we can afford. Can you imagine coming home after a long day at work to a crummy TV and intermittent Wi-Fi? Yeah, neither can we.

Luckily for you, for Tech Awards 2022, we have gathered and tested all the major devices you'd need to make your home a comfortable living space.

• Best OLED TV
• Best Portable Projector
• Best Noise Cancelling Headphone
• Best Ultraportable Notebook
• Best Home Printer
• Best SOHO Printer
• Best Wi-Fi 6 Router
• Best Premium Smartphone
• Best High-end Smartphone
• Best Gaming Notebook
• Game of the Year
• Innovation Awards

Other segments include the Best devices for the Home (this article), Best of Mobile Gadgets, Best Devices for Office and Work, and Gaming. Not to forget, our Readers' Choice results for the Best Tech Brands. Watch out for our further coverage over the coming weeks.

Read on and find out who the winners are in each category! For this segment, we begin with the centrepiece of all living rooms – TVs.

Best OLED TV

Over the last year, almost all new TVs launched focused on improving a few core areas. Notably, they are user interface and interaction aspects, bringing more HDMI 2.1-centric features across more TV models, and beefing up the AI processing capabilities to bring forth more tangible improvement in audio-visual experience.

The story of the Best TV is very much similar to what we laid out last year where it has to embody the very best standards across all aspects such as screen to audio performance, how it's designed to evoke a positive emotion, be it physically or via good UI and UX, and support the latest standards like the evolving gaming scene that has been vital to push TV design boundaries.

Noticing how our lead winner over the last few years has been an OLED TV, for this year, we've shifted our focus to consider only the very best OLED TV models that are readily available in retail. Unfortunately, at the top tier, only two brands are leading the field in Singapore where OLED TVs are concerned, so let us tell you which of them stands out as our best pick.

Side note: Though 2022 TV models will soon launch, it's unfortunate that we can't yet qualify 2022 TVs because they are not yet available for our testing at the point of concluding Tech Awards, and many more models will only arrive later in the year.

 

Nominees:

• LG G1 Gallery OLED
• Sony Bravia XR A90J Master Series
  
   

And the winner is…

Honestly, testing against the best of the best sometimes involves splitting hairs and nowhere did we feel it was as close as pitting two of the very best TVs money can buy. Both LG and Sony utilise similarly new OLED panels that transmit more light than the usual crop of OLED TVs, with newer processors (LG's Alpha 9 Gen 4 AI processor and Sony's Cognitive Processor XR, respectively) backing the new displays for next-gen processing capabilities. Both LG G1 and Sony A90J put up a brilliant performance show with marvellously deep inky blacks, fantastic contrast, and excellent expression of HDR highlights in Dolby Vision and HDR10 content. As a TV, you want the screen to excel well, and both score highly in this aspect.

Closer scrutiny would reveal that Sony's Cognitive XR processor's careful processing to consider how human vision perceives and reacts to content seems to have come through with colours and shades that tend to feel a tad more natural. On the other hand, LG is no less competent, but it looks ever slightly more saturated, and as a result, a minor tendency to hide details as your eyes are more focused on the overall punchiness of the scene. Without a side-by-side comparison, you would be pleased with either set.

At other times, the only difference discernable is that LG seems to prefer a slightly warmer colour tone than Sony.  Strictly speaking, this is treading the boundaries of personal preferences that are easily tweaked in custom colour options than using it as a basis for choosing one screen over another. Plus, these minute differences are easily tweakable in the respective TV's colour control options to your preference. Both are stellar screens in rooms with little to no ambient lighting and is impossible to differentiate them apart without a controlled comparison like in our test lab. 

There's very little to differentiate them, and anyone would be equally content with both options. Below, we fired up a 4K Blu-ray title that is Dolby Vision certified. Once again, we noticed LG being rendering the scene a tad more saturated in the reds, while the Sony appeared a tad brighter and more natural.

So there we have it, Sony and LG are quite fairly matched visually. Sonically, the Sony A90J Master is hands down the best you'll get to experience from a TV. The Acoustic Surface Audio+ has excellent audio delivery and presence and can even accord you some virtual surround sound through its 60W of audio power delivered via the entire screen to you. You can read more about our in-depth experience with Acoustic Surface Audio+ from an older model. The LG however, sounds ordinary, even with its AI Sound Pro processing.

The bigger question to ask is if the Sony A90J Master is worth two grand more than the LG TV by virtue of its excellent built-in sound system. While value is debatable and having the best integrated experience is always a premium, the simple counter answer is the LG G1 with a stand-alone audio system worth two grand will sound tremendously better than the Sony A90J Master.

Changing gears to gaming, this is a domain that LG is fiercely guarding and is leading the field. The G1 (as well as the C1 and B1 series) is still the only TV that offers quad HDMI 2.1-compliant ports, which means they support 4K gaming at 120Hz with variable refresher rate (VRR) support on all of them. If you have a few gaming consoles/systems and an external audio subsystem, you don't have to pick and choose who gets to use the HDMI 2.1 port for the best gaming experiences on the Xbox Series X, the Playstation 5, and even on your gaming PC connected to the big screen. Sony's top TV only has two such ports, meaning if you do use an external sound system to pipe audio from your streamed shows on Netflix, you're only left with one other HDMI 2.1 port to be shared among your high-end gaming consoles/systems. LG is also the only TV model consistently featured on NVIDIA's G-Sync compatible list, plus it's also the only screen to support Dolby Vision HDR gaming on 4K120 with supported gaming titles, which is a considerable feat. Let's not forget the Game Dashboard where you can dial up features and makes adjustments while you're in-game.

What about from a TV usability perspective? Even though Sony's Google TV has had a makeover, LG's webOS 6 simply trumps the Japanese counterpart. From having a central pool of movie and show recommendations across different video streaming options, to having quick access to your connected smart home appliances and even jumping to a preferred input device, LG's new home screen is a winner.

Let's not forget LG's revamped remote that's so friendly to use in conventional mode, or via its magic wand feature. The immediate usability is simply much better than Sony's attempt. While we love Sony's backlit motion-sensor enhanced remote, the stick is too long and unwieldy, while some buttons are harder to discern and engage comfortably. While we're on the topic of ease of use, LG's 2021 TV models are Bluetooth Surround Ready whereby you can throw in just about any Bluetooth speakers you've at hand, pair them with the TV and set them up to the sides or rear of your sitting position to enjoy true surround sound with your TV's main speakers. Now that's a quick and affordable fix for any show, anytime without having to own a multi-channel speaker system.

In summary, LG has a lot of things right going for it that make it an easy choice for anyone wanting the best OLED TV model. It's got great performance, not overly expensive, yet has a better feature set appreciated by more people and is a friendlier TV from a UI and UX perspective.

That's not to say we won't recommend the Sony A90J Master Series. It does, after all, have a tad brighter screen and a built-in sound system that's unbeatable by any other TV. In fact, its sonic performance is so good, Sony has speaker posts integrated at its back to allow you to integrate the TV as part of your home theatre's centre-channel speaker. This does mean the Sony A90J Master Series is really only for discerning folks who've deep pockets and appreciate either not having to buy a standalone soundbar or folks who already have a good sound system. Ironically, Sony seems to be catering to those with niche demands, and it accomplishes its mission.

In the end, LG's G1 Gallery OLED is an easier choice most can agree upon and has a winning combo to get our nod as the overall Best OLED TV recommendation. You can also get most of what the G1 series offers in even the C1 and B1 series, further making the LG OLED lineup an appealing option.

References

• LG G1 Gallery OLED Evo video review
• LG G1 vs. Sony A90J Master Series: Best OLED TV Showdown

Best Portable Projector

Smaller portable projectors have become all the rage lately, probably exacerbated by the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic where people needed more screen options without spending for a physical display. Additionally, now that Singapore is opening up its borders and easing up both travel in and out of the country, it's a great time to consider a projector for group experiences. These battery-powered, go-anywhere devices come ready with everything needed to keep a family entertained.

While mini projectors have been garnering steady growth and interest for sometime, for this year, we focused our sights on truly portable projectors that aren't too heavy on the wallet, and thus feature at least 720P native resolution. They should also come with with short-throw capability (not the same as ultra-short-throw), incorporate an internal battery for untethered usage, built-in speakers to enjoy the media played back, have access to online streaming services, ports to hook up further media options and be somewhat rugged to weather internal and outdoor use.

Of course, the underlying criteria is for products to be released within the last year to make the cut.

Nominees:

• ASUS ZenBeam Latte L1
• BenQ GV30

And the winner is...

While its rounded design is unique and eye-catching, it allows the BenQ GV30 to tilt in its magnetic cradle to an appropriate angle for viewing. You could even point it up to the ceiling if you wish, as it has 135-degree freedom of projection angle. The BenQ GV30 feels sturdy and well-made, and the attached strap makes it easy to carry around. The ASUS Zenbeam Latte no doubt has the cutest form factor, but as you'll soon find out, the BenQ GV30 tops ASUS in almost every other aspect.

With connectivity options like HDMI, DisplayPort, Wi-Fi, USB-C, and Bluetooth, setting it up was very simple, and all you had to do was follow the onscreen instructions when powering it on the first time. Speaking of setup and usage, its autofocus and auto keystone correction takes any guesswork out of nailing a perfect image, and it adapts to where you're pointing really fast.

It also comes with Android TV to stream Netflix, Disney+, and Viu, so content is never an issue, nor needing to cast your phone's screen for media streaming. For such ad-hoc use, Apple Airplay and built-in Chromecast lends it well for smartphone mirroring needs. The projector's accompanying remote is also a delight to use, and the projector responds quickly, be it for adjustment controls, UI navigation and more.

The GV30’s picture modes allow the user to adjust for brightness, contrast, colour saturation, and sharpness. Depending on where you intend to playback, these easy controls allow you to get more out of your projection in a jiffy to your desired preference.

To complement your visual experience, the BenQ GV30 packs a 2.1-channel speaker system featuring dual 4W speakers, an 8W subwoofer, a 3.5mm audio out jack, and can even work as a standalone Bluetooth speaker. The raw audio power wattage might sound unassuming, but we easily found that the built-in audio easily delivers enough volume and quality for most viewing needs. Furthermore, the clever 270-degree audio output design within its housing allowed the projector to envelop you in sound easily, no matter where you're seated. For example, you could be seated anywhere behind the projector, and you would have no issue enjoying the media played back.

Our test findings

It was a mixed bag of results during our testing for the BenQ GV30, but that's mostly because we often test high-end equipment that far exceeds this portable projector class of devices.

We liked the connectivity options, easy setup, and multitude of streaming options that further augment the casual gaming options thanks to the Android TV operating system. The network setup was also straightforward. From there on, we were able to easily stream content via our test PC and streaming services like YouTube, Disney+ and more.

For our video tests, we watch a series of videos in 4K resolution to test out the projector's processing chops to rescale it to its native 720p output resolution. Some test scenes include a drone flying into and over a beach, underwater reef footage, and scenes from movies and TV series like Top Gun, Frozen 2, and Locke and Key. 

At just 300 ANSI lumens output, the GV30's LED-powered light source DLP projection is largely unusable in bright environments. While the Daytime preset adds some artificial brightness to the image, for a brighter result, you will certainly want to use this projector in a darkened room for best results or during the night when the environment is darker in general.

For a portable projector, in the right lighting, it delivers a watchable image. Our underwater scene was clear to watch with no washed out or overly saturated colours. While our drone beach scene was clear, I felt the colours were slightly washed out compared to the source. To be fair, BenQ did say it was designed to take in 1080p video signals and output them at 720p. As such, our 4K videos could be pushing what it was designed to tackle.

It was during our Top Gun test that the GV30 excelled. The playback was sharp with no pixelation or tearing despite the fast action onscreen. The sound, though… was perfect. The speakers on the BenQ GV30 delivered an immersive sound experience that I’ve rarely enjoyed from mere portable projector speakers. I wasn’t even tempted to try to attach it to external speakers. A testament to BenQ's Trevolo audio department and engineering.

We further tested the BenQ GV30 in a darkened room and played shows like The Mandalorian off Disney+. The projector definitely has the ability to output a bright enough image up in the 60 to 80-inch range, though the 720p native resolution limit is what's most likely going to grab your attention - at least until you start streaming your show, and that's when the GV30's captivating audio will keep your focus on the plotline rather than having you thinking about the screen resolution. Overall, run time on battery lives up to its official 2.5 hours of untethered use, enough to last most movie runs or watch a few episodes from an engaging show.

Overall, the BenQ GV30 is the best portable projector due to its connectivity options, features, official Android TV ecosystem, playback, and excellent sound.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed in the References section below.

References

• ASUS ZenBeam Latte L1 review coming soon
• BenQ GV30 review coming soon

Best Noise Cancelling Headphones

The past two years have shown just how invaluable noise-cancelling headphones are. What used to be an indispensable tool in the skies has proven to be an extremely helpful companion for working at home. At home, these headphones are excellent at nullifying unwanted noises and creating a cocoon of silence in which to concentrate and work. And now that we are slowly and gradually returning to normalcy, these headphones are once again proving their worth during our daily commutes, cancelling out unwanted noise so that we can better enjoy our music.

To make the cut for this year’s award, the headphone must be the flagship of the brand, have an over-ear design, wireless, equipped with active noise-cancellation technology, and released in the past year. Like many other categories, the uneven product release cycles mean not every brand gets to participate every year. That said, here are our contenders:-

Nominees:

• Bang & Olufsen Beoplay HX
• Bose QuietComfort 45
• JBL Club One
• Technics EAH-A800

Yamaha had the YH-L700A that could have made the comparison list, but it had to sit out as we couldn't obtain a test set.

And the winner is...

At first glance, it’s hard to tell that the Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones are even new. It looks pretty much identical to its predecessor. And while that may be, Bose has completely re-engineered its active noise cancellation technology. The end result is arguably the best active noise cancellation that I’ve heard in any headphone. I think it’s slightly better than even Sony (who was last year's winner). It sounds pretty nice too. I don’t think it’s the best-sounding headphone you can buy, but it’s smooth, just about punchy enough, and pleasant to listen to for extended periods. Speaking of long periods, thanks to its plush earpads and lightweight construction, it’s comfortable and never feels fatiguing to wear. Battery life isn’t bad either. In my tests, a single charge easily lasted over 20 hours with on and off listening. Ultimately, there are headphones that perhaps do other things better. But as an all-around package and as a headphone that I could use every day no matter what, I can’t think of a better one than the Bose QuietComfort 45. 

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed in the References section below.

References

• Bang & Olufsen Beoplay HX review coming soon
• Bose QuietComfort 45 review coming soon
• JBL Club One review coming soon
• Technics EAH-A800 review

Best Ultraportable Notebook

Advances in processor technologies and materials have made ultraportable notebooks incredibly thin, light, and powerful. Many ultraportable notebooks today only weigh a kilogram or less and can easily run for hours. Support for new technologies like Thunderbolt 4 also means these notebooks can be docked when users get home, which improves performance and functionality. Notebook manufacturers across the board have also made significant improvements in design and features, offering larger trackpads, higher quality displays, and improved connectivity options. Overall, these attributes make ultraportable notebooks the weapon of choice for many users.

To make the cut for this year’s awards, the notebook must be among the slimmest and lightest in the brand's lineup, and it must have been announced in the last 12 months. It can be a traditional notebook or a convertible or detachable. It can have discrete or integrated graphics and it must run Windows OS. After all, anyone who needs an Apple (or Mac) machine won't be needing comparisons like this. Finally, it must be powered by a full Intel Core processor (no ultra-low-voltage variants) or an AMD equivalent.

Nominees:

• ASUS ZenBook 14X OLED
• HP Spectre x360 14
• Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Carbon
• Microsoft Surface Pro 8
• Vaio SX14

You'll note that there aren't some of the usual brands you would expect like Acer, Dell, LG and Huawei, but that's because they've not had a suitable new model since our last Tech Awards assessment for this sector or that a review unit isn't yet available. Blame the great worldwide parts shortage, but our show must go on.

And the winner is...

Lenovo is on a roll. After winning this category last year, they have gone ahead and won it again with the new Yoga Slim 7 Carbon. What makes this notebook so awesome? Let’s begin with its gorgeous 14-inch OLED display which is sharp, crisp, and has vibrant colours. It’s also very light. Thanks to a body made from a blend of aerospace-grade magnesium alloy and carbon fibre, the Slim 7 Carbon is just 1.077kg. It’s thin too – just 14.9mm thick. Inside, Lenovo has decided to go with AMD’s Ryzen 5000 series processors which offer class-leading multi-core performance that far exceeds what Intel’s Core processors are capable of and yet maintains high efficiency. Even with the display set to maximum brightness, this notebook lasted well over 8.5 hours on our rather intensive battery test. But the cherry on the cake has got to be its price.

Despite the premium construction and OLED display, the Slim 7 Carbon was, by some margin, the most affordable notebook we tested. With this combination of performance, features, and price, it’s no wonder then that the Slim 7 Carbon is the best ultraportable notebook we tested to-date.

Here's a small snapshot of results from our full shootout article:-

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed in the References section below.

References

• ASUS ZenBook 14X OLED
• HP Spectre x360 14 review
• Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Carbon
• Microsoft Surface Pro 8 review
• Vaio SX14 review

Best Home Printer

These days, even for home printers, mere printing just isn’t enough.

For this year’s Home printer category, the printers chosen had to be able to meet the modern needs of a typical home user. We looked at All-In-One (AIO) printers able to print, copy, scan and allow app-based printing and other functionality. They would also have to be priced strategically at about S$400 to please homeowners without too much upfront cost. And while we would like to have ADF functionality, we're glad to give it up and relegate that to the SOHO printer category.

Since we only qualify models released in the last 12 months at the time of assessment and that printer brands don't refresh their models as often as they used to, we've managed to only qualify two brands in this segment. This year, they both happened to be ink-tank based printers that are becoming common as manufacturers are doing more to help reduce running costs.

For this category, new assessment areas include sizing up their footprint as space at home could be at a premium. Features and connectivity options were also important criteria. The useability of the app for home use was also key. These are in addition to the overall price of the printer, print speed, print quality, and cost of printing, which are all key ingredients of what people want out of a printer.

Nominees:

• Canon Pixma G670
• HP Smart Tank 720

And the winner is...

What we liked about the HP Smart Tank 720 was the speed, its Smart Tank technology, and the ease of setting it up. We had no problems connecting it to our test PC and the app itself had features for kids, families and adults.

We don't like the limited dual-line display that the HP Smart Tank 720 comes with. That's not to say it doesn’t do the job because it is functional and performs most tasks even though it isn’t a proper LCD screen. We’ve never seen the value of having just two lines of text and information scrolling across the display, especially in these days where managing things like network SSID, passwords, or even traversing options are a hassle. Sure, there are now apps to help alleviate these pain points, but sometimes, you just want to be sure things are right at the source.

As a smart tank printer, it uses HP ink bottles for printing. The bottles included with the printer can print 8,000 pages in black and 6,000 pages in colour. Replacement ink bottles cost S$14.80 for the high-yield black and each colour replacement. The high-yield black can print up to 6,000 pages, and the colour replacements can print 8,000 pages each.

It was the faster printer in our tests, and the quality of the prints didn’t disappoint as befitting an HP printer.

Our test results

The image quality was sharp and colours faithful with little bleeding or over-saturation, and the text was crisp and sharp.

In terms of print speed, the HP Smart Tank 720 was the fastest home printer. The Canon Pixma G670 was clearly slower in our tests, but that is because the Canon is more a home photo printer than a home AIO workhorse.

As for scanning, we only scanned a single test page as both printers lacked an ADF. The speed was what was expected for a single page where we needed to wait for the device to come out of sleep before starting. The scanned results were found to be crisp and clear.   

To sum up, the HP Smart Tank 720 churned out results as good as the Canon counterpart but bettered it in important areas like print speed and overall value. As we iterated earlier, while we didn't quite like its on-device display, the printer had dedicated button options for colour or black copies and to print multiple copies, though a proper sized touchscreen LCD makes work so much easier. Probably that's one reason why HP could keep the costs down, which worked to its favour in the end. It is the overall best in this comparison, had good value and thus our 2022 recommendation for a home printer.

*Note: Prices and ratings listed are accurate at the time of individual product evaluation.

For more information on how the nominees fared in detail and thus helping us pick our winner, check out the full reviews and articles listed in the References below.

References

• Canon Pixma G670 review coming soon
• HP Smart Tank 720 review coming soon

Best SOHO Printer

Like the previous time we ran this category in 2020, for SOHO printers, we looked at All-In-One (AIO) printers that can print, copy, scan, and fax. As an office-grade printer consideration, we ensured it came with more usability features like duplex printing capability and an automatic document feeder (ADF). The latter is a key differentiating factor from our Home printer category.

Printers don't usually refresh every year, especially one at the same price point, which is why we didn't run this category the previous year. As per our requirement for Tech Awards 2022 Editor's Choice categories, the contenders must be launched in 2021 to qualify for nominations. For the Best SOHO printer class, we were also looking at options that cost about or under S$500 to make the cut.

The scoping brought us to qualify printers from Brother and HP where both were using ink-based technologies. While the former was using normal ink cartridges, the other has gone the way by adopting an ink tank system as manufacturers are increasingly focusing on lowering printing costs, though it comes at a higher base cost.

Nominees:

• Brother MFC-J4540DW
• HP Smart Tank 750

From an assessment perspective, we looked at the size and footprint as space could be at a premium in a SOHO setup, along with the relevant features and connectivity options. While ease of use was important, the overall price of the printer, print quality, and cost of printing were key winning criteria. 

And the winner is...

The Brother MFC-J4540DW. We liked its print speed, its output, and the overall mix of features.

It has a nice touchscreen display, a good mix of connectivity options, two paper trays, a port for USB printing, an ADF to support duplex copying with ease, and I found it very easy to set it up and get it started. There is also a guide to how much ink is left at the bottom corner of the display and within the app.

It was also the faster printer in both our print and scan tests while also offering good quality prints (more on this below). Scanning was a straightforward chore; thanks to the ADF, multiple pages went through easily with no jams, and it didn't require anyone to intervene.

The mobile app looks more business-like than those from HP and Canon. HP’s app, for example, has a UI with coloured friendly squares, while Brother’s app is single toned, with a more corporate look and feel.

Handily for SOHO deployments, the printer also comes with a three-year warranty.

Our test results

As mentioned earlier, we liked the quality of the print results. And the fact we didn’t have to wait long, was even better.

The text was crisp and clear, being easy to read. There was little splotching or ink running from one word to another even when magnified, which is a good sign of quality.

Our graphic image also turned out sharp and clear, and I felt ts colour rendition was closest to our original. But I didn’t find any evidence of colour bleeding or excessive colour saturating.

However, it takes a hit in terms of value, with the problem being the cost of printing.

Unlike most printers released these days, the MFC-J4540DW uses ink cartridges rather than individual ink tanks. According to Brother’s website, replacement high-yield ink cartridges cost S$99 for both black and each individual colour cartridge with Brother saying that they can print 6,000 pages in black and 5,000 pages in colour. The default ink cartridges that ship with the printers can print 3,000 pages in black and 1,500 pages in colour.

This means once the owner is done with the initial ink cartridges, replacing all the ink cartridges with high-yield ones will cost S$400. This isn't unusual for standard ink cartridge costs, and one that's high-yield of this variety, but it's certainly a large expense for some owners. 

Having caveated the print costs, you can see why Brother still gets our vote as the print speed and quality are a fair bit better than the Ink Tank based HP option from our scoring breakdown below. If your print needs aren't high, and you value quality and speed, Brother's MFC-J4550DW is the one you'll need for a brand new printer for your home or home office.

*Note: Prices and ratings listed are accurate at the time of individual product evaluation.

For more information on how the nominees fared in detail and thus helping us pick our winner, check out the full reviews and articles listed in the References below.

References

• Brother MFC-J4540DW review coming soon
• HP Smart Tank 750 review coming soon

Best Wi-Fi 6 Router

The adoption of Wi-Fi 6 has been swift. Nearly every new smartphone, tablet, and notebook worth buying today supports it. There's even talk of Wi-Fi 6E now. At any rate, Wi-Fi 6 improves overall networking performance in two ways. The first is by increasing data transfer rates by increasing the maximum amount of data that can be carried by each stream. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it enables routers and compatible devices to communicate with each other simultaneously – something that cannot be done using the older Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) technology. Check out this Wi-Fi 6 (Wireless 802.11ax) guide for more details.

However with the worldwide parts shortage and disruption in the supply chain ecosystem, many brands have had very erratic launch schedules since the Covid pandemic began. As such, we've tried our best to match suitable high-end products to ensure we can give a meaningful assessment for the best products in each category.

To make the cut for this year’s awards, we've shortlisted high-end dual-band Wi-Fi 6 routers that were released in the past year and it must be the company’s best offering of its class such as meeting the AX5400 speed rating or higher.

Nominees:

• ASUS RT-AX89X dual-band WiFi 6 router
• D-Link Exo AX AX5400 Wi-Fi 6 router (DIR-X5460)
• Netgear Nighthawk AX5400 Wifi 6 router (RAX50)

And the winner is...

After some extensive comparisons, we found the ASUS RT-AX89X is the winner in this category.

Let’s address the elephant in the room first and that is price. Yes, this is a very expensive router. It costs a lot more than its rivals. However, it backs up its tremendous price tag with an unrivalled feature set. To start, it has a lot of ports. Not only does it have 8 Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, but it also has a regular Gigabit Ethernet WAN port and two 10Gbps ports that are handy if you subscribe to a 10Gbps fibre plan or have a high-end NAS that supports 10GbE connections. For users living in apartments, support for DFS (dynamic frequency selection) should certainly help alleviate channel congestion. And then there’s ASUS’ AiMesh feature which allows you to create mesh networks using this router and other compatible ASUS routers. It performed decently too and served up respectable wireless speeds across our tested ranges. Lastly, it offered the most polished app interaction as well as an admin console with a plethora of controls.

Overall, because of its combination of performance and features, we felt that it justified its high price tag and was worthy of our Best Wi-Fi 6 Router of the year award.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed in the References section below.

References

• ASUS RT-AX89X review
• D-Link Exo AX AX5400 Wi-Fi 6 router (DIR-X5460) review coming soon
• Netgear Nighthawk AX5400 Wifi 6 router (RAX50) review coming soon

Best Premium Smartphone

To say that the smartphone industry faces immense challenges is an understatement. With our new ways of life coming to head, phone makers now have to contend with chip shortages, shipping and launch delays, and even more discerning consumers with evolved requirements at work, play, and everything else in between.

To make the cut, the phone has to be announced and/or released between March 2021 (after our previous Awards assessment) to January 2022 and has to be the brand's flagship offering that best embodies everything it has to offer - beyond just top phone specs and yet appeal to a majority of consumers. It can also include foldable-screen phones that are essentially a bar form-factor when fully open to compete with non-foldable counterparts.

Nominees:

• Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3
• Oppo Find X3 Pro
• Huawei P50 Pro

Before we talk about the comparison victor, we would like to clarify why some notable phones weren't part of the nomination list. While Huawei's P50 Pocket is also up for consideration given our new qualifying criteria, it's nearly $1k more expensive than the P50 Pro and doesn't offer much else other than scoring design points. As such, Huawei has chosen to compete in this comparison with their P50 Pro model. Elsewhere, Sony's Xperia Pro-I and Samsung's Z Fold 3 are both specialist devices that appeal to photography enthusiasts and tablet-like form factors respectively, and as such, not part of our main list of nominations.

And the winner is...

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 revived genuine interest in the future of smartphones by delivering on a combination of its palatable price tag, leading processor choices (for Singapore), its unique-yet-practical folding form factor, and undeniably, a premium experience one expects from paying top dollar for a phone.

Heck, the Galaxy Z Flip3 was able to single-handedly account for the massive foldable smartphone market we have at the end of 2021.

The foldable display form factor for phones is hardly new at this point (even Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip saw several iterations before it got awarded by us). So what did they do to win?

The Galaxy Z Flip3, despite its unique foldable display form factor, did not skimp out on must-haves for premium phones. If anything, Samsung took extra care to make sure its CAM mechanism is more robust than before, and still managed to include all the basics like NFC, IP-rated water resistance, and an eye-pleasing AMOLED display. It's also 5G-compatible too.

Surely, the massive improvements to One UI also create a high-quality user experience, but Samsung took extra UI care with additional special touches to make good use of its bigger 1.9-inch Cover Screen (even though we did wish it was even more useful at its launch).  It's a useful viewfinder for its rear cameras, it lets users add a personal touch to their devices, and offers basic yet crucial functionality like message previews and music control without needing to squint. 

The phone also performs respectably where it counts. Daily usage is smooth, performance is almost top-notch, and it has a reasonably long battery life for its form factor. Smart pricing strategies helped immensely too since it offered a complete premium package that's a good S$300 to S$800 lower than other premium alternatives that aren't as exciting to own.

It may not be the best shooter out of Samsung's stable, but a winner for our Best Premium Smartphone category doesn't go to a handset that earns top marks in only one arena; it needs to deliver across the board, and the Galaxy Flip3 does exactly that with the added pizazz in a folding display that feels less of a gimmick and more of a lifestyle choice. A high-quality, flagship-performing lifestyle choice no less.

The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max deserves a special mention given the tough fight it put up. It took barely three months for the Apple contender to sit among the top 10 in phone sales for 2021, and that's considering how its rivals had much more time to clinch the other nine spots. But, Apple playing it safe meant that the accolade went to a rival that not only did better by its consumers, but also gave them a visible reason to appreciate the upgrade.

*Note: Prices and ratings listed are accurate at the time of individual product evaluation.

For more information on how the nominees fared in detail and thus helping us pick our winner, check out the full reviews and articles listed in the References below.

References

• Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max review
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 review
• Oppo Find X3 Pro review
• Huawei P50 Pro review

Best High-end Smartphone

Discerning phone users sometimes just want a phone that packs hardware equal to flagship components, but also want none of the fluff that pushes its sticker price past a certain point. Or, they don't see a reason for overpowered components, favouring instead a balanced, yet high-quality handset.

For these folks, we have this High-end phone category that satisfies the best of both worlds: a more palatable price for the parts and features that matter. So, you're probably not getting over-the-top imaging prowess or all-metal construction, but you're still getting the best hardware, tangible features, and other perks that constitute a high-quality experience without paying out of your nose.

To make the cut, the phone has to be announced and/or released in the last 12 months and has to offer true flagship-level performance and features around the S$1,000 mark or less.

Nominees:

• Xiaomi 11T Pro
• ASUS ZenFone 8
• Vivo X70 Pro
• Oppo Reno7 Pro
• Samsung Galaxy S21 FE

Note: The Xiaomi Mi 11 and Vivo X60 Pro are 2021 handsets that would've also qualified for nomination in this category, but the fluidity and frequency of phone launches have rendered these alternatives obsolete for awards comparison. 

And the winner is...

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE may have been late to the 2021 party, but it still holds up well enough to be a winning budget flagship device that packs high-quality necessities in one.

Other brands should take note: the Galaxy S21 FE offers a 2021 top-end processor, a beautiful AMOLED display with high refresh and touch sampling rates, a decent set of all-purpose rear cameras, 5G support, NFC, IP68 water resistance, fairly-fast charging at 25W -- all for just under S$1,000 at launch (and is in fact under S$900 since the Galaxy S22 was released).

It may not sound mind-blowing until you realise how other phones of this level don't actually offer all of these features in one device. Either the processor isn't a flagship one, or its water resistance rating is lower, or it's just too compact to offer a fuller viewing experience.

Frankly speaking, the Xiaomi 11T Pro would've won with its adherence to the basics of high-quality experiences (display, processor, big battery) topped off with 120W fast-charging and an amazing sticker price. But the Galaxy S21 FE took the lead, thanks to its better UI and UX and Samsung Knox, while doing everything else the 11T Pro can to a more reasonable extent (120W charging is nuts, really). It's important to note that a phone goes beyond its device, seeing how Samsung confers its premium flagship software advancements to the FE versions, albeit a little slower than its more expensive counterparts.

 

*Note: Prices and ratings listed are accurate at the time of individual product evaluation.

For more information on how the nominees fared in detail and thus helping us pick our winner, check out the full reviews and articles listed in the References below.

References

• Xiaomi 11T Pro review
• ASUS ZenFone 8 review
• Vivo X70 Pro review
• Oppo Reno7 Pro review coming soon
• Samsung Galaxy S21 FE review

Best Gaming Notebook

If you have been following our gaming notebook reviews, you will notice there’s one commonality – they have all become slimmer over the years and yet no less powerful. This is thanks to advancements in both CPU and GPU technologies, which allow gaming-class notebooks to come in form factors that will rival even today’s ultraportable built-for-productivity notebooks. Have you seen the ROG Flow Z13 or the Razer Blade 14 yet? It's a golden age for gaming notebooks.

Apart from the two models mentioned above, modern gaming notebooks come in a plethora of designs, sizes, and specifications. So, for this category, we are looking at the best 15-inch class of gaming notebooks that dropped into our lab in the last 12 months. Why 15-inch? Because to qualify for this category, the notebooks must come with the powerful GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop processor alongside a top-end Intel or AMD CPU. And a 15-inch chassis can accommodate a larger, and thus, more efficient thermal cooling system (and less power throttling) than a smaller-sized notebook. It's all about physics. It’s also the most popular size for those seeking a pure gaming notebook.

And here are the notebooks that made the cut:

Nominees:

• ROG Strix Scar 15 (2021)
• Lenovo Legion 7 (2021)

We have not received many gaming notebooks that come with a GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, much less 15-inch ones. In 2021, what we noticed is that gaming notebook manufacturers are still sticking to 1080p displays due to consumer preference and demand. At this resolution, a GeForce RTX 3070 or even an RTX 3060 GPU will suffice.

But that said, the ROG Strix Scar 15 and Lenovo Legion 7 were arguably two of the most powerful gaming notebooks that landed in our lab. Both 15-inch notebooks are fitted with GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPUs and and also powerful AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX processors.

And the winner is...

The Lenovo Legion 7!

In terms of performance, both notebooks are pretty much even-stevens – even if the Legion 7 is a wee bit faster in our benchmarks. But what caught our eyes most was its QHD (1440p) display which also produced crisp and lively colours. In contrast (pun intended), the ROG Strix Scar 15 came with a 1080p display that didn't take full advantage of its GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU. That's an awful waste of power, to be honest.

In terms of looks, well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder but we prefer the Legion 7's more subdued aesthetics and magnesium-alloy body. That's not to say the ROG Strix Scar 15 is not a looker – it is – but the Legion 7 simply looks more versatile and at home in more environments. Perhaps the Legion 7's only Achilles' heel is its poor battery performance. But taking into account that performance is our priority – not portability – we are willing to overlook this shortcoming.

Here are our benchmark comparisons of both notebooks' performances:

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed in the References section below.

 

References

• ROG Strix Scar 15 (2021)
• Lenovo Legion 7 review coming soon

Game of the Year

You know, as happy as we are that video game developers and experiences continue to break new ground with every passing year, it’s also kind of annoying for those of us in the journalism business.

Why? Because it gets increasingly difficult for us to decide which games to put up on the podium. Still, complain as we might about ranking them, we’re also obligated to give credit where it’s due. Every year, there will always be a handful of titles that stand out from the rest of the pack by virtue of their presentation, gameplay, and concept. 

Well, 2021 was no different, and after many rounds of head-scratching, wall-banging, and pencil-throwing discussion, we’ve managed to narrow down our top 5 picks for the year. From there, we delved even further and selected what we felt was, indisputably, the best game of 2021.

Nominees:
 

• It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios)

You know it, you love it, and you probably can't stop playing it. After all, It Takes Two isn't The Game Awards' Game of the Year for 2022 for no reason, and it is essentially in a league of its own with regard to gameplay and presentation. Cody and May's journey to rediscover the love they once shared might be built on a delightfully simple concept, and yet Hazelight has branched them out in an unfathomable number of ways. The end result? An immensely versatile experience that's not just unique, but is also easy for anyone to pick up and enjoy. 

• Resident Evil: Village (Capcom)

Yup, there's no way in hell that Lady Dimitrescu and gang aren't making it into the final countdown. It's gritty, it's dark, and most of all, it's Resident-freaking-Evil. After being kidnapped by Chris Redfield, Ethan Winters' latest (unplanned) jaunt into a strange European village filled with werewolves, vampires in search of his daughter is an adventure that no horror fan should miss out on. Couple that with brutal, frightening gameplay, gorgeous visuals, and a gripping narrative, and it should come as no surprise why Resident Evil: Village is on our top five list.

• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Square Enix)

Although their first attempt at developing a Marvel title certainly left much to be desired, Square Enix has certainly gone above and beyond on their second. Suffice to say that Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy has pretty much everything one could ask for in an action-adventure title: seamless combat mechanics, entertaining interactions, top-notch audio, space llamas, and the occasional "I am Groot", among numerous other things. So, if you haven't played this one yet, then sit down and strap in, because the Guardians will take you on an adventure that's so stylishly daft that it's fun.

• Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games)

As far as action-adventure gaming duos are concerned, the lombax Ratchet and his robotic buddy Clank certainly rank among the more recognisable pairings. But their reputation isn't the reason they're on this list - it's because their latest dimension-hopping adventure, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is so damn vibrant, entertaining, and full of heart. Indeed, the folks over at Insomniac Games have done it again, and with not one, but two Nefariouses dead set on world domination, the dynamic duo certainly have their work cut out for them. 

• Deathloop (Arkane Studios)

As the video game embodiment of the phrase "more than one way to skin a cat", Arkane Studios' time-meddling shooter Deathloop doesn't just look classy as heck, it's got creativity in spades too. Between Colt and Julianna's hilarious trash-talk and the sheer freedom the game provides you in the name of assassination, it's an excellent pick if you're looking for a title that's worth putting your thinking cap on for. So, go ahead - you have our express permission to fall in love with Deathloop from your very first rewind. 

And the winner is…

Man, Hazelight Studios director Josef Fares was not being cocky when he said this game was nigh-impossible to get bored of, and with that in mind, we will gladly let him keep the one thousand bucks he offered to anyone who did. 

It Takes Two is an absolutely stellar game, and that goes even when it’s stacked up against the rest of the heavy-hitters in our top 5 list. Admittedly, it might be a little hard to tell just from looking at the cover, but once you pick it up, we assure you with the utmost confidence that you (and your co-op buddy) will be loath to put it down until the very end.

Conceptually, it might not seem as fantastically impressive as Resident Evil: Village or Deathloop, but it more than makes up for it with its childish charm, unparalleled wholesomeness, and gorgeous presentation. It’s an impossibly dynamic game that’s easy to play and changes its metaphorical spots at every turn, keeping players eternally guessing and more importantly, entertained.

In short, this is what you might see if you looked up “fun” in the dictionary, and if that isn’t what video games are fundamentally supposed to be, we don’t know what is. 

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out our full game reviews of these awesome game titles:-

References

• It Takes Two (Hazelight Studios)
• Resident Evil: Village (Capcom)
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Square Enix)
• Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games)
• Deathloop (Arkane Studios)

Innovation Awards

Three Innovation awards were also given out in this year's Editor's Choice segment to recognise innovative products and cutting-edge technologies that have emerged during the eligibility period. Unlike previous Tech Awards, this year, we've also accepted featuring and recognising up-and-coming technologies and products worthy for consumers and enthusiasts to take note of. Here then are our Innovation Award winners for Tech Awards 2022 in no particular order of merit.

Apple M1 Max

Apple’s transition to its custom silicon for Macs has been nothing but a resounding success. And the most important chip in the line-up is arguably the new M1 Max. Now that Apple has followed up with the M1 Ultra, we now know that the M1 Max is the building block of Apple’s custom Mac chips. And that the original M1 is better thought of as a scaled-down version of the M1 Max, as opposed to the M1 Max being a souped-up M1. Sure, M1 Max is very powerful. Its 10 CPU cores and 32 GPU cores deliver performance rivalling very high-end desktop workstations. But what is more impressive is that we now know that it has a very high-speed interconnect called UltraFusion that enables Apple to combine two M1 Max to create a single ultra-high-performance chip called the M1 Ultra, which is used in Apple’s new Mac Studio that’s designed for very compute and graphics-intensive professional work. And if that’s not all, Apple has announced that it’s working on an even more powerful Mac called the Mac Pro. It will be very interesting to see where the ceiling is with the M1 Max.

Reference: Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro review, Apple Mac Studio and M1 Ultra announcement

Intel's 12th Gen Core (Alder Lake architecture)

The last few years have been tough for the big blue to maintain its status quo as the processor of choice for enthusiasts. Sure, it's still the most sought after option in the mobile and server space, but enthusiasts have had renewed interest in AMD's Ryzen series as viable and strong alternatives for their next work and/or gaming platform.

Finally, in late 2021, Intel unleashed a brand new processor architecture that's totally reworked from the ground up and has moved on from the DNA laid out in the Skylake architecture since 2015. Codenamed Alder Lake, it is the basis of Intel's 12th Gen Core processor family. Intel also wasted no time populating the desktop and mobile segments with a vast array of new processors that are now featured in various desktops and laptops. Alder Lake is a massive shift of architecting a family of processors where two different core types - Performance and Efficient - exist to address various workload types based on the intended market segment it is addressing. Using Intel's new 7 process technology, the Alder Lake has processor models to fit the ultra-mobile segment with 9W TDP chips, all the way to their leading desktop juggernaut at 125W TDP.

This is the first time that a performance-oriented x86 processor has been designed with two distinct core types, just like many Arm processors. To make this a reality, the Intel Thread Director intelligence layered was designed to work with Windows 11 and schedule jobs to the most appropriate processing cores available at any instant, including weighing telemetric data to consider the load, temperature and other parameters. To round up the new processor's capabilities, new smart power management and an AI acceleration engine called Intel AMX were added to better manage the processor and tackle new-age applications that frequently employ AI-enhanced tasks.

Last but not least, the Alder Lake architecture via the Intel 12th Gen Core is designed to take advantage of cutting-edge platform technologies such as DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E and Thunderbolt 4 as standard fare. It was a long time coming, but the 12th Gen Core wasn't just a marketing spiel as their Core i9-12900K showed us its mantle, thus clinching our best gaming CPU recommendation or even the best CPU outright for any work. Even on the mobile front, their top-end Core i9-12900HK had an impressive showing.

With so much engineering at various levels to make the Alder Lake architecture a reality, we're gladly awarding the 12th Gen Core our Innovation Award to recognise the immense steps that Intel has taken, and we look forward to more systems championing the new processor series this year.

References: Alder Lake hybrid scalable architecture, 12th Gen Core i9-12900K, the new best gaming CPU, Test driving the mobile Core i9-12900HK

ROG Flow Z13 gaming notebook (GZ301)

The ROG Flow Z13 is not quite like your ordinary gaming notebook. For one, it’s more a tablet than a notebook – albeit one that’s designed from the ground up for gamers. Then, there are the specifications. The 13.4-inch model sold in Singapore is powered by an Intel 12th Core i7-12700H processor and paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU. Mixing the lowest-tier discrete graphics processor from NVIDIA with the powerful Intel CPU seems like an odd decision, since the RTX 3050 may not offer a lot of gaming prowess. But it does allow for the Flow Z13 to retain its slim and mobile design since it does not require a large cooling system. It also meant that the notebook offers a lot more in terms of battery life than notebooks with more powerful GPUs.

We think it’s a great foresight by ROG from a design perspective.

Think about it: “Gamers” these days do not just play games on their devices. They want more possibilities, and the Flow Z13 offers that by virtue of its ‘tablet’ form-factor. 

Want to catch your favourite Netflix show on the couch? Fold the detachable keyboard to the back or remove it completely and place it on your lap. Do you love mixing EDM tracks? Connect a DJ controller to it and the Flow Z13’s touchscreen and kickstand allow you to turn it into a mixer. Oh, you really want to play high-end games too? Guess what, you can connect an ROG XG Mobile eGPU that’s powered by a GeForce RTX 3080 (the eGPU is sold separately) and turn it into a gaming powerhouse.

We truly consider the ROG Flow Z13 one of the gaming company’s best innovations yet. Granted, the ROG Flow Z13 is also arguably ahead of its time. But if anything, it offers a wondrous peek at what the future of “mobile” gaming could possibly look like. And we got to say we like what we are seeing.

Reference: ROG Flow Z13 Impressions