Best Tech Brands of 2022: HWM+HWZ.com Tech Awards Readers' Choice Results

And the results are in for Singapore's top technology brands of 2022!

Welcome to the 13th annual HardwareZone+HWM Tech Awards where we honour the best tech products and brands in Singapore. You've seen our complete Editor's Choice results where we handpicked our favourites for Best Mobile Gadgets, Best Gadgets for the Home, Best Devices for Office and Work, and Best Gadgets for Gaming.

Now, it's time to reveal your favourites. This year, we had 45 Readers' Choice categories where you voted for your best tech brands in four major sectors: Computing, Consumer Electronics, Communications & Services, and Gaming.

We tabulated over 13,000 votes in total for this year's polling period, a huge growth over last year, which proves the popularity and relevance of the Tech Awards in recognising the best brands in the industry. We'd like to thank our readers for making the Readers' Choice segment a true reflection of consumer sentiment in a very competitive technology market. Without further ado, the results:-

Best CPU Brand - AMD

Winner Winner, Ryzen Dinner! AMD has edged out Intel in our Readers’ Choice poll for Best CPU Brand. The company has been gaining share on Intel since 2019 beginning with their Ryzen 3000 series chips, growing from 20% to 45% in the past three years, and then finally taking the crown in 2022 with 51% of total votes. This is a testament to the strengths of the current-gen Ryzen 5000 series CPUs. Even as you read this, AMD has just released the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, before the next-generation Ryzen 7000 series is slated for launch in the later part of 2022.

Best Motherboard Brand - ASUS

Can anyone beat ASUS in the PC DIY scene? Last year, we talked about how ASUS’ share actually dropped from 62% to 54% in this category, even though it was still pretty much a landslide win for the brand. Still, it showed that users were willing to diversify into some of the smaller, niche brands such as EVGA, Biostar and ECS. This year however, ASUS’ share rose back up to 59%, eroding the votes from the aforementioned smaller brands.

Best SSD Brand - Samsung

Samsung continues to be the fan favourite of HardwareZone readers taking 33% of overall votes counted. SSDs don’t see too much shakeup in terms of product offerings, so this is quite a stable category. We see very similar voting trends each year with some minor movement down the line, such as Seagate and Intel switching places for 3rd and 4th spots. Sandisk gained 2% from last year, eroding Samsung’s share just slightly, but unless a major shift happens in the SSD industry, we would likely see Samsung back again next year for their 9th win.

Best External Storage Brand - Seagate

Unlike the Best SSD Brand category, the Best External Storage Brand category is still quite hotly contested. Seagate may have managed to win this award for the 4th time running now, with 26% of total votes, but the top four brands are pretty close in the running. WD, Sandisk and Samsung have 20%, 19%, and 18% of votes respectively. Standards advancements such as USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 should provide improved performance for such devices in the next few years. We’re also seeing a greater trend in personal computing getting even thinner and lighter, which should give new use cases for external storage.

Best NAS Brand - WD

This year’s Best NAS Brand category has been interesting for two reasons. Firstly, we have seen WD gaining a massive vote share from just 9% in the 2020 Awards, to being the undisputed winner in 2022 with 30% of the total votes. This is a big jump even from second place ASUStor at 19%, which is actually another surprising entry for us, pushing Synology to third place with 18% of votes. Our best guess for this result is perhaps a shift in user-base for NAS devices, with a rise in personal cloud storage for the average consumer, where WD’s MyCloud devices are more popular and more accessible than Synology or Netgear.

Best NAS Storage Brand - Seagate

A new category this year that we created as a result of last year’s voting where Seagate won the Best NAS Brand Award even though they technically do not sell NAS devices at all. As expected, with 48% of the inaugural voting in this category, Seagate has already built itself a solid brand recognition for storage solutions used within NAS devices. And interestingly, even though WD won this year’s Best NAS Brand, they’re not as recognised for their drives alone.

Best Wireless Networking Brand - ASUS

At a glance, this chart looks very much like last year’s chart. ASUS continues to claim 33% vote share for a 9th consecutive win in the Best Wireless Networking Brand category. Networking is a category where connectivity and performance are all that matters, a metric that even the most casual of users expect, and as such ASUS has managed to entrench themselves through their gaming-focused ROG line. Today, they’re well known not just for superior wireless performance, but also as one of the few brands that continue to push the latest in standards, security, advanced user customisation and building a robust networking ecosystem through AiMesh functionality to enable compatible ASUS routers to work together in a single SSID. For those who want simplicity, ASUS has them covered with their ZenWiFi offerings. Clearly, ASUS is catering to users of all classes and needs with aplomb to garner this level of support.

Best IP Camera Brand - D-Link

D-Link is once again our Readers’ Choice for Best IP Camera Brand with 19% of total votes, but their comfortable lead in last year’s awards has eroded somewhat. Samsung has retained their 18% vote count, which is identical to what they achieved last Tech Awards season, but just shy of taking the top spot. The rest of our chart actually looks very similar to last year too, with just minor 1-2% differences between third-place TP-Link and fourth place Yi. However, we saw more votes coming in for smaller brands that were too tiny individually to make it into the chart, but commanded a total of 7% of the combined vote.

Best Webcam Brand - Logitech

This is a new category introduced for our 2022 awards which tracked webcam brand recognition over the 2021 voting period. Within two years of prolonged work-from-home arrangements due to the pandemic, we saw a sharp rise for the need for dedicated webcams with better quality cameras and connectivity. And it isn’t just for the sake of taking virtual meetings and presentations, but the ability to record better quality video too. Simply put, the average notebook webcam no longer made the cut. For this award category, our inaugural winner is Logitech, by a landslide, raking in almost half of all votes at 49%. Interestingly, the next best preference is ASUS.

Best Home Printer Brand - Canon

This year’s Best Home Printer Brand Award goes to Canon, with an almost identical voting pattern to last year’s Tech Awards. Canon wins with 40% of the votes, 1% more than last year, while HP and Brother retain their 22% vote share each. In 4th place, we have Epson at 16%, While printing is heavily focused on consumable usage - from paper or ink - every major brand rolled out products and initiatives in 2021 that focused not just on affordability and saving ink, but also recycling and eco-friendly features. 

Best Office Printer Brand - Fujifilm Business Innovation

This year’s voting results saw a bigger shift away from the incumbent, with more votes for Canon, Brother and Epson respectively. And we believe that this could be because of the fact that Fuji Xerox has completed their rebranding to Fujifilm Business Innovation, which might have affected their long-standing brand recognition in a public voting exercise such as this. Regardless, Fujifilm Business Innovation still managed to chalk up the win with 27% of votes.

Best Computer Chair Brand - SecretLab

Another new category borne from two years of work-from-home arrangements where employees and gamers alike had to source for their own setup. SecretLab wins this category with a convincing 47% of total votes. 2021 saw a refresh of their existing lineup with the Titan Evo 2022 series that featured new materials and new ergonomics that had been highly regarded in our reviews. The home-grown brand doesn't only deliver a great chair, but one that appeals to fans through countless collaborations that are unmatched by any others. That alone makes them a standout from the get-go as far as marketing and positioning are concerned.

Best Ultraportable Notebook Brand - Apple

Apple continues to dominate our Readers’ Choice polls, increasing its lead with 33% of total votes. Likely, the MacBook Pro with M1 Max chipset was the culprit. In second place, ASUS managed to maintain their 20% share, while Lenovo, Dell and HP lost some ground to the benefit of Microsoft. These results actually seem to fit with the increased popularity in the Windows PC market for hybrids like the Surface Pro 8, and innovations such as the multi-display ZenBook Duos from ASUS.

Best Convertible Notebook Brand - ASUS

The close rivalry between ASUS and Microsoft fans continues in our polls for Best Convertible Notebook Brand, with ASUS clinching the title for the third year in a row now, but with the slimmest of margins at 26% versus 25% total vote count respectively. As mentioned in the Ultraportable Notebook award, Microsoft’s Surface lineup is often seen as the standard-bearer for hybrid and convertible notebooks, while ASUS stays relevant as one of the few consistent innovators for convertible and hybrid notebooks from their standard ZenBook Flip series to the wilder ZenBook 17 Fold OLED and ROG Flow Z13.

Best Business Notebook Brand - Lenovo

Our Readers’ Choice polls tell a very interesting story when it comes to notebooks. While Apple is the thought leader for Ultraportables as a generic category, Lenovo remains your first choice when it comes to Best Business Notebook Brand. No doubt the ThinkPad heritage carries incredible weight here, but we would also say the standard Yoga line has done well for the more lifestyle-conscious user in recent years. Compared to last year’s results, Lenovo has managed to pull away from Apple with a more comfortable lead of 26% of total votes than last year.

Best PC Components Retailer (Singapore) - Fuwell

One would never know our readers are so passionate about where they get PC components from, a sign that the DIY culture is still quite alive. Last year saw Dynacore Tech tripping Fuwell’s 11-year winning streak, but Fuwell is once again your Best PC Components Retailer in this year’s voting. However, the results were again down to the wire of a mere 45-vote difference between first and second place among the thousands of voters in total.

Best Smartwatch Brand - Apple

Here’s a classic example of branding vs product. In our Editor’s Choice segment of the Awards, we gave Best Smartwatch to the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Series because of the major improvements that came with it. In fact, according to Counterpoint Research, Samsung recorded its strongest shipments ever in Q3 2021. Still, we have to admit that every other brand is still finding its footing, while Apple has long established exactly what a smartwatch is, and because of that, they continue not just to lead, but to dominate the market, growing from last year’s 50% share to a new high of 57% in this year’s voting.

Best True Wireless Earbuds Brand - Apple

The competition in this category is incredibly saturated, something you’ll see reflected in our Editor’s Choice award nominees for the same category. However, our Readers’ Choice polls show a clear favourite with Apple carving an extra 6% of the TWS pie for themselves to win Best True Wireless Earbuds Brand with a total of 36% of the votes. Interestingly, the only new model Apple launched last year was the basic AirPods 3rd Generation. Sony, in second place also grew their vote share slightly from 9% to 11% this year with the flagship WF-1000XM4 still considered the best overall pair of TWS earbuds.

Best Active Noise Cancelling Headphones Brand - Sony

Apple has only ever released one product that fits this category - the AirPods Max in late 2020 - and they’ve managed to immediately propel themselves from non-contender to second place within one voting cycle. With 27% of your votes, the top spot is still held on strongly by Sony, which by the time you read this, would have launched their next-generation WH-1000XM5 flagship. Bose, which won Editor’s Choice Best Noise Cancelling Headphone for the QuietComfort 45, has slipped to 3rd place in the Readers’ Choice.

Best Smart Speaker Brand - JBL

Watching the votes roll in year-on-year for the Best Smart Speaker Brand category is a wild ride. Here, the competition is stiff, and every brand is within 1-2% of each other, with no indication of a clear favourite. And because of this, it feels like a round of musical chairs; it’s anyone’s game. This year’s winner is JBL with 15% of the total votes, while Bose takes second place with 14% of the votes, flipping the results from last year.

Best Soundbar Brand - Bose

Soundbars have evolved from being a speaker compromise to full Hi-Fi setups, to being able to stand on their own with impressive technologies, expansive surround sound, smart assistant support and multi-room functionality. It is no wonder soundbars have their own award this year. The inaugural winner is Bose, with 21% of the total vote count. Sonos comes in second place with 16%, while Bang & Olufsen is third with 13%. This first batch of results does give us a glimpse of the buying habits of our readers, who are willing to spend more on premium brands.

Best Home Theatre System Brand - Bose

Nobody can knock Bose off this pedestal it seems and they are once again your Best Home Theatre System Brand…12 years in a row. And they’ve done it this year with 25% of the total votes. In second and third places are B&O and Sonos, with 17% and 14% votes respectively. All three have actually managed to increase their vote share over last year’s results. Yes, these results are very similar to the Best Soundbar Brand category for now, and it is exactly our intention to eventually differentiate the two as the categories further evolve over the next few years.

Best Mini Projector Brand - Lumos

Another new category for this year’s Readers’ Choice is Best Mini Projector Brand. This seems to be a fast-growing segment that has gotten even the big brands interested in this year. For example, the Samsung Freestyle projector. The uniqueness of a mini projector is literally having a portable cinema that you can carry with you, set up anywhere, on any wall. The inaugural winner of Best mini Projector Brand goes to local brand Lumos, earning 19% of your total votes. Well-known for affordable home projector options, their timing to enter the market was ripe when Covid-19 struck. The rest was history. In second place, Xiaomi garnered 13%, while third place was shared by ASUS and Epson at 11% of the slice each.

Best Home Theatre Projector Brand - Sony

When it comes to the more traditional notion of home theatre projectors, the Best Home Theatre Projector Brand award goes to Sony. However, the results this year are rather telling. Last year, Sony was also the winner with a 31% vote share and a healthy 12-point lead over second-place Epson. This year, the votes were more evenly spread out and Sony’s 18% winning votes are only marginally higher than second-place Samsung (16%). Even Epson (15%) and Benq (14%) are within a stone’s throw.

It's quite likely that the Covid situation accelerated interest in adopting high-quality home theatre projectors to skirt past going to theatres and enjoying the full movie glory in the comfort of one's home. The increased interest would mean consumers are looking out for viable options, and that would have helped increase brand awareness across the board since Sony, while having an excellent set of projector options, are quite expensive to most consumers.

Best TV Brand - Samsung

Samsung has once again been voted as Best TV Brand with a total of 30% of your votes. Prism+, in second place, got 22% of the votes. Last year’s fight was much closer with Samsung and Prism+ having only 1% difference in vote count. LG, remains in third place with the same 19%. Samsung stays relevant by having a full suite of TVs from entry 4K to flagship 8K that place a high emphasis on usability and design that's unmatched by others, while also having unique art and designer models such as Frame and Serif series to fit every home. Prism+, on the other hand, has played the value card so well, they’ve become a household name. And they’re now stepping directly on LG’s toes with their new OLED offerings.

Best Camera Brand - Canon

We seem to have a very loyal camera following here at HardwareZone, and our polls reflect that. Results are very similar to last year, within 1-2 percentage points. Canon is the clear winner for Best Camera Brand with 39% of your total votes, while Nikon and Sony come in second and third place with 20% and 19%, respectively. Some notable models announced in 2021 from the top three brands include the Canon EOS R5 C, EOS R3 and more recently the EOS R7 and R10, Nikon Z9 and Z fc, Sony Alpha 1 and Alpha 7 IV.

Best Electronics Chain Store (Singapore) - Challenger

While other brands may carry electronic goods and gadgets, Challenger stores are ubiquitous in Singapore as a speciality consumer electronics retailer, and it shows. Once again, they are the clear favourite for Best Electronics Chain Store (Singapore), garnering 30% of the total vote count. In the second place, we have Harvey Norman with 18% of the votes, and then much closer competition in third to 6th places between Best Denki, Courts, Audio House and Gain City. Almost all nominees have ranked very similarly in mind share to last year's standings. Did you also know there's a Challenger.sg  shopping portal, Kingdom Technologies computer brand that is owned by Challenger and retails at all its outlets, and that you can rent a laptop through their ITEZ subscription service? Well, now you do, and that's how Challenger is staying ahead in 2022.

Best Electronics Shopping Portal (Singapore) - Shopee

Shopee won this category for the first time last year, and they’ve done it again. This year, Shopee managed to capture 26% of your votes, while Lazada remained in second place with 21% and Amazon Singapore is a distant third with 11%. What used to be gimmicky marketing for Shopee has turned into a household strength for cringeworthy-yet-catchy jingles by local and international celebrities alike. We also feel that Shopee has integrated themselves better with features such as ShopeePay deals at food kiosks, making them more relevant in daily life.

Best Smartphone Brand - Apple

With 54% of total votes, Apple’s holds unshakable dominance in this category. However, the results of our Readers’ Choice polling over the past five years is very interesting. First, it tracked the rise of Huawei, from 4% in 2018, to its 13% peak in 2020, and back to 4% in 2022. Secondly, both Apple and Samsung’s vote share remained stable throughout 2018-2020; However, in 2021 and 2022, Apple’s share increased while Samsung stayed the same, painting a picture that the majority of ex-Huawei users have likely migrated to iOS rather than staying in Android.

Best Tablet Brand - Apple

For many years, the Apple iPad was the only true tablet device in the market, while Samsung stuck to its guns with the Galaxy Tab series. However, 2021 saw the Android camp rallying with multiple tablet devices from Lenovo to Xiaomi, Nokia and even Huawei. It would seem that tablets are a thing again. Clearly, we know Apple would come out on top, but we thought we should revisit this category for Readers’ Choice polling just to see where the consumer mindset is at the moment.

Best Telco Service Provider (Singapore) - Singtel

Last year, we split the telco category into two distinct awards for main telco and MVNO providers to better differentiate market offerings. This year, we’ve streamlined choices further by grouping telcos and their own MVNO-equivalent offerings, so true third-party providers have their own pie to enjoy. Singtel (along with their sub-brand Gomo) emerge as the winner for the Best Telco Service Provider in Singapore with 48% of total votes, a slight decline from last year’s 55%. StarHub (along with sub-brand Giga) come in second place with 26%, while M1 has 20% of the votes. A note to readers, during the voting process, Simba Telecom was known as TPG.

Best MVNO Service Provider (Singapore) - MyRepublic

We removed telco-branded services from this category (as opposed to last year) to allow true third-party MVNO providers to shine, and you can now clearly see the major players in the market. MyRepublic is the top choice for Best MVNO Service Provider (Singapore), capturing 46% of your total votes while Circles.Life, the granddaddy of MVNOs in Singapore, comes in second place with 35%. Changi Mobile, the newest player that only entered the market in late 2021, debuts in third place with a respectable 10% vote share.

Best Fibre Broadband Service Provider (Singapore) - Singtel

Singtel continues to be the dominant brand and is once again voted as the Best Fibre Broadband Service Provider (Singapore). With 37% of total votes, Singtel has a very comfortable lead. What’s interesting is the fierce competition for second and third place. MyRepublic continues to be a very popular choice among our readers, but StarHub fans have fought back tooth and nail to regain the second spot. While the chart shows both brands having the same 21% share, StarHub pulls ever so slightly ahead with 75 votes.

Best Pay TV Service Provider (Singapore) - StarHub TV

StarHub continues to be the top choice of our readers, winning Best Pay TV Service Provider (Singapore) for another year. However, the margins are small, and both Singtel TV (49%) and StarHub TV (51%) are pretty much equally matched. Now that streaming content has become the major factor for local service providers, it seems like loyalties lie with the provider that’s able to offer the most comprehensive bundle package. Clearly, StarHub has been busy pushing out more updates with a comprehensive HubBundle service combo offering, adding Amazon Prime, Paramount Network and Viu streaming services, and even rolled out free high-end soundbars for those signing up or re-contracting their broadband. 

Best Video Streaming Service Provider (Singapore) - Netflix

Netflix is undoubtedly still the O.G. of video streaming, easily winning this category with 67% of the votes, but that’s actually an 11% drop over last year’s results. Disney+ finally entering the fray, immediately grabbing 9% of the pie, while other providers such as HBO Go and Amazon Prime Video have started shoring up exclusive content. This, in effect, reduces the overall library Netflix used to own, intensifying competition for user eyeballs.

Best Audio Streaming Service Provider (Singapore) - Spotify

Similar to Netflix’s position in the video streaming category, Spotify has long been unchallenged for music streaming. Not because there is no competition, but because the available choices just weren’t competitive enough for the Singapore market. However, with YouTube Music picking up steam and Apple Music making headlines in 2021 with lossless audio upgrades, we thought it was the right time to start tracking the trends in this category.

Best Graphics Processor Brand - NVIDIA

We would love another underdog story here like the CPU category, but no such luck. NVIDIA is firmly planted on the throne of Best Graphics Processor Brand, and for good reason too. RTX chips have grown from strength to strength, generation-on-generation. With an RTX 3080 Ti, ray tracing is no longer a sacrifice, that is, if you could get your hands on one. Regardless, with 75% of the total votes, our readers agree too. AMD did increase its mindshare slightly thanks to the value for money Radeon RX 6600 XT, Radeon RX 6500 XT models, while the just launched RX 6650 / 6750 / 6950 XT add even more options for the discerning AMD supporter.

Best Graphics Card Brand - ASUS

It’s always a one-two combo for ASUS in the PC components space as the brand has successfully entrenched itself into the Singaporean psyche. So, it’s really no surprise that ASUS is once again voted Best Graphics Card Brand. This is a 13-year streak, and if they continue pushing the boundaries of performance that gamers crave for, they have nothing to worry about. ASUS also offers one of the widest range of cards for that added push in retail dominance. Even their mid-range GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card offers enough pizazz to stand out comfortably.

Best Gaming Monitor Brand - ASUS

We mentioned this in last year’s results analysis; the difference between flagship gaming monitors and flagship TVs are actually quite distinct. In a TV, overall features count, which is why Prism+ can play the value proposition and go toe to toe with Samsung. For gamers, performance always comes first, then value. And you can clearly see this in our results as ASUS takes Best Gaming Monitor Brand with 26% of the votes, while Prism+ is much further behind at 15%.

Best Gaming Keyboard & Mouse Brand - Razer

We tried splitting up this category last year, but realised that peripherals do tend to come in pairs, and the traditional vote split for both keyboard and mouse categories individually were more or less identical. So, we’re back with a combined award. This year’s winner for Best Gaming Keyboard & Mouse Brand is Razer, with 34% of the total votes, while Logitech and ASUS shore up second and third spots with 24% and 12% respectively.

Best Gaming Headset Brand - Razer

The Best Gaming Headset Brand goes to Razer as well, with 24% of the total votes, a 2-point increase over last year’s results. Razer has been very active in 2021, pushing out plenty of peripherals which also included microphones and speakers, which we believe kept the brand pretty much in the spotlight all year round. In terms of headsets, we’ve got the multi-coloured Opus X, multi-platform Barracuda X, Hammerhead TWS X, and Kraken V3 X.

Best Gaming Desktop PC Brand - Aftershock

ASUS may reign supreme for components and everything from the ROG sub-label is well known for being gamer-approved. However, when it comes to complete, pre-biult systems, local outfit Aftershock has the honours of being our Best Gaming Desktop PC Brand, capturing 38% of total votes in this category. ASUS comes in second place with 20% of the votes, but it’s likely a win-win situation as there will undoubtedly be ASUS parts used in an Aftershock PC as well.

Best Gaming Notebook Brand - Aftershock

One of the few surprises this year are the results for Best Gaming Notebook Brand. Not only is this the first time Aftershock has won this category, they have done so convincingly by capturing 30% of the total votes, a huge lead over ASUS, in second place with 19% vote share. This comes as a surprise because unlike the PC DIY scene, notebooks are more heavily integrated devices, and larger brands such as Dell/Alienware and ASUS have traditionally fared better in our polls. This win could also likely be Aftershock's capability to adapt to the tricky landscape of sourcing for components and thus is able to stay ahead of the curve with offerings that consumers want to have at the time of purchase interest and not seeing a sold-out/out-of-stock label.

Best Gaming Console Brand - Sony

While Sony retains its crown as Best Gaming Console Brand, it does look like the brand has lost some mindshare over the past year. This could very well be due to the fact that PlayStation 5 consoles remain in very short supply, and some fans just haven’t been able to get one. On the other hand, the popularity and availability of Nintendo’s Switch consoles have seen steady growth. Interestingly, Microsoft’s vote share remains at 17%, so all the votes lost by Sony have gone to Nintendo.

Best Gaming Publisher - Nintendo

Perhaps it’s a trickle-down effect on the rise in popularity of the Nintendo Switch, or the controversies that have been dogging Activision Blizzard over the past couple of years, but this year’s results show Nintendo taking the top spot and winning our Best Gaming Publisher award with 16% of the total votes. Activision Blizzard comes in second with 13% and Electronic Arts is third with 11% of the votes.