You might have noticed something has been happening TechRadar this past week. We've been talking about phones a bit – OK, OK, a lot more than usual - and it's all been leading up to this.
Our Phone Week is culminating in the TechRadar Phone Awards 2015, which take place tonight in a swanky London location.
Here's the place to follow all the action and find out who the champions are when the awards properly kick off at 8:15PM BST tonight.
Live Blog:
20:48 Thanks for tuning in guys! See you all again next year with some brand new phones to get through.
20:47 Drum roll please... the top phone is Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge! Congratulations to Samsung for creating the best phone of the year!
20:46 Highly commended goes to the iPhone 6 Plus, a great phone!
20:45 This is it. The big one. Are you ready?
20:43 How are we here already? It's time for Best Tablet! The winner is the iPad Air 2 with the Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet in second place.
20:42 Best Value Phone now with the Moto G (2014) taking the top award and the Microsoft Lumia 640 taking the commendable award.
20:41 Now for Best Value Tablet - the boys are steaming through these! Commended award goes to the Nvidia Shield with the top award going to the Tesco Hudl 2.
20:40 Now for Best App voted for by TechRadar readers. It's WhatsApp! By quite some way as well, you must love that in-app calling.
20:38 Next up is Best Smartwatch that goes to the Apple Watch with the commendable award going to the Sony Smartwatch 3.
20:36 The panel is over. Time for the awards. First up is Best Innovation with Ikea Wireless Charging Range taking the top prize and the Apple Pay coming in second place.
20:17 - First up is our Phone Awards TechRadar panel. We have Patrick Goss Global Editor-In-Chief, Gareth Beavis Phone and Tablet Editor, John McCann Deputy Phones and Tablets Editor, Matt Hanson Phones and Tablets Writer and James Peckham Phones and Tablets Writer reminiscing about the Pebl.
The guys are discussing their future wishlist for phones - improved battery life. More power, better longevity. Thinner format.
The floor is open to questions from the audience:
Q 1. When it comes to VR, it's mainly discussed in relation to gaming, how will that expand in the future?
A. Panel: We'll see VR being available on phones rather than just consoles in the future. 8K screens will need to be pushed before people are satisfied with the quality. On PCs being tethered can be a limiting factor. With mobile tethering, it will be less intrusive and will help drive the immersive experience.
The panel discuss how mobile will enable a broader spectrum of experiences for VR eg. Watching a film whilst on the moon- crazy!
Q. 2. Will Apple follow the wireless charging trend?
A. Panel: Our panel leader Mr Beavis thinks they will. It seems to be what people want in general so that should gather steam as it becomes more mainstream. Matt Hanson reckons standards will be important - perhaps all charging should be generic. Now Ikea are getting in on the tech, it makes sense to broaden consumer options.
Q. 3. What's the panel's favourite emoji?
A. Panel: James Peckham: Gotta be the happy poo! Way to bring the tone down there James.
Gareth: The keyboard differential gets confusing - they all look a bit different and it's definitely a "big" issue that we should all try and tackle. Take the praying emoji- is it a high five or praying hands? (quick audience vote) undecided.
Q. 4. from the Panel, to the Panel: Wearables...what do we think about them?
A. John: In their current form they're nice to have if you love tech. They can also be expensive. But as they'll only get better and better it's something we'll enjoy seeing new versions of.
Matt: We need that lightbulb moment - if we leave our smartwatch at home for example, would it be indespensible. It'll get exciting when the moment comes that you go back home to get your smartwatch.
Gareth: It's great for fitness - it's very exciting. Heartrate, gps, training on the go - 5 years ago this would have been sci fi, and now it's distilled to your wrist in an awesome way.
Patrick: Nial stands up when he's told - the pavlovian effect!
Q. 5. An anti-tech question (audience is ooh-ing) What do you think about people looking to place communication boundaries in their life?
A. Patrick: The word Luddite exists for a reason. Technology has good and bad sides. Sometimes focus on the bad, and actually tech is about humans being humans and it's a perfectly valid choice to switch off...but I won't be. [Audience: Don't you want to turn it off even a little?] I can't empathise, sorry!
Gareth: It's like those times when you're in bed with a partner and you're both on your phones at 11pm...
Matt: It might have implications too with VR, in a more immersive environment, it might exclude people from non-technologically-wired lives even more. Companies might need to step back a bit eg wearables making you feel guilty.
Patrick: Thanks for all your questions bring on the smiley poo!
Categories include Best Phone, Best Tablet, Best Value Phone, Best Value Tablet, Best Innovation, Best Wearable and Best App. Get your guesses on who is going to win in the comments now!
- In the meantime be sure to check out all of our Phone Week content here.
