It's time once again to recognize the hottest tech over the past 12 months with the prestigious T3 Awards. The ceremony itself celebrated a major milestone this year as it's the Awards' 10th anniversary. Tech has changed an incredible amount over the last decade, but the T3 Awards continue to be one of the most coveted honors bestowed upon gadgets and gizmos.
The HTC Vive virtual reality headset was this year's top winner, taking home the distinguished Gadget of the Year award. It was also the only product to go home with multiple gongs: the viewer added Gaming Product of the Year and Innovation of the Year to its accolades.
But the Vive wasn't the only one to score a triple crown - Samsung did as well. In addition to Brand of the Year, Samsung took home honors for Wearable Technology of the Year for its Gear S2 smartwatch and the prized Phone of the Year for the Galaxy S7 Edge.
Sony took home two awards: Television of the Year for the XD93 and Camera of the Year for the A7R II. Tesla snagged Car of the Year honors for the Model X, while Connected Home Tech of the Year was bestowed upon Dyson for its Pure Cool Link fan. Microsoft secured Laptop of the Year for the Surface Book, and the Aston Martin DB11 drove away with the Design of the Year award.
It wasn't just top-flight tech that was recognized this year, however. Recording artist will.i.am, founder of i.am+, joined the ceremony to receive Tech Personality of the Year. Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia and a Time magazine "100 Most Influential People" honoree, was the recipient of the Tech Legend Award. And the Outstanding Contribution to Tech award went to Eben Upton, founder of Raspberry Pi.
As part of the T3 Awards' 10-year celebration, a special one-time Gadget of the Decade award was given. The winner (drum roll, please) was the Apple iPhone. The win is extra special because it was voted on by T3 readers. The iPhone, which will see its 10th edition release next year, topped some impressive semifinalists, namely the iPad, PlayStation 3 and Netflix.
Last but not least, Android was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and the Editors' Choice Award went to the Ring Video Doorbell.
"It's incredible to look back over the past ten years of tech, and see how it's changed and influenced the world we live in. Apple's iPhone is a more than worthy recipient of Gadget of the Decade – it paved the way for all modern smartphones!" says T3 Editor Rob Carney.
"The past 12 months have, once again, not failed to amaze us. VR has truly impacted in a big way, the connected home is becoming ever more commonplace, and the incredible strides technology is making have enabled 100 per cent battery-powered cars. It only brings excitement to what the next 12 months hold for us all."
Here's a full list of T3 Award winners:
Camera of the Year (in association with The Photography Show) Sony A7R II
Design of the Year (in association with Kodak) Aston Martin DB11
Audio Product of the Year Naim Mu-so Qb
Editors' Choice Award Ring
Tech Personality of the Year (in association with Digital Spy) will.i.am
Gaming Product of the Year (in association with GamesRadar+) HTC Vive
Wearable Technology of the Year Samsung Gear S2
Car of the Year Tesla Model X
Streaming Service of the Year Now TV
Laptop of the Year Microsoft Surface Book
Tech Legend Jimmy Wales
Gadget of the Decade (in association with The Sun) Apple iPhone
TV of the Year Sony XD93
Connected Home Tech of the Year Dyson Pure Cool Link
Innovation of the Year (in association with Hive) HTC Vive
Phone of the Year (in association with TechRadar) Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
Outstanding Contribution Eben Upton
Brand of the Year Samsung
Hall of Fame Android
Gadget of the Year (in association with EE) HTC Vive
