Announcing the categories for the 2018 T3 Awards!

published 31 August 2018

T3 Awards 2018 are GO, and the number of categories is bigger than ever. Just as T3 has expanded its remit beyond core mobile, gaming and computer tech, so have the Awards… Although all the nominees are undoubtedly grounded in tech.

The Awards will be on September 27 2018 at a totally new venue, where black tie will not be required, although disco trousers might… We're taking over London's legendary Ministry of Sound for one night, and it. Will. Be. LARGE.

There are a nice, round 50 categories this year covering everything from TVs to Tefals and Bluetooth speakers to smart fans. To kickstart proceedings, here are the nominees in four of the key categories, plus all the other categories that we shall be ploughing through. Good luck to all our nominees.

Gadget of the year

Apple iPhone X

Apple's next-gen phone changed how flagship mobiles look, and introduced the world to animated emojis.

Samsung Galaxy S9

Samsung's latest range-topper continued the very fine work of the S8 (and S7 and S6 and…)

Amazon Echo Spot

Arguably the best Echo to date, this is tiny, yet can handle video calling, and connect to an external speaker for your musical enjoyment. It's also got a very fresh look.

Microsoft Xbox One X

Do you crave ultimate power? Then this is the only game in console town right now.

Sonos One

Great speaker, great home AI (Alexa is built in), 200 quid. Now that is hard to resist…

Dell XPS 13

The latest refinement of Dell's top laptop out-MacBook-Pros the MacBook Pro. As used by Michael Douglas in Ant Man and The Wasp, no less…

Oculus Go

VR that's ready for home and away, with no need for wires or holding your smartphone in front of your face…

Apple HomePod

Apple's first speaker for years blows away the competition when it comes to audio quality

Huawei P20 Pro

The device that took Huawei from disruptor to champion, the P20 Pro is a textbook 2018 flagship phone

Phone of the year

iPhone X

Still holding its value months after release, can it defeat the array of newer phones in this list?

Samsung Galaxy S9

Samsung has won this Award for the last 3 years. Can the S9 make it 4?

Huawei P20 Pro

Has to be a good outside bet for the smartphone gong…

Google Pixel 2 XL

And finally, Google gets own-brand mobiles just right.

OnePlus 6

Another former 'challenger brand' that's now won the right to sit at the top table

HTC U12+

HTC continues to turn out beautifully designed phones for mobile connoisseurs.

LG G7 ThinQ

LG delivered in no uncertain terms when it came to screen, audio and camera, here.

Honor 10

Can a phone be nominated for Best Mid-price Phone and Best Phone? Turns out it can…

Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium

Sony kept things ticking over before an anticipated 5G reboot next year with this typically fast, efficient phone with an expert camera eye.

Brand of the Year

Which of these big hitters had the most bigly hittingest year of all? That's what we'll be deciding over the next month… The nominees are as follows:

Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Samsung, LG, Sony, and Huawei

Retailer of the Year

In this category, Amazon, John Lewis, Currys, AO, Richer Sounds and eBuyer go mano-a-mano to be crowned Sultan of Shops. From multi-national behemoths to the UK's favourites, from online-only to bricks and mortar, these are the shops that rocked 2018.

Tech Personality of the Year and Tech Legend

Previous winners have included everyone from Lord Sugar to Stephen Fry to Gary Numan to Mark Zuckerberg (!) Who will join these prestigious ranks in 2018?

And these are the other categories to be decided…

We will be burning the midnight oil – and then some – to decide everything from which of the latest Bluetooth noise-cancelling headphones is the best, to what device we most favour when it comes to keeping our garden lawns in shape. Not that there's much point doing that now it's all turned to crunchy straw.

• Best Laptop in association with AO.com

• Tech Innovation for the Future in association with Honor

• Innovation of the Year

• Best Gadget under £100 (media partner: The Sun)

• Best Luxury Tech

• Best Video Streaming Service

• Best TV

• Best TV Platform

• Best TV Audio Product

• Best Bluetooth Over- or On-Ear Headphones

• Best Bluetooth In-Ear Headphones

• Best Bluetooth Speaker

• Best Multiroom Speaker

• Best Hi-Fi Product

• Best Smart Home Tech

Best Connected Lighting

• Best Connected Security in association with Express VPN

• Best Connected Energy Product

• Best Home Networking Tech

• Best Mid-Range Phone

• Best Mobile Accessory

• Best VPN

• Best Gaming Laptop

• Best Gaming Accessory

• Best Compact, DSLR or CSC Camera

• Best Lifestyle Camera

• Best Fitness Wearable

• Best Running Headphones

• Best Home Fitness Tech

• Best Bike

• Best Car

• Best Car Gadget

• Best Travel Tech

• Best Personal Grooming Tech

• Best Watch

• Best Home Appliance

• Best Oven

• Best Dishwasher

• Best Vacuum Cleaner

• Best Washing Machine

• Best Small Appliance

• Best Garden Tech

• Best Home Air Improvement Tech

• Best Fridge

Best Laptop

Dell XPS 13

Microsoft Surface Book 2

Asus Zenbook UX310UA

HP ENVY x2 4G

Apple Macbook Pro with Touch Bar

Lenovo Yoga 920

Duncan is the former lifestyle editor of T3 and has been writing about tech for almost 15 years. He has covered everything from smartphones to headphones, TV to AC and air fryers to the movies of James Bond and obscure anime. His current brief is everything to do with the home and kitchen, which is good because he is an excellent cook, if he says so himself. He also covers cycling and ebikes – like over-using italics, this is another passion of his. In his long and varied lifestyle-tech career he is one of the few people to have been a fitness editor despite being unfit and a cars editor for not one but two websites, despite being unable to drive. He also has about 400 vacuum cleaners, and is possibly the UK's leading expert on cordless vacuum cleaners, despite being decidedly messy. A cricket fan for over 30 years, he also recently become T3's cricket editor, writing about how to stream obscure T20 tournaments, and turning out some typically no-nonsense opinions on the world's top teams and players.

Before T3, Duncan was a music and film reviewer, worked for a magazine about gambling that employed a surprisingly large number of convicted criminals, and then a magazine called Bizarre that was essentially like a cross between Reddit and DeviantArt, before the invention of the internet. There was also a lengthy period where he essentially wrote all of T3 magazine every month for about 3 years.

A broadcaster, raconteur and public speaker, Duncan used to be on telly loads, but an unfortunate incident put a stop to that, so he now largely contents himself with telling people, "I used to be on the TV, you know."