T3 Awards 2020: Braun Series 9 is the electric shaver of the year

T3 Awards 2020: Braun Series 9 is our #1 electric razor

(Image credit: Braun)

published 12 June 2020

It's been a 'close shave' but at the T3 Awards 2020 Braun has beaten Philips by a 'hair's breadth' to win Best electric shaver! The two ever-warring titans of male grooming will be back to contest this again next year but for now, the brawn of Braun has won out, and subjected Philips' razor to erasure.

The Braun Series 9 uses five cutting elements to remove more stubble with each pass. As a result it's perfectly capable of dealing with up to three days' worth of beard growth, with minimal irritation.

Able to be used wet or dry, the Series 9 is good for an hour of shaving from about an hour of charging, so it's always hot to trot. Cleaning can be done either in Braun's cleaning station, on selected models, or by simply running it under the tap.

Beards are more popular than they used to be – in fact even Gillette now has a beard care range – and men shave much less often, so it's good to know that Braun's flagship shaver can handle longer lengths of stubble.

If you are more of a clean cut fella, the titanium-bladed Series 9 makes a daily shave all but effortless.

Highly Commended: Philips Series 9000 Prestige

T3 Awards 2020: Philips Series 9000 is Highly Commended

Cruelly robbed of the title due to Braun's 2020 improvements to the Series 9, the Prestige is nonetheless still the best electric shaver you can buy. It's just the premium you pay for it leaves the Braun looking like a massive bargain, as well as a great razor.

However, those with the money – or canny shoppers who find it at a reduced price –are rewarded with a great-looking, wireless-charging, smooth-shaving monster of a shaver. The handsome Qi pad it comes with can even be used to recharge your phone and other compatible tech, when the Prestige isn't resting its head there.

• T3 Awards 2020 – all the announcements so far.

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."

Highly Commended: Philips Series 9000 Prestige

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