T3 Awards 2026: All the Tech winners of the year unveiled
The T3 Awards 2026 recognises the very best Tech products of the year
As another year passes in the tech-sphere, once again we can proclaim it an exciting 12 months of new products and innovations. But only the best of the best can claim a prestigious 2026 T3 Award trophy.
From the best phones to the best laptops and beyond, there've been stacks of launches, with T3's team digging in and testing an abundance of new products to pick out as this year's winners.
The T3 Awards 2026 is broader than Tech alone, however, celebrating the year's best products across our brand's full spectrum of coverage – including Active and Home pillars – and assessing the Best Headphones & Audio and Best TVs & A/V too.
But here we're focusing on core Tech, derived from an extensive shortlist that included many highly acclaimed products. Our panel of experts sifted through the lot to bring you only the best – highlighting the kind of luxury tech that will improve your life.
Best Phone
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Always the most contested category, the best phone is one that's undeniably divided into two – that being Apple versus Android.
Sure, Apple's iPhone 17 Pro was a colourful upgrade this year, but it's the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra that went a step further. Its Privacy Display really brought something different to market that you simply can't get anywhere else.
Add to that the gorgeous display and the built-in S-Pen stylus, and, once again, Samsung makes a luxury phone that's quite unlike anything else you can buy.
It's refined, it's boundary-pushing, and while it might well need a camera refresh to take on the encroaching and highly capable Chinese manufacturers, it's still the showcase of the best that Android has to offer.
Highly commended: Oppo Find X9 Pro
Best Folding Phone
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
Folding phones continue to improve, offering a big-screen alternative to the mass-market flagships – one that's increasingly viable for a greater number of prospective buyers.
This year, it's Samsung's long-established model that picks up the top prize, its seventh generation in the game bringing a new proportion that feels skilfully balanced.
No, there's no S Pen stylus support, which could be unforgivable for some (but there's the S26 Ultra for that), and the new design means hardened gamers might be left asking for more due to heat owed to a lack of vapour chamber for cooling.
For the majority, however, this Galaxy is a flagship that brings the benefits of a foldable – and little compromise.
Highly commended: Oppo Find N6
Best Mid-Range Phone
Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
Nothing has been incrementally upping its game, with the Phone (4a) Pro arriving at the perfect cross-section of price to performance, wrapped in a design that's a notch above its previous efforts.
What's really impressive about this device, however, is that it maintains a rival-beating zoom lens as part of its feature set – something that few to no competitors can offer for the same sort of asking price.
Nothing continues to break the mould in fresh and fun ways, standing apart from the core competition, while holding its own in the key areas that matter. And here it's the visual flair of a new metal finish that really elevates that even further.
Highly commended: Google Pixel 10a
Best Laptop
Dell XPS 14 (2026)
At the beginning of 2025, Dell declared its biggest laptop brand was over. XPS was dead. But long live XPS – as it was revived in 2026. Well, more than revived, it was given a whole new lease of life.
The XPS 14 is proof of that. It's the slickest Windows laptop we've seen this year, marrying sleek and gorgeous visuals with heaps of power. That ensures it not only looks good, but it also acts as a genuinely reliable workstation – and, somehow, it can even deliver some gaming clout, too.
When Apple so consistently makes MacBook models that are a shoo-in for this Award category, for Dell to come back from the brink with such a banger is a testament to its years in the business and know-how in making knock-out laptops.
Highly commended: Apple MacBook Pro 14 M5
Best Monitor
Apple Studio Display XDR
Apple has been delivering monitor excellence for some time now, but it's taken a while to upgrade the refresh rate to the levels that people expect. Well, the Studio Display XDR firmly checkmarks the 120Hz box and is a clear winner in many other areas too.
Apple’s new 27-inch display uses a Mini-LED panel, so it provides more brightness and precise colour than previously seen, with impeccable results for pro video editors, visual artists and gamers alike. Using this monitor is simply a dream.
Highly commended: LG UltraGear 45GX950
Best Gaming Laptop
Razer Blade 16
This has been a strong year for gaming laptops, albeit one that didn't see a new generation of laptop graphics (GPUs) hit the market. Even so, the competition is now fiercer than ever.
Razer has positioned itself brilliantly, though, with the Blade 16 continuing to stand out as a high-end option both in design and power terms.
The design here is slimmer than ever, which continues to amaze when you fold it up and put it in a backpack for travel. For a 16-inch gaming machine, it's more portable than anything else out there.
But its extraordinary power also ensures that you can't go wrong. It'll crush the most recent releases, delivering the goods on a beautiful display that will have you doubting whether you ever need an external monitor.
Highly commended: Lenovo Legion 5 (Gen 10)
Best Gaming Chair
SecretLab Titan Evo NanoGen
Some products are so good that they're hard to knock off the top spot – which is exactly the case with the best gaming chair, SecretLab's Titan Evo NanoGen edition, which retains its T3 Awards title for 2026.
This chair is great for gamers, but it'd be great for anyone seeking office comfort too. It looks every bit as good as it feels to sit in, thanks to top build quality and a leatherette finish. It's designed to last for years, too, so it could be a future winner yet again.
Highly commended: Noblechairs Legend
