Here, we reveal our pick of the hundreds of products we’ve reviewed over the past 12 months, and select two standout choices for technology and sustainability innovation
SUSTAINABILITY EXCELLENCE
WINNER FAIRPHONE 5 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED LOGITECH
“Fairphone is leading the way in tech sustainability by delivering a real product and not just concepts and promises,” said Lee Grant, when we asked him why it earned his praise. “Aside from replaceable batteries, modular design, cost-effective parts, five-year hardware warranty and software support until 2031, the Fairphone 5 has lifecycle sustainability baked into its design.”
The second company to impress Lee? “Logitech continues to push for higher standards of environmental and social governance within its culture, which embrace repair, closed-loop recycling, energy usage, targeted substance avoidance, workers’ rights and climate action.”
BUSINESS HARDWARE OF THE YEAR
WINNER BIAMP PARLE VBC 2500 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED SYNOLOGY DISKSTATION DS1823XS+
“This mighty room bar shows off Biamp’s expertise,” said Dave Mitchell of the Biamp Parlé VBC 2500. “It delivers incredible audio quality and accurate speaker tracking, while its clever Launch feature makes installation a breeze.” And again we must praise Synology for the quality of both its hardware and its software, with the DiskStation DS18123xs+ earning a Highly Recommended award.
LAPTOP OF THE YEAR
WINNER ASUS ZENBOOK S 13 OLED HIGHLY RECOMMENDED SAMSUNG GALAXY BOOK3 ULTRA
When the Asus ZenBook S 13 OLED arrived in our lab, it single-handedly reset our expectations for a 13in ultraportable. It’s light, it’s fast and its battery life (over 16 hours) is superb. But it’s really the knockout OLED screen and build quality that wowed us – all for a competitive £1,600.
While the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra costs almost twice as much, it’s another standout laptop thanks to its stunning 16in OLED screen, slim design, build quality and sheer firepower.
SOFTWARE OF THE YEAR
WINNER MIDJOURNEY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ADOBE PHOTOSHOP
Generative AI has exploded this year, but we’ve been stunned by Midjourney’s work in particular. “If you’re looking at an image and wondering whether it’s AI-generated, there’s a good chance Midjourney’s to blame for that,” said Barry Collins. “In 2023 it raised the bar on the realism of generative AI, creating images that look enormously convincing ��
