In the first-ever Wareable Tech Awards, Apple, HTC and Amazon emerged as big winners. The awards were held at Shoreditch Town Hall and presented by Lucy Hedges, Metro’s Technology Editor. The event was attended by more than 200 tech founders, executives, designers and invited journalists.
Photo by fancycrave1 (Pixabay)Apple, HTC and Amazon emerge as big winners
Apple bagged two awards, with its Watch Series 2 winning the Wearable of the Year and Smartwatch of the Year awards. The fitness tracker title went to Garmin’s Vivosmart HR+. Beating the highly commended Sony PlayStation VR, the award for VR Headset of the Year went to the HTC Vive. The VR Experience award went to Valve’s The Lab. For its connected designer wearables across brands like Michael Kors and Diesel, Fossil Group picked the Fashion Tech Collection of the Year.
In the home segment, the title for Smart Home Platform of the Year went to the Amazon Echo and its Alexa, and the Hive got the Highly Commended nod. Withings and its Health Mate app received the Health and Fitness Platform of the Year Award.
The Startup of the Year title went to New York-based smart fabrics studio Loomia; the Sports Wearable of the Year Award was picked up by Moov Now. Earbud maker Bragi bagged the Hearable of the Year title, while the new Sony Xperia Ear was named as Highly Commended in the same category. For the role played by the Fitbit trackers in more than 160 clinical studies, the Fitbit Group Health won the Saves The Day Project of the Year title, which focuses on tech for good initiatives.
In all, there were 12 awards which were selected by Wareable’s editors in London and San Francisco. Also there were several guest judges: Rachel Arthur (Fashion & Mash), Thomas Tamblyn from the Huffington Post, Kieran Alger (Man V Miles), Amy Cutmore (Ideal Home), Sam Loveridge (Digital Spy), Tom Emrich (We Are Wearables), and WIRED’s Victoria Woollaston. Thousands of readers online also voted for the Wearable of the Year.
What makes the Apple Watch Series 2 so special?
According to Wareable, the Apple Watch Series 2 was chosen because it showed critics what a smartwatch can actually do. Also, according to Wareable, the company created a very desirable wearable packed with plenty of features.
“When we reviewed the Series 2, it scored 4 out of 5 stars as we praised it for its good looking waterproof design, accurate swim tracking, improved notification support and reliable GPS for running,” said Wareable.
Wareable also says watchOS3 has turned the Apple Watch Series 2 into a refined smartwatch experience. With its fitness, swimming and GPS features, it is a truly useful wearable, and its design, despite the inclusion of some heavy features, does know “how to make a statement,” says Wareable.
Wareable said the original Apple Watch did not score well with their executive editor, James Stables, who admitted that it is a decent device but does not see it as a “world beater.”
