It’s that time of year again! Tens of thousands voted online for the What Mobile Awards 2015, sorting through the tough competition in order to crown a well-deserved winner for each of our 21 categories. Here’s a run through of the results:
Hardly surprising that this year’s winner was the iPhone 6, considering that it continues to be one of the most popular handsets ever made. It narrowly beat the Samsung Galaxy S6 – a device that is arguably better on raw specs – by just over 1 per cent.
Another unsurprising win for Apple with the excellent iPad Air 2. Special mention to both the Samsung Galaxy Tab S and Microsoft Surface Pro 3; the top three are all truly five-star products.
A well-deserved win for the Samsung Galaxy S6, which remained the best camera on benchmarking site DxOMark until just recently, when it was overtaken by the Sony Xperia Z5. The iPhone 6 was a close second, losing out by only 1 per cent of the vote.
This could be seen by some as a surprise result, though all of the top three are perfectly suitable winners. Cheaper than the Moto G and with similar specs, we can see why some people would opt for this over the competition.
As the largest provider of phones for the elderly and disabled, Doro has carved a niche of its own that makes it difficult to catch in the specialist category. The heavy-duty Kazam came a close second, with the Sonim not far behind.
It could only really be between two manufacturers, though respect to Sony for completing the top three. Samsung has produced some excellent devices this year, with the S6 edge deserving a notable mention for its mind-blowing aesthetics.
Perhaps a bit of an odd result considering the Tab A costs roughly £180 in most retail outlets. It’s nontheless one of the cheapest yet highest performing Samsung tablets that money can buy. The Hudl 2 gets a well-deserved runner-up, as does the absurdly cheap Amazon Fire HD 6.
EE has successfully defended this award for three years after picking up the prize in the 2013 What Mobile Awards. With a planned 98% coverage by the end of 2015 and the fastest 4G speeds of any network, it is hard to argue with its continued success.
Virgin Media has now held the Best MVNO title for four years, though Giff Gaff only narrowly missed out this time around. Using EE as its virtual network, it is no wonder it has remained top for so long.
Now into its third year as the Best Online Retailer, Mobile Phones Direct continues to thrive as an online-only service which provides deals much cheaper than high-street equivalents. With a huge catalogue of phones and easy-to-navigate website, it is no wonder it has retained its position.
With a whopping 10 years under its belt as Top High-Street Retailer, will anyone ever catch Carphone Warehouse? The recent demise of Phones4U leaves it pretty much unopposed, so expect it to hold this title for years to come.
Four years is a long time to hold a What Mobile awards category, though that’s exactly what Mobile Fun has achieved. It wasn’t even a close-fought contest, with the website winning by more than 10 per cent.
It was a close-fought battle between Envirofone and Mazuma, which was only separated by 2 per cent of the votes, though the former managed to defend its title with consistently good service and reputation.
Successfully stealing the crown from Insurance2go, Protect Your Bubble has successfully taken the award this year, no doubt thanks to its high customer satisfaction and reliable service.
EE must be pretty happy with itself this year, taking Best Network and Best Customer Support. It successfully took the award from previous winner O2, which is now a distant second, closely followed by Vodafone.
Geek Squad has retained the Service & Repair award for the past three years and it doesn’t look like it is going to be usurped any time soon. Winning by a large number of votes, its competitive pricing and deep resources make it hard to beat.
After Garmin took last year’s award in what could be described as a shocker, Fitbit has clawed its way to the top as rightful king of the wearables. With a cheap asking price and excellent app connectivity, it is hard to argue.
Stealing the award from previous winner Tech21, Griffin is back on top as the Best Accessories manufacturer. With a long, illustrious history dating back as far as 1992, the company continues to pump out premium accessories.
Hive Active Heating takes the newest award for Best Smarthome, narrowly beating the Nest Learning Thermostat and Myfox Home Alarm system. As a subsidiary of British Gas, Hive is a smart thermostatic control system for gas and water that can be operated via an app.
We’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for effective budget handsets and Motorola continues to dominate the low-end with its brilliant G range of smartphones.
It may be a little more expensive than previous versions but this is the best Android device in its category and by some distance. Now reaching its third iteration, the Moto G 3rd Gen improves on almost every area versus its predecessor. The camera is excellent, performance is great and the water resistance is a nice bonus. Stock Android makes it a joy to use and it is also fully customisable via the Moto Maker service, allowing owners to completely personalise their device and tailor it to their own taste.
It is a little surprising to see a smartwatch taking the Readers’ Choice award considering the mass of fantastic budget handsets currently available on the market.
Still, it is difficult to argue with the popularity of the Apple juggernaut. Selling more devices in a single day than Android Wear could accomplish in a year, the Apple Watch was a huge success despite recent sales figures suggesting otherwise. It paved the way for other competitors to produce similarly great wearables, with the recent IFA conference in Berlin having the most smartwatches of any event thus far.
Special thanks to all our entrants this year and congratulations to all the winners. We look forward to seeing you all again at the next awards!
