Apple, Canon bag the most wins at The Straits Times Digital Awards 2016
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Vincent Chang
SINGAPORE - Apple emerged the biggest winner at The Straits Times Digital Awards 2016 today, bagging a total of seven awards, while Canon walked away with four awards as the second-biggest winner.
Apple was the clear favourite among the readers of ST Digital, snagging the Readers' Choice awards in five categories: Best Overall Smartphone, Best Phablet, Best Smartphone Camera, Best Tablet and Best Smartwatch. The other two wins were for Editor's Choice in the Best Tablet and Best Smartwatch categories.
But Samsung's Galaxy Note 5 4G+ won the Editor's Choice awards for Best Overall Smartphone and Best Smartphone Camera, and the Google Nexus 6P snagged the Editor's Choice award for Best Phablet.
Into its fifth year, the 2016 edition of ST's annual tech awards recognise the best gadgets, games and innovations in the previous year. This year's edition has been renamed The Straits Times Digital Awards to reflect the publication's move to the broadsheet format. It was previously called the Digital Life Awards.
This year also saw the introduction of two new categories - Best Smartwatch and Best Fitness Tracker - to reflect their rising popularity among consumers.
There were 105 finalists in 21 categories for each of the Editor's Choice and Readers' Choice awards.
The former awards were picked by the editorial team at The Straits Times Digital, while ST readers participated in an online poll in December last year to determine the winners in the Readers' Choice awards. These readers stand a chance to win lucky draw prizes worth over $25,000.
The Straits Times tech editor Irene Tham said: "It was a tough call for the editorial team in many of the decisions and there were several nail-biting finishes where team members fought tooth-and-nail over equally deserving finalists."
Canon's digital cameras were a hit with ST readers.
Mr Edwin Teoh, head of marketing for Canon Singapore, said: "The ST Digital Awards is a barometer for how well we have done. We are glad to have received such a ringing endorsement. This will only inspire us to come out with better products."
Lenovo was the biggest winner in the laptops category, walking away with three awards, followed by Asus with two awards.
The editorial team picked The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for the Best Overall Game while ST readers voted for Assassin's Creed Syndicate.
With haze dominating the headlines last year, ST Engineering subsidiary Innosparks' Air+ Smart Mask, featuring a built-in ventilator, won both the Editor's Choice and Readers' Choice awards as the Most Innovative Product.
Here is the full list of winners. Find out why they won in tomorrow's edition of The Straits Times.
Best Overall Smartphone
Editor's Choice: Samsung Galaxy Note 5 4G+
Readers' Choice: Apple iPhone 6s
Best Phablet
Editor's Choice: Google Nexus 6P
Readers' Choice: Apple iPhone 6s Plus
Best Smartphone Camera
Editor's Choice: Samsung Galaxy Note 5 4G+
Readers' Choice: Apple iPhone 6s Plus
Best Tablet
Editor's Choice: Apple iPad Pro
Readers' Choice: Apple iPad Pro
Best Gaming Laptop
Editor's Choice: Asus ROG G752
Readers' Choice: Aftershock Titan 2016
Best Ultrabook
Editor's Choice: Dell XPS 13 (2015)
Readers' Choice: Asus ZenBook UX305
Best Hybrid Laptop
Editor's Choice: Lenovo Yoga 900
Readers' Choice: Lenovo Yoga 900
Best Business Laptop
Editor's Choice: HP EliteBook Folio 1020 G1 Special Edition
Readers' Choice: Lenovo ThinkPad X250
Best Overall Camera
Editor's Choice: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8
Readers' Choice: Canon EOS 5DS
Best Prosumer Compact Camera
Editor's Choice: Leica Q (Typ 116)
Readers' Choice: Canon PowerShot G5 X
Best Interchangeable Lens Cameras (Micro Four Thirds and below)
Editor's Choice: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8
Readers' Choice: Nikon 1 J5
Best Interchangeable Lens Camera (APS-C)
Editor's Choice: Nikon D7200
Readers' Choice: Canon EOS M10
Best Interchangeable Lens Camera (Full-Frame)
Editor's Choice: Sony a7R II
Readers' Choice: Canon EOS 5DS
Best Overall Game
Editor's Choice: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Readers' Choice: Assassin's Creed Syndicate
Best Shooter Game
Editor's Choice: Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Readers' Choice: Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Best Action Adventure Game
Editor's Choice: Batman: Arkham Knight
Readers' Choice: Assassin's Creed Syndicate
Best Sports/Racing Game
Editor's Choice: Forza Motorsport 6
Readers' Choice: FIFA 16
Best Role-Playing Game
Editor's Choice: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Readers' Choice: Fallout 4
Best Fitness Tracker
Editor's Choice: Fitbit Charge HR
Readers' Choice: Fitbit Charge HR
Best Smartwatch
Editor's Choice: Apple Watch
Readers' Choice: Apple Watch
Most Innovative Product
Editor's Choice: Air+ Smart Mask
Readers' Choice: Air+ Smart Mask
