Indian Gadget Awards 2022: here’s a look at all the categories and winners

The Indian Gadget Awards are back for another season, as 2022 brought about amazing new gadgets across the tech industry. While mobile phones were the focus, with categories for the best phone under Rs 15,000, Rs 30,000, Rs 50,000, and overall; we have also announced winners for the best tablet, TV, and laptop (gaming and otherwise) of the year. Talking about smart gadgets, we have categories judging the best Truly Wireless Earbuds and the best wearables. Going into the specifics, we also have categories ranking the best in Mobile SoC and Laptop CPU technology in 2022. Finally, our Users’ Choice segment tells us which phone and manufacturer won the hearts of the Indian audience last year. 18 of the biggest tech creators sit as jury members to ascertain the best across 28 categories and 150+ nominations, for the biggest gadget awards in India. Let’s have a look at all the categories, nominees, and winners!

Best Phone of 2022 (under 15k)

The budget smartphone segment in India gets better every year with more efficient smartphone offerings at affordable price points. Under Rs 15,000, the choice is tough. You have players like Samsung, Realme, Redmi, and iQOO competing with several other great options. Here is a look at the nominees and the winner.

Winner: Motorola Moto G62 5G

Motorola winning the Best Phone Under Rs 15,000 for 2022 doesn’t come as a surprise considering the brand has been doing increasingly well in this segment. The Moto G62 5G is a well-rounded device that delivers a premium-like design language with dependable hardware that includes the Snapdragon 695 chipset, 120Hz display, and a 50MP triple camera system. To top it, the phone ships with a near-stock Android experience.

Best Phone of 2022 (under 30k)

While almost ignored by most smartphone OEMs until recently, the smartphone space under Rs 30,000 is heating up like anything. You have some superb value flagships from brands like OnePlus and Motorola, alongside premium mid-range smartphones from the likes of Redmi and Realme. Here are the nominees and the phone that took the crown for Best Phone Under Rs 30,000.

Winner: OnePlus Nord 2T 5G

The OnePlus Nord 2T 5G managed to beat 10 other nominees to get crowned the Best Phone of 2022 under Rs 30,000, which is no easy feat. This is a massively competitive segment that saw many brands like Xiaomi, POCO, iQOO, and Realme bring out flagship-level phones last year. The Nord 2T 5G outdid its competitors by offering a stunning AMOLED display, an impressive 32MP selfie camera, a superior Dimensity 1300 chipset, and blazing fast 80W charging, among other things.

Best Phone of 2022 (under 50k)

The sub-Rs 50,000 segment is where the smartphone market gets even trickier in India. You have relatively newer brands competing with incumbents to offer the best in mobile technology with the latest features and internals on offer. Nothing and iQOO are some of the newer and most exciting players in this category. We have a look at the nominees and the winner for the Best Phone Under Rs 50,000.

Winner: iQOO 9T

In a short span of its existence, iQOO has gone on to become one of the most trusted brands in the Indian market. This is because of phones like the iQOO 9T, which brings stellar performance and an attractive design at an affordable price point. Powered by the mighty Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, the iQOO 9T is as close to a flagship phone as it gets. The 120Hz display, 120W fast charging, and 50MP primary camera all contribute in making the iQOO 9T the best phone under Rs 50,000.

Best Selfie Phone of 2022 – Mainstream

A good selfie camera is an important feature to have on your smartphone, as we tend to take selfies alone and with groups occasionally. Thus, this list of the best mainstream selfie phone of 2022 is crucial for shutterbugs looking to pick their next smartphone. Options from Motorola, Redmi, and OnePlus among others make it to the list. Let’s have a look.

Winner: Vivo V25 5G

Another winner that doesn’t come as a surprise. Vivo is known to deliver selfie-centric smartphones over the years and the Vivo V25 5G’s selfie camera was the one that impressed most people in 2022. The smartphone sports a 50MP front-facing camera that is able to deliver sharp and colour-accurate selfies under most lighting conditions. Its 4K video capture capabilities also make it a vlogger’s delight.

Best Camera Phone of 2022 – Mainstream

Much like the front camera, the rear camera setup is also a big decider for smartphone purchases these days. And with every OEM offering lucrative features like triple cameras, quad cameras, 50X zoom, 8K video recording, and more, the decision is almost impossible. This category aims to solve that issue by ranking the best out of the best in 2022. Let’s see who made it to the nominee list and who took the crown for the Best Camera Phone of 2022 in the Mainstream category.

Winner: Realme 9 Pro Plus

Realme has slowly been improving its camera game over the years and this can be seen on the Realme 9 Pro+. The device is crowned the best camera phone of 2022 in the mainstream category for the fact that it delivers exceptional daylight and low-light photos through the 50MP IMX766 primary sensor. The accompanying 8MP and 2MP cameras do well in their own right, but it’s the main sensor that takes the cake and makes the phone stand out from the competitors in its segment.

Best Camera Phone of 2022 – Premium

Ranking the best camera phone in the Premium category is even tougher as almost everyone has a rear camera that offers the perfect shot. Our jury members have carefully analysed the best in camera technology from the likes of Samsung, Google, Apple, and other OEMS this year to let you know what they think is the absolute best. Here they are.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

When it comes to the absolute best of the best cameras on a smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra knocked it out of the park in 2022. The massive 108MP primary sensor on the flagship delivers ultra-crisp shots with stellar dynamic range. The camera also impresses in low light conditions and Samsung included some nifty features such as 100x zoom. The 12MP and 10MP supporting cameras compliment the primary sensor to deliver an overall solid camera performance.

Best Gaming Phone of 2022

Mobile gaming is one of the biggest aspects of buying a premium smartphone, especially if you are into games that require high performance for a lag-free experience. The decision is tough, but our experts are on the case. The case to find the best gaming phone of 2022. No compromises, we promise. Check out all the nominations below followed by the winner of this category.

Winner: ASUS ROG Phone 6 Pro

The ASUS ROG Phone 6 Pro is easily the best gaming phone to come out in 2022 once you consider all that the phone has to offer. Let’s start with its ultra-smooth 165Hz AMOLED display that offers a 720Hz touch sampling rate. This performance beast is powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC paired with 16GB of RAM, which means it can run the most graphically complex mobile games out there. To top it all, you get a mammoth 6000mAh battery with 65W fast charging to keep you gaming on and on.

Phone Of The Year

Phone-Of-The-Year

And, now, the absolute king. The Phone of the Year category determines the absolute winner across price segments, screen sizes, camera specifications, and internals. These nominations reflect the best in mobile technology from Chinese brands like Vivo and Xiaomi, American brands like Apple and Google, and South Korean brands such as Samsung. The fight is tough but the result will be worthwhile. Here are the nominees and the winner of this coveted award!

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

The most coveted award of the year goes to the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. This flagship bagged the phone of the year for delivering an all-around flagship experience, from its premium design to its terrific performance. The Galaxy S22 Ultra is jam-packed with features such as a large 6.8-inch 120Hz display with a quad-HD+ resolution, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, a 5,000mAh battery, and an IP68 water and dust resistance rating. All in all, it has everything a user could ask for from a premium smartphone.

Best Tablet of 2022

Entertainment power users love the large screen size and powerful audio that a tablet offers. You can use tablets to get your work done, watch your favourite Netflix shows, and create your next masterpiece, all while lazing around in bed. Our nominations reflect the best in tablet technology across iOS and Android platforms in 2022. A mix of affordable and premium options also brings the value aspect to the category. The nominations are below and the winners of the Mainstream and Premium categories have been revealed.

Winners: Redmi Pad and Apple iPad Pro M2

The Redmi Pad wins the best tablet in the mainstream category for being the ideal tablet for the masses. Despite its affordable price tag, the Redmi Pad brings an attractive 2K display and Dolby Atmos-powered quad speakers, making it a great choice for those looking for an entertainment-centric tablet.

In the premium tablet category, the winner was pretty obvious. Apple’s iPad Pro powered by the mighty M2 chipset is by far the most powerful tablet in the market right now and for the foreseeable future. Apple’s M2 silicon chip delivers stellar performance and excellent battery efficiency. On top of that, the iPad Pro M2 features a stunning 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

Best TV of 2022

Nowadays, TVs have become more than idiot boxes. A TV is an entertainment powerhouse with all your streaming apps at your fingertips, combined with features such as large screen sizes, 4K resolution, and borderless, thin designs. And with almost every tech manufacturer getting onto the bandwagon, the choice among these top-quality nominations will be tough for sure. Here is a look at the nominees in the Mainstream and Premium categories along with the winners who are taking home the award.

  • Redmi Smart TV X55 (55-inch)
  • Blaupunkt 50 Inch QLED Ultra HD (50QD7010)
  • Vu GLOLED TV 4K 55inch
  • Kodak 50-inch QLED Ultra HD (4K) Smart Google TV
  • Infinix Zero 55-inch QLED Ultra HD (4K) Smart Android TV (55X3)
  • OnePlus 55 Y1S Pro
  • LG C2 4K Smart OLED Evo TV Cinema HDR
  • LG G2 4K Smart OLED Evo TV Cinema HDR
  • SAMSUNG The Frame Smart TV (2022) 65-inch Class LS03B
  • Xiaomi OLED Vision TV (55-inch)
  • SAMSUNG Neo QLED 8K Smart TV 75 QN800B
  • SONY BRAVIA XR MASTER Series A95K OLED
  • SONY BRAVIA XR OLED 4K Ultra HD A80K
  • Vu Masterpiece Glo QLED TV 75inch

Winners: Redmi Smart TV X55 and Sony Bravia Master Series A95K OLED

In the mainstream category, the Redmi Smart TV X55 was the best TV to come out in 2022 as it delivers an impressive 55-inch 4K resolution that supports Dolby Vision, HDR, HDR 10+, HLG, and the Reality Flow Tech. The TV runs on Android 10 out of the box and there’s support for all OTT apps. The Redmi Smart TV also comes with Dolby Atmos, 30W speakers, and 16GB storage, making it an all-round TV for the masses.

Sony is a veteran in the premium TV segment which is why the brand won it yet again with the Sony Bravia XR Master Series A95K OLED. The TV comes packed with attractive features such as a 4K display resolution with a 100Hz refresh rate, 20W speakers with Dolby Atmos, Cognitive Processor XR, HDR10, 4K upscaling, IMAX Enhanced, and 60W Acoustic Surface Speakers.

Best Laptop of 2022

For work or for entertainment, laptops are an inseparable part of our daily tech routine. Brands like ASUS, HP, and Lenovo are now competing with the likes of Xiaomi and Realme to offer the best in laptop technology today. Who wins? Well, we now have the answer. Check out the nominees and the winners of the Best Laptop of 2022 Mainstream and Premium categories.

Winners: Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G and Apple MacBook Pro M2

Xiaomi managed to pip established brands like HP, Lenovo, ASUS, and Acer to win the award for best laptop of 2022 in the mainstream category with the Xiaomi Notebook Pro 120G. This laptop proves to be a value-for-money offering with features like a 14-inch, 2.5K display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 512GB PCIe gen4 NVMe SSD, 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and a 12th generation Intel Core i5-12450H CPU.

The M2 chip not only allowed the iPad Pro to grab the best tablet of 2022 but also helped the MacBook Pro win the best premium laptop award. While credit goes to the mighty Apple silicon, the MacBook Pro M2 also impresses with its 13.3-inch Retina display, up to 24GB of unified memory, up to 2TB storage, and whopping 20 hours of battery life.

Best Gaming Laptop of 2022

Serious gamers love the performance and the portability of gaming laptops. These power-packed machines can be taken to competitions, colleges, and even friends’ houses for infinite multiplayer gaming sessions. But, which one is the best? Our jury members have made a decision and here’s a look at who takes home the award for the Best Gaming Laptop of 2022.

Winners: Acer Nitro 5 AN515-45-R8CM Gaming Notebook and ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 (2022) GA503

Acer’s Nitro range of gaming laptops has, for years now, hit the nail on the head in the budget segment. With the Nitro 5 AN515-45-R8CM Gaming Notebook, Acer left the nominees, which included the likes of HP, ASUS, Dell, and even its own Aspire 7 Gaming 12th Gen notebook behind to be named the best gaming laptop of 2022 under Rs 1 lakh. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card is one of the best in terms of value and coupled with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600H CPU makes the laptop a worthwhile, pocket-friendly offering for gamers. It’s one of the most power-efficient machines in the market.

ASUS’ Zephyrus line of gaming laptops is among the best gaming devices in the high-end market. With the Zephyrus G15 range, ASUS upped its display and efficiency from the previous G14 lineup, which was also among the nominees. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070Ti GPU and the Ryzen 9 6900HS processor combine to perform excellently during heavy-duty gaming workloads. The additional power boost from ASUS in the G15 range is one of the biggest and winning upgrades in the Zephyrus G15.

Best Truly Wireless Earbuds of 2022

Truly Wireless Earbuds are truly one of the greatest inventions of this century. They offer great audio quality and solid battery life apart from the convenience of no wires. With options ranging from basic to premium flooding the market, the decision to pick the absolute best pair of 2022 is slightly tough. Have a look at the nominations and winners in this category.

  • Realme Buds Air 3
  • OPPO Enco Buds2
  • Vivo TWS 2e
  • OnePlus Nord Buds
  • Redmi Buds 3 Lite
  • Boat Airdopes 601 ANC
  • Sony WF-1000XM4
  • Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 3 Earbuds
  • OPPO Enco X2
  • Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro
  • Apple AirPods Pro
  • Sony LinkBuds
  • LG Tone Free FP9
  • Nothing Ear (stick)
  • Vivo TWS Neo

Winners: OPPO Enco Buds2 and Sony WF-1000XM4

OPPO, with its Enco Buds2 launched late last year, has pipped the likes of Realme, OnePlus and boAt to emerge as the winner in the Best Truly Wireless Earbuds of 2022 under Rs 5,000. Sweetly priced at Rs 1,799 for people who don’t want to invest too much, the buds offer an immersive audio experience with a long-lasting battery and AI noise cancellation. With the Enco Buds2, OPPO not only reworked the design but upgraded the battery life, the driver and even added Dolby Atmos support to the budget product.

The Sony WF-1000XM4 are the best TWS earbuds of 2022 in the more premium price segment and this doesn’t come as a surprise. The earbuds offer industry-leading noise cancellation so the music will be the only thing you listen to. This is aided by the integrated V1 chip that is designed by Sony themselves. The earbuds are claimed to offer up to 36 hours of battery life, which is yet another selling point. The Sony WF-1000XM4 also bring a brand new design that is more comfortable in the ears even for extended hours. This is definitely a huge improvement over the previous generation which had a slightly bulky form factor.

Best Wearable of 2022

The best wearable of 2022 spans across some of the biggest tech brands such as Apple and Samsung apart from new and exciting entrants such as DIZO, Amazfit, and more. Wearables today do more than just tell the time – you get weather, health, and notification updates right on your wrist. Let’s have a look at the nominees and winners in the Mainstream and Premium categories.

  • Redmi Smart Band Pro
  • Noise ColorFit Caliber
  • DIZO Watch D Plus
  • Realme Watch 3 Pro
  • OnePlus Nord Watch
  • Amazfit Pop 2
  • Boat Wave Ultima
  • DIZO Watch R Talk Go
  • Apple Watch Ultra
  • Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro
  • Garmin Forerunner 955
  • Amazfit Falcon
  • Apple Watch Series 8
  • Fossil Gen 6
  • Fitbit Sense 2

Winners: Redmi Smart Band Pro and Apple Watch Ultra

The Redmi Smart Band Pro packs in almost all feature one would expect from a fitness band, and it almost comes as no surprise that it is our Best Wearable of 2022 under Rs 5,000. Its lightweight build ensures that it sits comfortably on the wearer, the battery life and display more than justify its pocket-friendly price, and can appropriately be described as a beast when it comes to battery life. It’s water-resistant, and comes with tons of sports modes – what else can one ask for?

Apple stormed into the rugged smartwatch segment and how! The Apple Watch Ultra wins our Best Wearable of 2022 award, leaving behind its younger sibling the Watch Series 8, the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro, and smartwatches from Garmin and Fossil. The Ultra is big and chunky, much like the experience it brings to its wearer. Despite Apple’s pitch that it’s for the most extreme sports and hardcore athletes, there’s a lot to love about the smartwatch for non-athletes who are willing to invest the amount. The Apple Watch Ultra comes with improved GPS, a 49mm casing, a more durable display, extra long battery life, a built-in Action button, and more.

Best Mobile SoC of 2022

A mobile SoC or system-on-chip is the heart of your favourite smartphone. It includes the CPU, GPU, and all crucial antennas that give it the ultimate performance. 2022 saw several great launches with the latest in cutting-edge mobile SoC technology, including some superb 4nm core offerings. Let’s have a look at our nominees and winners.

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 695
  • MediaTek Dimensity 8100
  • MediaTek Helio G99
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1
  • UNISOC T611
  • Samsung Exynos 1280
  • MediaTek Dimensity 9000
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
  • Apple A16 Bionic
  • Google Tensor G2

Winners: MediaTek Dimensity 8100 and Apple A16 Bionic

Mediatek’s Dimensity 8100, announced in March last year, powering upper mid-range smartphones has deservedly been named the Best Mobile SoC of 2022 in the mainstream category. Manufactured using a 5-nanometer process technology, it has 4 cores Cortex-A78 at 2850 MHz and 4 cores Cortex-A55 at 2000 MHz. In terms of benchmark scores, it scored 820045 on AnTuTu, while managing scores of 976 and 4035 in Geekbench’s single-core and multi-core tests respectively. It powers the OnePlus 10R, Redmi K50i 5G, and OPPO Reno9 Pro, among other smartphones.

Our Best Mobile SoC of 2022 is undoubtedly the Apple A16 Bionic powering the iPhone 14 Pros. The A16 Bionic is 6-core chipset that was announced in September alongside the iPhone 14 lineup. Apple says it is the fastest chip ever in a smartphone, with 16 billion transistors, 4nm manufacturing, and a 40 percent faster CPU. The A16 Bionic, with its 1874 (single-core) and 5372 (multi-core) scores on Geekbench has outperformed almost all other flagship chipsets, including Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

Best Laptop CPU of 2022

Best Laptop CPU 2022

Much like for a mobile, the CPU is also the core of your laptop. It gives its display a high resolution, your games a smooth refresh rate, and your spreadsheets the ability to store several gigabytes of data. While Intel remained the biggest player in the market, we also saw some powerful launches by Apple and AMD for the latest in Mac and Windows laptop technology. Check out the nominees and winners below.

  • 12th Generation Intel Core i3
  • 12th Generation Intel Core i5 1240P
  • 12th Generation Intel Core i5 12500H
  • AMD Ryzen 5 6600U
  • 12th Generation Intel Core i5 12450HX
  • 12th Generation Intel Core i9 12900HX
  • Apple M2
  • AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX

Winners: 12th Generation Intel Core i5 12500H and Apple M2

Intel 12th gen Core i5 12500H has won the best laptop mainstream CPU 2022. The chipset offers a premium gaming experience. It ships with a maximum turbo Boost frequency of 4.50 GHz with an 18MB Intel Smart Cache, meaning the performance will be nothing short of exceptional even at extreme speeds, and will be able to run any task that is thrown at it with ease. Most laptop manufacturers use the chipset to offer a premium user experience.

Apple M2 chipset debuted at the WWDC 2022 event 2022 as a follow-up to the M1 Silicone. The new SoC is claimed to offer significant CPU and graphics performance over its predecessor. The new chipset uses the second-generation 5-nanometer process technology and has 25 billion transistors, which is 25 percent more than M1. The SoC offers up to 24GB of fast LPDDR5 unified memory, which should translate to superior performance in every aspect. Apple is promising an 18 percent faster CPU, a 35 percent more powerful GPU, and a 40 percent faster Neural Engine compared to M1.

    So, that’s it then, folks. A quick round-up of all the categories from the Indian Gadget Awards 2022, which recognises the best in technology from the entire year. We have award categories across smartphones, laptops, tablets, TVs, TWS, wearables, and even gadget internals. The 18 jury members will be voting for the best gadgets of 2022. Check back in a few days to know who the winners turn out to be.