For the Tom’s Guide Awards 2026, our team spent the last year going hands-on and reviewing hundreds of devices, apps, and services across 11 different categories. But we’ve saved the best for last. Our Hero Awards celebrate the top tier of tech — from game-changing innovations and bold design to budget-friendly releases that deliver unbeatable value.
The winners of this year’s Hero Awards didn't just impress us in testing; they’re actively shifting the industry forward, forging new ground with meaningful tech breakthroughs, and proving that sustainability can be built into a product from day one.
Join us in honoring this year’s Hero Awards winners and celebrating the lasting impact these standout products and companies will have on the future of technology.
Best new product
MacBook Neo
In a time where “value for money” and “laptop” are rarely mentioned in the same sentence, Apple of all companies dropped the MacBook Neo and gave us one of the best budget laptops of the past few years. And the premise is simple — raid the parts bin for an A18 Pro, slap macOS on it, and stick it in a bright, colorful aluminum shell.
And I could go on about that sturdy design, the nice display, the surprisingly strong performance from an iPhone chip and long battery life. But the whole is greater than the sum of its parts here. Apple completely flipped the table on what makes a cheap laptop. No longer is it a cheap plastic shell with strong internals — you can actually get a nice-feeling system for a lower cost.
A true definition of “bang for your buck.”
— Jason England, Managing Editor, Core Tech
Innovation award
Nvidia RTX Spark
Nvidia’s RTX Spark N1X chip launches this October in a variety of ultra premium notebooks, and while the conversation seems to be very much around the local AI capabilities of this machine, I think about it differently.
This silicon manages to fix the two device compromise of creative pros — a machine you can work on by day, and actually play games on by night. It’s the all-in-one solution that I believe has a very real shot at killing the MacBook Pro.
It starts with that Arm-based Grace CPU paired with a GPU that has as many cores as a desktop RTX 5070. Throw in a massive pool of unified memory, and Nvidia is bringing the Apple Silicon moment to Windows, while not sacrificing PC gaming. This is a true game changer for Windows laptops.
— Jason England, Managing Editor, Core Tech
Best company award
SharkNinja
Company of the Year because it possesses a rare superpower: anticipating what people want before they even realize they need it.
SharkNinja doesn’t just launch viral hits; it obsessively evolves them around real human habits. When the Ninja Slushi took over the internet, they innovated with a dual-tank version specifically designed to upgrade how we entertain at home. Spotting our collective, heightened awareness around what we’re putting into our bodies, they moved into clean hydration with the Ninja HydraSense countertop filtration system, making pure water instant, trackable, and effortless.
Yet, SharkNinja’s true genius lies in how their innovation touches real lives. Take the Shark ChillPill, a product that looks like a clever lifestyle gadget, but functions as a tool for personal empowerment. For a friend of mine living with a nervous system disability that prevents her body from regulating its own temperature, the ChillPill’s contact cooling plate was genuinely life-changing. By providing constant, on-demand cooling, it gave her back the ability to safely enjoy classic summer activities that used to feel out of reach.
By pairing high-velocity R&D with genuine empathy, SharkNinja is giving people back their moments and making those moments more enjoyable. That’s why its setting the gold standard for what a modern company can achieve.
— Kate Kozuch, Head of Video
Sustainability in tech
Framework
It’s one thing to talk about sustainability; it’s another to build it into every product from the ground up, which is exactly what Framework has done. Since launching in 2020, the company’s mission has been to eliminate planned obsolescence in favor of total repairability — first with laptops, then a desktop, and soon, a wireless keyboard with a built-in touchpad.
Instead of generating more e-waste, Framework’s devices are designed to be upgraded, repaired, and endlessly modded. From the Framework Laptop 16 and Framework Laptop 13 Pro to the Framework Desktop, these machines are a tech enthusiast’s dream. After all, how many people can say they built their own laptop or small-form-factor desktop from a box of components in just 30 minutes?
While I’ve followed Framework’s journey from the start, reviewing the Framework Desktop last year truly set them apart for me. I was blown away by how much power they crammed into such a compact case, and equally impressed by the ability to swap front ports on the fly for whatever task I was tackling. Now, I can’t wait to get my hands on the new Framework Laptop 12 and see what’s next for one of the most innovative — and genuinely sustainable — companies in tech.
— Anthony Spadafora, Managing Editor, Security and Home Office
Best product design
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the best designed foldable phone I’ve ever tested, and that’s saying something because I’ve been reviewing them for 7 years. Samsung created a passport-style design that’s amazingly compact for a device that hides a huge 7.6-inch display on the inside.
Samsung’s Flex Titanium technology is the start of the show, which consists of a titanium-alloy film and a titanium plate. The titanium-alloy film supports the display and sits below the OLED panel. It offers 20 times greater stiffness than plastic films while also being 30% the thickness of human hair. The result is a slimmer display panel that’s also super strong.
Meanwhile, the titanium plate supports the display from underneath, whose flexible structure allows for tighter bonding with the display module — thus eliminating air gaps. That means less crease visibility.
I saw how the Galaxy Z Fold 8 was built in person in Korea, so I know what went into making this foldable phone. And while Apple is about to unleash the iPhone Duo, Samsung’s design remains the thinnest and lightest foldable that gives you a phone and tablet in one amazing gadget.
— Mark Spoonauer, Global Editor-in-Chief
Best fitness
Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3
It’s hard to imagine how the launch of the Pro Evo 3 carbon plate racing shoe could have gone any better for Adidas, because just days after it was revealed to the world it was used by Sabastian Sawe to run the first sub-2-hour marathon… and by Yomif Kejelcha to run the second sub-2-hour marathon, as he followed Sawe across the line at the London Marathon.
Kejelcha recently had his own day in the sun when he used the shoe to break the world half marathon record in Buenos Aires. It’s hard to think of a running shoe that’s had a bigger impact since the original Nike Vaporfly, and I felt the extreme levels of bounce, and how absurdly light the Pro Evo 3 is, when I got a chance to briefly test the shoe myself. It’s setting new standards at the most competitive end of the running shoe market.
— Nick Harris-Fry, Senior Writer
Value award
Fitbit Air
Google acquired Fitbit back in 2021, and ever since, it seemed like the big G was intent on stripping the brand for parts and ditching the Fitbit name. After all, Google officially killed off Fitbit-branded smartwatches in 2024. Thankfully, in 2026, Fitbit lives on in the form of the Fitbit Air, a delightfully affordable, reliable, and comfy little wearable, and one of the best fitness trackers of 2026.
The $99 Fitbit Air is a simple-to-use, screen-free fitness tracker designed to monitor your health, movement, workouts, sleep, and not much else. Smart features are all but nonexistent. And that’s the point. Lightweight and discreet, the Fitbit Air looks more like a cool wristband than a dorky piece of wearable tech, especially with the limited-edition Steph Curry strap.
With no screen to fuss with, your holistic data feeds into the Google Health app for easy viewing. Better yet, all of the most valuable insights, like detailed sleep reports, logged workouts, and your daily Readiness score, are subscription-free, unlike the Air’s pricier screenless competition, the Whoop 5.0.
— Dan Bracaglia, Senior Writer
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