Internet of Things • Technology Sector Awards
Connected Device Awards
Honouring the hardware, firmware and platform teams building the smart, networked products that quietly run modern life — from wearables and home hubs to industrial gateways and edge sensors.
The Connected Device Landscape
Recognising the products that turn the physical world into a data network
A connected device is rarely the work of a single discipline. Behind every smart thermostat, fitness band, asset tracker or factory gateway sits a tightly choreographed effort: industrial design, low-power electronics, embedded firmware, radio engineering, cloud telemetry and a security posture that has to survive a decade in the field. The Connected Device Awards exist to recognise the teams who get that whole stack right — and who ship hardware that people and businesses actually trust.
The category sits at the centre of the Internet of Things, where billions of endpoints now generate continuous streams of data. The hard part is no longer simply putting a radio on a circuit board; it is delivering reliable connectivity, sane power budgets, over-the-air updatability and meaningful privacy at scale. Devices that win here are the ones that disappear into daily life while doing something genuinely useful, year after year.
This recognition matters because connected hardware is judged in the real world, not in a demo. A product that performs flawlessly on stage can fail in a basement, a moving vehicle, or a humid warehouse. By celebrating the makers who design for the messy reality of deployment, the Connected Device Awards reward durability, security and user experience rather than spec-sheet theatre.
Explore the wider IoT Awards and the related Smart Technology Awards to see how connected hardware fits within our broader Internet of Things programme.
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What We Recognise
Six honours within the Connected Device Awards
Each honour targets a distinct contribution to the connected hardware ecosystem, so a category-defining giant and a first-product startup can both compete on their own terms.
Connected Device Company of the Year
For the organisation that has set the benchmark across a portfolio of connected products — combining engineering depth, reliable fleet management and sustained commercial growth.
Connected Device Product of the Year
Awarded to a single standout device whose design, performance and real-world reliability redefine what users expect from its category.
Connected Device Innovation Award
For a breakthrough in sensing, low-power radio, edge intelligence or battery life that pushes the technical frontier of networked hardware.
Connected Device Startup of the Year
Celebrating an early-stage hardware company that has moved from prototype to shipping product with credible traction and a defensible technical edge.
Best Emerging Connected Device
For a newly launched device in an emerging form factor — wearables, ambient sensors, robotics endpoints or novel edge gateways — showing outstanding early promise.
Connected Device Excellence Award
Recognising sustained excellence in device security, lifecycle support and OTA maintenance — the unglamorous work that keeps fleets safe and serviceable for years.
Who Should Enter
Built for every team shipping connected hardware
Device Manufacturers
OEMs and ODMs producing consumer, commercial or industrial connected products at scale.
Wearables Makers
Builders of smart watches, health bands, hearables and body-worn sensors.
Smart Home Brands
Teams behind hubs, thermostats, cameras, locks, lighting and ambient sensing.
Industrial IoT Vendors
Makers of gateways, condition-monitoring sensors and ruggedised field devices.
Embedded & Firmware Teams
Specialists in low-power MCUs, RTOS firmware and over-the-air update systems.
Connectivity Module Providers
Companies supplying cellular, LPWAN, Wi-Fi, BLE, Thread or UWB modules and chipsets.
Device Security Specialists
Vendors hardening hardware roots of trust, secure boot and fleet attestation.
Mobility & Telematics Innovators
Builders of connected trackers, telematics units and fleet-edge devices.
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Benefits of Winning
What recognition does for a hardware brand
Independent Validation
A respected, third-party endorsement that helps buyers, channel partners and procurement teams trust your device on reliability and security.
Commercial Momentum
Award status shortens sales cycles, strengthens distributor conversations and gives marketing a credible, ownable proof point.
Talent & Partner Pull
Public recognition makes it easier to attract embedded engineers, design partners and ecosystem integrations to your roadmap.
Global Visibility
Your win is showcased across our winners library and regional programmes, putting your device in front of an international technology audience.
Judging Criteria
How connected devices are evaluated
Entries are assessed by an independent panel of hardware engineers, IoT architects and product leaders against six weighted dimensions.
- Engineering & Reliability: hardware quality, field durability, power efficiency and demonstrated uptime across real deployments.
- Connectivity & Interoperability: robustness of the radio stack, protocol choices and how well the device plays with wider ecosystems and standards.
- Security & Privacy: secure boot, encrypted transport, credential management, OTA integrity and responsible data handling.
- User Experience & Design: setup simplicity, industrial design, accessibility and the everyday usefulness of the device.
- Innovation & Impact: technical originality and the measurable difference the device makes for its users or operators.
- Lifecycle & Sustainability: update support, repairability, energy footprint and responsible end-of-life planning.
Market Context
Why connected devices are a defining technology category
Illustrative, estimated figures provided for context on the scale and momentum of the connected device market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Connected Device Awards FAQ
Any physical product with embedded networking that sends or receives data — wearables, smart home hardware, industrial gateways, sensors, trackers, robotics endpoints and connected appliances all qualify. Pure cloud software without a hardware component should enter our software-focused categories instead.
Absolutely. The Connected Device Startup of the Year and Best Emerging Connected Device honours are designed for younger companies. A shipping or pilot-stage product with credible traction is far more important than headcount or funding.
Very. Security and privacy form a dedicated, heavily weighted criterion. Judges look for secure boot, encrypted transport, sound credential management and verifiable over-the-air update integrity, because connected hardware lives in the field for years.
No. You control what you share. Strong entries explain architecture, results and impact at a level that demonstrates rigour without exposing trade secrets. All submissions are reviewed confidentially by the panel.
Yes. A device may be a strong fit for both Product of the Year and the Innovation Award, for example. We recommend tailoring each entry to the criteria that honour emphasises rather than reusing identical text.