Stuff Gadget Awards 2024 winners – Laptops and accessories

Stuff writer

1 week ago

What a year! What a lot of gear! Struggling to remember what’s hot and what’s not? Our annual Gadget Awards have done the hard work for you – join us in celebrating the very best tech to have come out in the previous 12 months. If you’re planning to add something to your gadget arsenal, these are all excellent choices. After all, they’ve just won an award.

CONSOLE GAMING ACCESSORY OF THE YEAR

RAZER WOLVERINE V3 PRO

Fancy becoming an esports champion? A pro-level gamer for whom every nanosecond counts? Then a standard Xbox controller simply isn’t going to cut the mustard. At least that’s what we’ve started to think since reviewing the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro.
Despite its unassuming looks, the Wolverine is next-level compared to a standard gamepad. Battery life nudges 20hrs; the buttons, triggers and analogue sticks have a real sense of purpose and precision; and the built-in haptic feedback feels considered and impactful without going OTT.
R5 200 / razer.com

HIGHLY COMMENDED
PDP Victrix Pro BFG

ALSO SHORTLISTED
Logitech G Astro A50 X

PC GAMING ACCESSORY OF THE YEAR

LG ULTRAWIDE 49WQ95C-W

If you’re in possession of a blisteringly fast PC and still using an old work monitor as your gaming screen, this award-winner is something you may want to whack right at the top of your wish list. As long as your wallet is feeling generous, you will find yourself with a substantial PC upgrade. This 49in 5 120 x 1 440 screen doesn’t rely on gimmicks to impress – just excellent features. The ultrawide aspect gives gamers more screen space than ever, and support for AMD and Nvidia’s VRR tech ensures that you’ll always be pleased with what’s on the screen. If, that is, your wallet stretches this far.
R30 000 / lg.com/za

HIGHLY COMMENDED
Samsung Odyssey G5

ALSO SHORTLISTED
Logitech G515 Lightspeed

GAMING LAPTOP OF THE YEAR

ASUS ROG ZEPHYRUS G14

Think top-class gaming laptops can’t be portable? Check out the slinky 2024 edition of the ROG Zephyrus G14, and think again. It’s a little heavier than most ultraportables at 1.5kg, granted, but all that powerful gaming hardware has to go somewhere – and it’s still far from back-breaking.
From the gorgeous 2880×1800 OLED screen to the GPU (a choice of GeForce RTX 4050, 4060 or 4070), this thing is kitted out to make the most of games. It’ll serve up slick frame rates with even the most demanding current-gen titles, and when it’s time to get some work done, its battery will last for the best part of a day.
Is it pricey? Hell yeah, but not enough to stop it being our top gaming laptop of 2024.
R41 000 / rog.asus.com

HIGHLY COMMENDED
MSI Vector GP68 HXA14

ALSO SHORTLISTED
Acer Nitro 16

MAINSTREAM LAPTOP OF THE YEAR

ACER CHROMEBOOK PLUS 515

Acer’s souped-up Chromebook is one of the first laptops to arrive under the auspices of the Chromebook Plus initiative – Google’s concerted effort to make ChromeOS models replace Windows machines at the affordable end of the notebook market. So it comes with pretty beefy specs, including a 256GB SSD and a 15.6in Full HD screen.
And the 515 impresses not only with its dependable performance but also with its hardware. The springy keyboard, sharp screen, substantial speakers, and versatile connectivity all serve to make this model feel less like a money-saving pick and more like an all-round everyday PC.
R11 000 / incredible.co.za

HIGHLY COMMENDED
Huawei Matebook 14

ALSO SHORTLISTED
Lenovo LOQ 15 Gen 9 (Intel Arc)

PREMIUM LAPTOP OF THE YEAR

APPLE MACBOOK AIR (M3)

There was a time when the Air was known as a slim, lightweight but underpowered ultraportable laptop. That time is well and truly in the past. This MacBook has become a high-performance machine, powered by Apple’s imperious M3 chip.
Provided you ensure you’ve got at least 16GB of RAM under its hood (8GB is really only good for basic tasks), this year’s Air can take on challenging stuff like video editing and gaming without breaking a sweat. And it remains slim and lightweight – it’d still slip easily into Steve Jobs’ famous manila envelope.
There are now 13in and 15in models to choose from, both with brilliant displays, keyboards that are a joy to type on, and batteries that just go on and on and on. Aside from the M3 chip, this model also features faster SSD storage and Wi-Fi 6E. All in all, the 2024 premium laptop award was an easy call.

from R21 500 / incredible.co.za

HIGHLY COMMENDED
Microsoft Surface Laptop 7

ALSO SHORTLISTED
Apple MacBook Pro (M3 Max) ● Asus Zenbook 14 OLED