BAT’s Vuse Ultra listed as GOOD DESIGN Awards winner; features app connectivity and adjustable intensity

Key points

• Award listing: Vuse Ultra is listed among GOOD DESIGN Awards winners (category: “Personal Experience”, award year shown as 2025); both the entrant and manufacturer are BAT (London).
• Key features: Supports the MyVuse app and includes an on-device display showing battery, e-liquid and intensity; intensity can be adjusted on the device or via the app.
• Differentiators: Uses smart chip pod recognition to identify pods and automatically adjust intensity, remembers user preferences, and offers a device lock; emphasizes a removable battery and the use of recycled materials/FSC-certified packaging.

2Firsts, Jan 20, 2026

According to the project page on the U.S. GOOD DESIGN Awards website, British American Tobacco (British American Tobacco, BAT) has entered its vaping product Vuse Ultra, which is listed among winners under the “Personal Experience” category. The page shows the award year as 2025 and identifies BAT (London) as both the entrant and the manufacturer.

According to the project description, Vuse Ultra supports connectivity with the MyVuse app and features an on-device display that shows status information including battery level, e-liquid and intensity level. Intensity can be adjusted either on the device or via the app.

The page also discloses that the product uses a “smart chip” pod recognition mechanism: the system can identify the pod and automatically adjust intensity to maintain flavor performance, and can remember user preference settings. It also includes a Device lock feature.

On structure and materials, the project page says the device uses an aluminum front housing and applies a “ceramic effect coating” to the back cover. On recyclability and end-of-life handling, the page says the device uses a removable battery to facilitate disposal and recycling, and seeks to use recycled materials in the device and packaging where possible; the packaging is marked as FSC-certified.

The page also notes BAT’s public target to achieve net-zero across its value chain by 2050, and lists phased targets related to greenhouse-gas emissions reductions.

The website states that the GOOD DESIGN Awards (Chicago Athenaeum) were founded in 1950 by design figures Eero Saarinen and Charles and Ray Eames, and are among the world’s long-running design awards. The awards are jointly organized by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, and aim to recognize innovative works that combine function, aesthetics and social responsibility across fields ranging from advanced electronics to architecture.

According to a previous exclusive report by 2Firsts, 2Firsts had already identified Vuse Ultra at the Swiss tobacco exhibition in May 2025 and published coverage at the time; the product was described as VUSE’s first vaping device equipped with a screen.

Cover image source: GOOD DESIGN Awards