The annual tech extravaganza is on in Berlin. IFA showcases some of the coolest technology and it has been a great edition so far. Here are some of our favourites.
Climbing robot cleaner
The future of the robot vacuum cleaner has been put forward by Roborock. On the Roborock Qrevo Curv and Qrevo Edge, the company is introducing the AdaptiLift Chassis or an independently adjustable three-wheel control to allow these models to dynamically adjust up to 10mm in height. The technology improves the ability to clean various floor types in different home environments to include mid-to-long pile carpets and navigating thresholds up to four cm high.
Belkin chargers and sound solutions
Belkin is known to produce some of the best accessories and among the favourites at IFA are two new Qi2-certified BoostCharge Pro magnetic wireless travel chargers.
Belkin BoostCharge Pro
There is a $119 two-in-one model that features a 15-watt Qi2 magnetic charging pad and a flip-up Apple Watch puck, while the $129.99 version adds a 5W nonmagnetic Qi charging pad for devices such as AirPods.
The company also showcased its SoundForm line of budget wireless headphones, adding two new closed-back, over-ear models and two sets of earbuds.
Monochrome buddy
TCL has two new midrange Nxtpaper phones with matte displays. The TCL 50 Pro Nxtpaper 5G and 50 Nxtpaper 5G come with an important feature: a button that puts the display into “Max Ink Mode”. The “Nxtpaper key” is a two-stage slider that slips the display into monochrome mode mimicking e-ink. Turning on the mode silences notifications and renders app icons in a wireframe style, besides extending battery life.
TCL 50 Pro Nxtpaper 5G
Another handheld console
Acer Nitro Blaze 7 is the latest in the handheld console arena. The Windows handheld looks like the Asus ROG Ally X and comes with a seven-inch, 1080p, IPS screen that goes up to a 144-Hz refresh rate, 16 GB of LPDDR5x SDRAM, up to 2 terabytes of storage, and the Ryzen 7 8840HS processor with AMD Radeon 780M integrated graphics.
Modular phone
HMD is going strong and this time it’s time for HMD Fusion. It supports open-source Smart Outfits that add to the phone’s features. For example, the technology allows you to add a ring light for better selfies, enclose the phone in a more rugged shell for protection, or attach a controller to enhance your mobile gaming. All this is a reminder of Motorola Moto Mods. The Fusion is built around what HMD refers to as a “slim, inner chassis”. Users can replace the screen and the battery, just like the Skyline.
HMD Fusion
Twisty laptop
Lenovo Auto Twist AI PC
Lenovo’s latest concept laptop is Auto Twist AI PC, which looks like a traditional clamshell when closed. A voice command awakes the computer, its lid raises automatically and rotates into practically any position — even all the way around into tablet mode. Further, when the laptop detects it’s not being used, it closes the lid to prevent unwanted users from gaining access. All that’s fine but what’s the use case, beyond point-of-sale payment terminals?
Wireless power transfer
Wireless charging for smartphones is already there. What about the kitchen? The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) is trying to eliminate wire mess on countertops with a new wireless power transfer protocol known as Ki. WPC demonstrated Ki’s electromagnetic induction abilities in the form of a custom-installed marble countertop.
Wireless Power Consortium
Ear monitoring
Bebird EarVision Complete and EarVision Pro are like flexible Q-tips with a camera at the end. They’re connected devices that go into ears to monitor what’s going on. And when taking out gunk, these devices offer visual guidance, however gross it may sound. The EarVision Complete comes with accessories to scoop or pluck various ear junk, and the EarVision Pro features a more advanced gyroscope.
Turn the beat around
Technics SC-CX700 is an active wireless speaker system designed to offer a zero-hassle setup that serves all your audio needs, offering up HDMI, phono inputs, and hi-res streaming in a neat, manageable package.
