Laptops that twist, robovacs that can climb, and AI in everything; here’s all you need to know about Europe’s largest tech show.
As IFA 2024 wraps up, we’ve got all the news on the biggest announcements, hottest gadgets, and newest places companies found to put AI.
You couldn’t shake a sausage-on-a-stick around the Messe Berlin without poking another laptop with AI. The most fun was Lenovo’s Auto Twist AI PC, a concept laptop whose screen you can control with your voice.
Acer also popped out a portable gaming controller, and Copilot Plus landed everywhere. Plus, IFA emerged as the staging ground for a brewing battle between Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm over the future of Windows laptops.
On the smart home side, we got gadgets galore, including cool new multi-functional LED wall panels from Nanoelaf and the long-awaited second-gen 8K Sync Box from Philips Hue. Aqara revealed its first-ever outdoor camera, one of just a handful that works with Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video, and Reolink showed off the first battery-powered camera that can record continuously 24/7.
There was a lot of chatter about Matter and Thread — including the arrival of the first Matter controller from a company not called Apple, Google, Samsung, or Amazon, along with the first home appliance to support the standard that you can actually buy.
There were hints that Thread’s troubles to date are causing manufacturers to hit pause on the protocol, as both Nanoleaf and Aqara released Thread products with a backup protocol on board, just in case.
Wireless power arrived in the smart kitchen as Midea debuted the first product to support Ki wireless power. There were new innovations in robot vacuums, including the first small steps toward stair-climbing cleaning machines.
The big takeaway from the show is that AI is here; let’s see what we can do with it. From smart homes to laptops, foldable phones to appliances, everywhere you turn, manufacturers are pushing the limits to see what generative AI can bring to their products, as they look for ways to do more for us with less effort on our part.