Key Takeaways
- IFA, one of the largest tech expos in the world, is celebrating 100 years this year with over 1,800 exhibitors.
- The Honor Magic V3 impressed us with its slim yet highly durable design.
- Tecno introduced AR glasses and a Windows handheld gaming system for immersive gameplay.
IFA, one of the world’s largest technology expos, is underway in Berlin, officially lasting from September 6 to 10. The show started in 1924 as a radio convention, so this year marks the 100th anniversary of IFA Berlin. It will feature over 1,800 global exhibitors, spanning the full gamut of technology-related categories. That includes everything from smartphones and laptops to pool robots, smart home appliances, fitness and health devices, power banks, and everything in between. It attracts tech giants like Google, Samsung, and Sony, as well as plenty of smaller brands as well.
Many companies use IFA to reveal new products or showcase existing ones, giving the public and press an opportunity to see what’s happening in the tech world firsthand. Pocket-lint is on the ground in Berlin, keeping a close eye on compelling devices, and we’re here to share our favorite finds throughout the week.
Honor Magic V3 foldable smartphone
Ridiculously slim and durable
Honor / Pocket-lint
These days, IFA isn’t much of a mobile show, but there’s often at least one phone that stands out. This year, it was the Magic V3 from the one-time Huawei brand Honor. With the V3, Honor has managed to make the thinnest foldable yet, with the phone measuring just 0.36 inches thick when it’s folded. It’s no slouch on the specs department, either. The V3 features Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SOC, 12GB of RAM, and a sizeable 5,150mAh battery. Oh, and Honor says the V3’s hinge can withstand up to 500,000 folding cycles. Pretty impressive, all things considered.
Honor Magic V3
Honor’s latest book-style foldable phone is incredibly thin and light — more so than many slab-style devices.
DJI Neo entry-level drone
Tiny and affordable but highly capable
DJI / Pocket-lint
At IFA 2024, DJI continued its incredible run, announcing the $200 Neo. It’s a 135-gram drone that can fit in the pocket of a jacket and capture 4K footage at 30 frames per second. It also comes equipped with a 1,435mAh battery that DJI claims will allow the drone to fly for up to 17 minutes on a single charge. Moreover, despite its cute stature, the Neo can reach speeds of up to 36 miles per hour, provided you pair the drone with DJI’s FPV Controller 3. As DJI plans to market this drone to content creators, it has plenty of smart video functionality, including the company’s ActiveTrack and Quick Shots features. We’ll be getting some hands-on time with the drone soon, and we cannot wait.
DJI Neo
The DJI Neo drone is a tiny, entry-level option with plenty of impressive specs.
Dell XPS 13 laptop
A long-lasting, powerful laptop
Dell / Pocket-lint
For the third time in less than a year, Dell is updating its excellent XPS 13 laptop. At IFA, we got to see the latest revision, and this time around, the company has decided to outfit its ultraportable with Intel’s just-announced Core Ultra 200V processors. As ever, Dell and Intel are promising significant performance gains, with the new CPU offering up to 48 TOPS of processing power for AI tasks and more. That said, the real highlight of the new XPS 13 is Dell’s claim that the laptop can go up to 26 hours on a single charge. If you’re just as excited about the XPS 13 as we are, it’s available to pre-order from the company’s website, starting at $1,400.
Dell XPS 13 (2024)
The new Dell XPS 13 laptop promises epic battery life and excellent performance.
Honor Watch 5 smartwatch
A slim, long-lasting smartwatch
The Honor Watch 5 smartwatch may not look all that special. However, it addresses the main issue with smartwatches: poor battery life. The Honor Watch 5 uses a 480mAh silicon-carbon battery and Turbo X AI Power Management system. The result is a promised 15 days of battery life, a drastic improvement over most smartwatches. Honor didn’t announce a specific release date for the new watch, so we’ll have to see if it lives up to its promise, but on paper, it looks like an incredibly impressive device.
Amazfit T-Rex 3
A budget-friendly adventure watch
Budget wearable brand Amazfit announced its T-Rex 3, which is a durable, adventure-ready fitness watch that comes at a shockingly low price. It shares some similarities with Garmin’s rugged fenix 8, Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, and Apple Watch Ultra 2, though the Amazfit option is just $279.99. That’s a massive price difference from the competition, making the Amazfit T-Rex 3 a much more reasonable choice for most people.
The T-Rex 3 offers a range of upgrades from the previous iteration, including a slightly larger display with double the brightness (2,000 nits). It offers dual-band GPS for precise location data, newly added offline maps with turn-by-turn directions, contour maps, and ski resort maps. The watch is built to be extremely durable, with a Gorilla Glass lens, military-grade frame, and stainless steel bezel. Amazfit promises three weeks of battery life with normal usage or 100 hours of continuous outdoor GPS tracking, though it did specify that final testing is still in progress, so those numbers could change.
Amazfit T-Rex 3
The Amazfit T-Rex 3 builds on the success of the previous iteration while keeping the budget-friendly price.
Dangbei Freedo portable projector
A tiny yet powerful projector
Projector brand Dangbei announced its first portable projector meant for on-the-go entertainment. This compact device is built with a 60Wh battery but can also be powered by a power bank thanks to a USB-C port. The stand for the projector with over 100 degrees of tilt is built-in, which is also a first for the company, so you don’t need to worry about remembering two different components.
The tiny size doesn’t result in low quality, either. It covers over 90% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and supports HDR, producing vibrant, accurate colors and 1080p images up to 120 inches. The built-in speaker provides 360-degree surround sound with Dolby Audio compatibility, and it can even be used as a Bluetooth speaker, making it a versatile device. Additionally, the Dangbei Freedo offers InstanPro AI Image Setup, autofocus, auto keystone correction, screen fit, and obstacle avoidance to make setup quick, easy, and hands-free. Plus, it functions as a Google TV projector, giving you easy access to the content you know and love.
Tecno Pocket Go AR gaming system
A gaming handheld with AR glasses
In the gaming world, Tecno announced a new gaming handheld system that is the first to combine AR glasses and a Windows handheld. Unfortunately, the handheld devices were out of battery when I was at the booth, so I didn’t get a chance to use the system. But on paper, it packs a lot of features into two devices that should result in a truly immersive gaming experience. Tecno also didn’t specify when it would be coming out or the price, so we’ll have to wait for more details on that front.
The AR glasses look like a pair of intense sunglasses instead of using a band that goes around the head like other AR headsets. It features a 0.71-inch Micro-OLED screen with adjustable diopter settings of up to 600 degrees to make the device usable and comfortable no matter your visual requirements. It also uses a six-axis gyroscope and a powerful AI algorithm to track head movements in real-time and vibrations based on the game for an immersive experience. In terms of the handheld portion of the system, it features the AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS, AMD’s flagship gaming CPU for speedy performance. Plus, Tecno designed it with a PC-level cooling fan to manage temperature, and there’s a 50Wh replaceable battery.
PLAUD NotePin voice recorder
An automatic note-taking device
One of the most interesting products I’ve encountered at IFA is PLAUD.AI. Its latest offering, the PLAUD NotePin, is a pill-like form factor that can be worn as a pin, necklace, or even on the wrist like a watch. The company designed the NotePin to be worn at all times. It records every conversation and transcribes it into written notes. Of course, you can turn it on or off when you don’t want a conversation recorded. The device recognizes 59 languages and uses AI to create summaries, break up conversations by speakers, and allow you to search your past conversations.
While I don’t see a general need to take notes on every aspect of our lives (not to mention that it feels more than a little invasive when used that way), it is a very useful tool for a wide range of scenarios. For example, it would have been extremely helpful at this conference as I walked around to speak with different companies at their booths. Doctors who want to be able to focus on patients instead of taking notes, business leaders who need an easier way to keep track of meetings, and school settings could all be ideal use cases for this pin. Consent to record is critical, but this pin could drastically simplify and improve workflows when all are on board.
PLAUD NotePin
The Plaud NotePin is an AI tool that records audio and automatically creates transcripts that you can easily reference later.
