IFA 2023

“This would have been the coolest gadget ever if it was released in 1995,” says Jon. 27 inches, 1080p, three-hour battery. $999, shipping mid-October or maybe possibly September.

European tech manufacturers know how to make good-looking cameras.

The new Bosch Eyes Outdoor Camera II on display at IFA 2023 has a sleek look and integrated, full-color ambient lighting in addition to a 1,100-lumen floodlight. It only records in 1080p and costs €350, but compared to most floodlight cameras it's got some je ne sais quoi. It comes in silver and black, but sadly it’s not coming to the US.

TCL has equipped its latest smartphones with its NXTPAPER display technology, which is designed to reduce eye strain. Fundamentally they’re still backlit LCD panels, but they’re LCD panels that emit less blue light, and have an anti-glare coating and a matte-textured finish. Here’s how the display looks on the NXTPAPER 40 5G, whose 90Hz display can get as bright as 500 nits.

Yeelight’s seriously fun Cube Smart Lamp (from $76) got a new feature this week. Announced at IFA 2023, the modular lighting system can now show real-time fan counts from your YouTube and Twitch live streams.

The Matter-compatible light fixture already displays a clock face on four of its cubes, and now it can sync with your YouTube and Twitch channels to display real-time viewer numbers while you stream.

The Dreame Roboticmower A1, a new robot lawnmower, can tackle yards as large as half an acre, which is good news for us Americans with big yards.

These electric autonomous grass-cutting devices have struggled to take off in the US due to range issues, complexity, and high costs.

While Dreame’s bot may cost as much as $2,000 (pricing isn't finalized) it uses lidar mapping so there’s no need for clunky beacons or fiddly guide wire.

“It has the potential to change the world,” said Samsung at the IFA event in Berlin, without any shame.

Now where have we heard this before? Prepare the HYPErdrive!

The sun’s shining, the IFA flags are fluttering, and the announcements are in full swing. We’ve got a packed day ahead of us in Berlin, but here are some highlights of the biggest stories so far:

JBL has announced new speakers that offer simultaneous access to Alexa and Google Assistant, Philips Hue has announced new smart lights and security cameras, and Sennheiser has a new soundbar.

We’re at Samsung’s IFA 2023 press conference in Berlin, where the tech giant isn’t launching a humongous new TV... but a new app.

Samsung Food is a souped-up recipe app powered by generative AI that integrates with SmartThings and Samsung’s appliances to try and fill the gap between the idea of the smart, connected kitchen and well, the way we actually cook.

We’ve got a deeper dive coming soon.

“The smallest true wireless earbud of any major headphone brand,” according to JLab, and comfortable enough to wear while sleeping. They feature Bluetooth multipoint for quick swaps between your computer and phone, with 5.5 hours of continuous playtime, or 20 hours after recharging from the case. They’re sweat-proof, and also offer a pass-through audio feature to better hear your surroundings. They only lack ANC.

The service agnostic company was first to market with a speaker featuring both Alexa and Google Assistant, but JBL is first to allow simultaneous use of the two most popular voice assistants. Sonos previously said it was Google’s fault for blocking “concurrency” — a feature Sonos had been working on since at least 2017 — presumably out of spite for losing that lawsuit. We’ve reached out to Sonos for a reaction and will hopefully have something to publish soon.

JBL announced a new wireless party speaker today as part of a host of new products, like new earbuds and new smart speakers, debuting at IFA.

The company says the PartyBox Ultimate self-tunes, has Wi-Fi 6 and LE Audio-ready Bluetooth connectivity and supports the company’s multi-speaker connection feature. Oh, and RGB lights. It has those too.