All the Top New Gadgets at IFA 2024
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- Sep 06, 2024
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Europe’s premier tech conference—IFA—has kicked off and is serving up a smorgasbord of new smart home devices with a light smattering of phones and other consumer tech. After running to press events and stomping the hall floors in Berlin, I've found the best morsels for your delectation. From folding phones and smart security cameras to home energy management solutions and self-emptying vacuums, these are the most noteworthy product announcements from the tradeshow. Matthew Korfhage
As a fan of SwitchBot’s latest Curtain Bot, a retrofit solution to give you smart drapes, I also like the look of its new smart Rollershade ($200). It comes in various sizes and finishes and supports the Matter standard for easy connectivity. SwitchBot also revealed the SwitchBot Evaporative Humidifier which can be refilled by its Floor Cleaning Robot S10, though the robot vac’s base station must be plumbed in.
Expanding beyond the smart home, SwitchBot had a surprise with the SwitchBot Wallet Finder Card ($25), a slim smart tracking card to slip into your wallet that works with Apple’s Find My network. It's a weird tangent from SwitchBot's other offerings.
Satechi Also Has a Find My Accessory
Photograph: Satechi
There are lots of new Find My devices now that Apple has opened up its tracking network, and this one from Satechi is designed to ensure you never lose your passport. The Satechi Vegan-Leather Passport Cover with Find My ($60) boasts four card slots, wireless charging capability with five-month battery life, Bluetooth 5.2, RFID protection, and integrated Find My technology.
Continuous Recording in 4K
Reolink’s new Atlas PT Ultra security camera can record continuously in 4K, offers impressive color night vision, and promises 360-degree coverage with smart detection of people and automatic subject tracking. Reolink is an increasingly attractive choice for folks who prefer to avoid a subscription in their security camera and want to record locally. The company also has a new Battery Doorbell that offers 2K footage and the same smart detection features and local storage as its cameras. Its wired predecessor made our Best Video Doorbells guide, and we recently added the Argus 4 Pro to our Best Outdoor Security Cameras guide, so these new releases have piqued our interest.
Aukey Makes Wireless Charging Cool
If you get anxious about your phone heating up when you wirelessly charge it, Aukey has a new range of wireless chargers for you. The MagFusion 3-in-1 Pro ($100), MagFusion Gamefrost, and MagFusion Dash Pro feature Aukey's weirdly named Omnia-Frez cooling system, which can cut temperatures by up to 65 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius). Daring to be different on the design front, the 3-in-1 looks like a microphone, the Gamefrost is a stick-on fan, and the Dash Pro is a car dock. All are Qi2-certified to deliver up to 15 watts. I can see the card dock being very handy on sunny road trips where my phone often overheats.
Twelve South Has a Charger You Can't Lose
Photograph: Simon Hill
The new PlugBug from Twelve South is a clever new charger you can't lose. If you tend to forget chargers in cafés, friends' houses, or anywhere else, the new PluBug range might help because it has Apple's Find My built in, enabling you to track its location on your iPhone or MacBook. The PlugBug 50 ($70) is a 50-watt charger with two USB-C ports, the PlugBug 120 ($120) is a 120-watt charger with four ports. Both models also come in a Travel version containing a travel case and switchable adapter plugs for the US, UK, EU, AU, KR, and CN.
DTS Uses AI to Make Movie Dialog Clearer
Do you often find yourself straining to hear what the actors on your telly are saying? You are not alone. Mumbly actors, quiet voice tracks, and booming music and sound effects all contribute to TV frustration. DTS says it has the answer. The on-device, AI-based DTS Clear Dialogue technology processes audio in real time to pick out voices and make them easier to hear. It is content and language-agnostic and has the potential to allow viewers to create their own tailored listening profiles. We just need some TV manufacturers to license the tech and stick it into a smart TV you can buy.
Philips Hue Finally Updates Its TV Sync Box
Photograph: Philips
Great news for console gamers craving some light-syncing action on the big TV. The Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K is finally here. By plugging consoles, Blu-Ray players, and streaming boxes into this gadget, you can have your Philips Hue lighting sync to the onscreen action. The previous version lacked HDMI 2.1, but the new model has it, so you can enjoy 4K at 120 Hz or 8K at 60 Hz. Sadly, it is not any cheaper than its predecessor at £300 in the UK just for the box.
Thread Sews Your Smart Home Together
The latest version of the wireless protocol Thread has been officially released at IFA and is open for certification. Thread underlies Matter to form a fast, low-power mesh network that enables smart home devices to talk to each other. It is a crucial component for Matter’s adoption and success, so it is welcome news that Thread 1.4 includes proper integration, ensuring different Thread devices form a single mesh. Currently, each Thread Border Router, whether it’s an Apple TV 4K or a Google Nest Hub, creates a separate network, which is against the whole idea of interoperability.
The Thread group is also working to make it easier to troubleshoot your Thread network and control it remotely or hook in data from the cloud, and will now allow Wi-Fi and Ethernet to extend range and stability. It may be a while before we see all this, but at least it is now possible.
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