The Best New Tech We Saw at IFA 2019

IFA is Europe’s equivalent to CES in Las Vegas. MakeUseOf reported from the Berlin-based consumer electronics show. To round off our coverage, here is are the new products that impressed us the most.

Curious about IFA’s history and what Rammstein has to do with it? Scroll all the way to the bottom for some background and trivia.

The Best New Tech Products at IFA 2019

Adidas FWD-01 Wireless Earbuds for Runners

We appreciated the elegant design of these earbuds. The collaboration between Zound and Adidas resulted in a visually pleasing product with clever features. For example, the earphones are sweat resistant and don’t block out noise entirely, which will help you stay aware of your environment when you’re out for a run.

MakeUseOf readers indirectly voted this product their most popular from IFA 2019.

Read more about the Adidas FWS-01 wireless earbuds here:

Shiftphone, the Sustainable Smartphone

Are you longing for an ethically sound and eco-friendly smartphone? The best choice today may be the Shiftphone, not the Fairphone.

SHIFT has been around since 2015. With five generations of smartphones under their belt, they are set to release a new model in 2020. And what we saw at IFA, this year, blew our mind. A fully modular phone that keeps running, even as you remove parts.

Gavin Phillips, Kannon Yamada, and James Frew picked this as their favorite product at IFA 2019. James summarized it best:

The Shiftphone is evidence that instead of flashy marketing budgets, and gimmick-based features, it is possible to create a sustainable, repairable smartphone. The company has been operational for almost half a decade, proving that an ethical business model is sustainable. The phone itself is also a wonder, and is almost as good as having your cake and eating it too.

Read our full coverage of the Shiftphone here:

Asus ProArt StudioBook One Laptop for Creatives

Asus’s latest flagship is a high-end laptop with powerful graphics, plenty of RAM and storage, and still only weighing in at 2.9 kg (6.4 pounds).

The extravagant design of this laptop will keep your hands cool at all times. Asus turned the screen into the body and removed all heat-generating components, such as the CPU, GPU, or battery, from the keyboard and trackpad area.

Ian Buckley chose this as his favorite product from IFA 2019:

Just a mad good laptop with some unique features.

Read all about the Asus ProArt StuioBook One in our short:

Smarter FridgeCam for Your Old Fridge

If you’ve been wondering how to create a smart home without buying new appliances, here’s a gadget you must have. The Smarter FridgeCam is a simple and affordable add-on that can upgrade your old fridge to a smart home appliance.

James Frew loved this product:

Fridge cameras are the kind of devices you think look cool, until you find out the price tag of the so-called smart fridge. Instead of buying a new product, Smarter lets you add smart features to otherwise durable and long-lasting products, and is a great way to avoid creating electronic waste. Smarter’s FridgeCam gives you the best of both worlds. It can be retrofit to any fridge, works on Android and iOS devices, and isn’t as damaging to your wallet. Along with the iKettle and Smarter Coffee, the FridgeCam is an affordable, accessible way to integrate smart home products into your kitchen.

Find out more about the Smarter FridgeCam.

Fossil Gen 5 Smart Watch

Fossil offers some of the most functionally sound smart watches. While they run on the same limited Android Wear OS as most other smart watches, they make great use of smart buttons. Paired with a high quality build and great designs, Fossil smart watches are a safe pick.

Joe Coburn was smitten with Fossil watches:

Fossil’s Gen 5 watch is a beautiful smart watch. This watch looks good enough to convert this analog watch fan, and the range of available colors is enough variety for anyone’s tastes. The limited Edition Michael Kors models significantly increase the bling factor (although with an increased price). Wear OS is still the black sheep of the Android family, however.

At IFA, we covered the Michael Kors Access line, which features Fossil’s Gen 5 hardware.

AGFA Realipix Square S

This 2-in-1 camera takes great photos and can print them instantly. Thanks to its integrated LCD screen, you won’t have to guess the frame and you can edit your shot before printing. Its 4-pass print technology produces superior photos.

For Kannon Yamada, this was one of the best products at IFA 2019:

It’s a strict improvement over already existing products and at EUR 100, it’s also price competitive.

Here’s everything else we found out about the AGFA Realipix Square S:

Miele Smart Kitchen Appliances

Frankly, we never thought we’d cover kitchen appliances at a technology trade show. But we wanted to try something different at IFA. And we thought Miele’s smart kitchen appliances were stunning.

Joe Coburn had this to say:

Miele’s latest smart home appliances provide a glimpse into what we can expect from our tech in the future. While anyone would expect smart home devices to communicate with each other, Miele actually designed them to. Your cooking app controls the induction hob, which in turn communicates the cooking details with the extractor fan. The future is now.

Read our full post on Miele’s smart kitchen appliances here:

That concludes our list of the best of IFA 2019. We’re already looking forward to returning to IFA in 2020! But first, MakeUseOf will head to Las Vegas in January 202o to report from CES. Stay tuned!

What Is IFA?

Originally launched in Berlin, Germany in 1924, IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung; international radio exhibit) is one of the world’s first technology exhibitions and Europe’s biggest trade show today. Every year, IFA presents the latest consumer technology, including product launches from leading electronics brands.

Unlike CES, IFA is open to the public. You’ll see a diverse audience roaming the show floors. Like other exhibitions, IFA forbids the sale of products during the show. It’s a family friendly technology show with a fair-like atmosphere. And it’s settled in Germany’s political and cultural capital.

If you’ve always wanted to attend CES but never got in, give IFA a shot.

Trivia: The video for Rammstein’s latest single Radio was shot at Messe Berlin, the venue for IFA and other international trade shows.

Read the full article: The Best New Tech We Saw at IFA 2019

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