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While CES is the biggest tech industry showcase in the United States, IFA is the largest consumer electronics trade show in Europe. For more than 100 years, some of the best and biggest communication and tech companies from around the world have gathered in the heart of Berlin, Germany at the Messe Berlin exhibition grounds, for a chance to debut new innovations to the public for the first time.
In 2026, IFA (rebranded as Innovation For All) took place from Sept. 4 to Sept. 8 with companies like XGIMI, ASUS and TCL showing off their latest products. Additionally, the tech showcase featured a concert series at night with some of the hottest recording artists and DJs in Germany, including BUNT., Ikkimel & Friends Open Air and others.
“From radio to TV, personal computers, and now AI and robotics. For more than 100 years. IFA has been the place where society first encounters new technology,” says Leif Lindner, CEO of IFA Management, in a press conference. “Technology alone has not created progress. Understanding does. The future is not something on the horizon. The future is now.”
The Variety team visited the conference floor, attended keynote addresses, and had hands-on time in various tech demos to find the very best new tech products of the year.
From advanced 4K digital projectors and gaming controllers to motorized TV mounts and stylish noise-canceling headphones, we’re highlighting the top brands and releases. We reviewed products in home entertainment, networking, home décor and other categories, based on our first impressions.
Instead of an ugly black slab, the TCL 4K QD-Mini LED Designer Series (A400U) offers a sophisticated and ultra-thin design that’s made to be mounted flush against a wall. It’s a real work of art, and doubles as a 4K TV that seamlessly blends into your home décor with up to 85 inches in size. It sports a sleek and stylish QD-Mini LED display with bright and vibrant color contrast with deep black levels with silky motion at 144Hz refresh rate and Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and DTS:X video support.
Delivering a movie theater experience at home, the XGIMI AURA 3 Pro changes the way we watch movies at home with a home digital ultra short-throw projector. It feels like a real movie theater in your living room. It features RGB triple laser 4K Ultra HD for sharp and crystal clear picture quality with vibrant colors and deep black levels, an immersive viewing experience and a few of video standard support, such as IMAX Enhanced and Dolby Vision. If you’re looking to build out your own home theater in 2027, then start with the XGIMI AURA 3 Pro.
For super-fast speeds with virtually zero lag, the TP-Link Deco 8 is a workhorse and a key device for any gamer or live-streamer — especially with up to 8K video streaming support. It’s a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router that’s fast, with speeds up to 22 GBPS wirelessly (or 10GBPS wired), and it can stabilize more devices, like gaming consoles and streaming boxes, on one router, so everything on the network runs smoothly with virtually no delays. In fact, a three-pack of these mesh routers could support up to 200 devices at the same time. We like that it’s made to blend into a stylish home décor instead of looking like a traditional boxy Wi-Fi router.
To brighten up your home theater space, Govee COB Strip Light 2 Pro is designed to customize your décor and to set the real mood in the living room. Govee balances a deep color pallet with triple-layer LED architecture that delivers smooth and uniform glow across the entire strip from vibrant colors to natural whites. In person, the effect isn’t overwhelming, but rather steady and low-key for richer room experiences when watching movies and TV shows in a home theater.
Made with immersive audio, the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y are some of the best headphones we used at IFA Berlin. Not just for their up to 90 hours of battery life per charge, top-of-the-line active noise-cancelation or their sleek and stylish design, the wireless headphones are a standout for their replaceable battery for longevity and better peace of mind. The headphones are simply a game-changer. Throw in a low price of $149.99 and you have yourself the best headphones of IFA 2026.
Best for “heads-up productivity” and on-the-go glanceable text, the RayNeo iO is the company’s latest pair of AI glasses that’s designed without a camera. It’s made for live captions and translations, as well as a mobile teleprompter, instead of taking photos and capturing video. And with an ultralight design and adaptive intelligence, the AI glasses are a tech companion to assist you throughout the day with a dual-eye display for visual notifications and experiences, as well as bone-conducting audio integrated speakers. At just over one ounce in weight, the RayNeo iO AI glasses are made for productivity with a comfortable, all-day design.
The AOTOS FLUX X26 Series is a sleek e-bike that’s designed for style, power, speed and comfort in mind. With a range of 50 miles (the pro model has a range of up to 70 miles), the electric bicycle has a complete weight of 97 pounds with a speedy instant torque that responses in less than one second, and it has a top speed of 28 miles per hour. The AOTOS FLUX X26 Series is a class-leading e-bike for those who crave power and speed for every day use.
With the release of the Apple MacBook Neo earlier this year, one of the hottest laptops on the market needs one of the hottest laptop accessories to go with it. Enter the Satechi OntheGo Multiport Adapter, a clever and stylish hub that features five very useful ports, including two USB-C, one USB-A, one HDMI and one SD card reader, all inside of a hockey puck-shaped adapter. It even attaches to the back of the laptop display via a magnetic mount, so it’s out of the way when you’re working. The adapter also matches the same colors with the MacBook Neo line, citrus, blush, indigo and silver, so it pairs as the perfect accessory.
Made for Nintendo Switch 2, Apple and Android devices and SteamOS, the JSAUX Voidjoy SkyLark S1 Pro Portable Controller is a compact wireless controller that makes gaming on-the-go more flexible and comfortable to use. Its refined and streamlined design makes the gaming controller pocketable without sacrificing inputs that gamers rely upon, such as clicky action buttons, quick triggers, precise analog controls and responsive D-pad. It’s a must-have controller for any gamer.
One of the trends spotted during outdoor music festivals, or big cities on a hot day, is people using an electric portable fan to keep themselves cool in the heat. And the Aecooly Misting Fan Cold Air Ultra is one of the best personal cooling fans found at IFA 2026, thanks to its raw cooling power with mighty wind speeds up to a whooping 56 miles per hour (25m/s), lightweight design at just 12 ounces (345 grams) and long battery life up to 2.5 hours per charge. It doesn’t just blow hot air at you either, the personal cooling fan features a built-in cooling chamber that you fill with water to cool the air to give you a refreshing blast of cold mist while you’re in the blazing hot sun.
Some people place their 4K TV too high on a wall at home, so a new TV wall mount makes it easier to adjust viewing angles to avoid craning neck pain. The Perlegear AX1 Smart Adaptive TV Mount is motorized, so it can easily raise a TV when you’re not watching it, and then lower it with adaptive AI positioning and camera controls to the proper eye level when you’re watching your favorite movies and TV shows. It’s a real breakthrough in the living room.
A good desk chair is the key to productivity and the LiberNovo Omni Pro is the best of we used during IFA 2026. It’s comfortable and fully adjustable with a wide range of settings for various types of heights, while the ergonomic chair features five recline positions for dynamic support when working or gaming at a desk. Just set it once and you’re ready to get some work done.
In a partnership with audio engineer GoldenSound, Status Audio Pro X wireless earbuds are a new premium pair that are the best we’ve tested and tried during IFA 2026. The Pro Xs expertly combine high quality hi-res audio with stylish design to deliver a powerful and rich pair of earbuds with detailed sound, and superb active noise-cancellation features.
But most of all, it’s the small details that make a big impression, such as multipoint pairs with up to two devices at the same time, customizable action buttons and optical wear that automatically turns on or off when you place them in or take them out of your ears. Whether you’re listening to your favorite music and podcasts, taking calls to family and friends, the Status Audio Pro X: GoldenSound Edition earbuds offer pure, dynamic sound.
Powered by Lexar, the PexarBolt Ultra Thunderbolt 5 desktop dock transforms a laptop into a productivity powerhouse with 22 ports in just one device. It features wide range of ports and readers, including eight USB-C ports (three Thunderbolt 5), four USB-A, a DisplayPort 2.1 or HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio out and audio in ports, an Ethernet port, one CFexpress Type B card slot, one UHS-II SD card slot, one UHS-II microSD slot and one 3.5mm audio combo jack. The docking station even has a five-inch display to let you know what’s going on under the hood and what’s going on with all of your peripherals. There’s also a sleek dial to control its functions.
If you’re a creator or web developer, then the ASUS ProArt GR1X Mini PC is designed to enhances your creativity with the mini-desktop’s accelerated performance, thanks to the NVIDIA RTX Spark “superchip” built inside. The computer is made to take your workflow and pair it with ASUS’s AI foundations to speed up the creative process when working with 3D renderings, content creation and other works. If the Mac Studio is for Apple users, then the ASUS ProArt GR1X Mini PC is the gold standard for Windows.
Designed to enhance the home viewing experience, the Philips Hue Play entertainment sync system is a series of color-changing LED strips, stands and bars that makes lighting move along with your favorite movies and TV shows (and video games) on your 4K. The new Philips Hue Play Sync Box 4K pulls visual color sources from streaming devices to the lighting system via HDMI, while the Philips Hue Play Screen Sync is a new camera that follows the motion on the TV display for color matching and movement. The new lighting system raises the bar for TV smart lighting, while delivering elevated and immersive experiences.