Every year, the world’s tech journalists descend on the wonderful sights and sounds of Berlin, Germany, for a week exploring the cavernous halls of the Messe Berlin. And that means one thing: it’s time for IFA.
The Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (IFA) is the world’s biggest tech show (yes, bigger than CES), and each year, it wows us with the latest and greatest in tech, with this year’s edition no different.
From incredible dual-use laptops to cutting-edge AI note-taking and all the way back around to fully robotic exoskeletons for everyday use, we’ve seen it all — and this is the tech receiving one of our coveted MUO Best in Show awards this time out.
Hypershell Halo
This quad-motor exoskeleton helps you move
Credit: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf
The wearable devices category is no longer limited to wrist-worn gadgets like smartwatches and fitness trackers. The wearable robotics segment is gaining momentum, and while it’s not quite turning us all into Iron Man (yet), it’s pretty exciting. I tried the Hypershell Halo at IFA, and the brand says it’s the first full-leg exoskeleton to hit the consumer market. What exactly is a full-leg exoskeleton? It’s a gadget that adds four powerful motors to your hip and knee joints, giving you more power to walk, run, hike, and move.
I love to run and hike, but knee problems always seem to get in the way. Hypershell’s latest exoskeleton doesn’t just help you on the way up; it also helps you on the way down. The quad-motor system is designed to absorb impact and reduce muscle fatigue, and I felt the results firsthand while going down a flight of stairs wearing the exoskeleton. It’s made out of carbon fiber and titanium, so it doesn’t look or feel as bulky as you’d expect — the entire exoskeleton weighs less than six pounds.
Algorithms power the experience. The software learns your stride and gait, anticipating your next move roughly 200 milliseconds in advance. When you pick your leg up or step down, the motors predict your movement and assist accordingly. There’s a small, tethered battery pack that keeps you going for over 12 miles on a single charge, and you can carry multiple to keep going without missing a beat. Finally, a custom AI assistant named Shelly lets you control the exoskeleton with only your voice.
At $2,299, it’s still out of reach for many. It’s also not quite a replacement for dual-motor exoskeletons, as they’re lighter and a bit more natural to wear. Still, my demo made me want to bring it with me on my next hike, and that shows how far exoskeletons have come.
Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe
The vibe is very much there
Every laptop manufacturer has clearly had its eyes on stealing some of the MacBook Neo’s thunder, and Lenovo is no exception. The IdeaPad Vibe is the tech giant’s latest addition to its budget-friendly lineup, and it’s easily one of the most polished affordable laptops Lenovo has shown off in a while. Before we jump into specs, what immediately caught our attention were the bold, if slightly bizarrely named, color options.
The IdeaPad vibe is available in seven colors, including Spicy Gold, Dreamy Violet, Chill Blue, Zen Green, Radiant Coral, Moody Blue, and Lowkey Grey. Unlike the MacBook Neo, you get a lot of flexibility beyond just picking your favorite color, too.
Lenovo is offering the Vibe with either Qualcomm Snapdragon X or up to AMD Ryzen AI 400 Series processors, with Intel-powered models set to arrive later. The Snapdragon configurations go up to 24GB of memory, while the AMD models can be configured with up to 32GB of memory. You also get a little more freedom with the AMD version, since its memory is upgradeable!
There’s plenty of choice on the display front, too. The Vibe comes in both 14-inch and 15-inch sizes, with 120Hz IPS panels available across the lineup. If you want something nicer, Lenovo also offers OLED options on select configurations, with the 14-inch model topping out at WUXGA and the 15-inch at 2.1K. Those OLED panels can hit up to 600 nits of brightness and cover 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.
The 14-inch configuration starts at 1.3kg, while the 15-inch version begins at 1.5kg. You also get two USB-A ports, two USB-C ports, HDMI, a microSD card reader, and a headphone jack. The Snapdragon and AMD versions are both expected to begin retailing at $699.99, which makes the Vibe especially compelling considering just how much choice Lenovo is giving you!
Anker MagGo Power Bank Pro 2
Wired-speed charging, without the wired heat
The Anker MagGo 2 Pro is a 10,000 mAh magnetic wireless power bank designed for iPhones and marketed as the fastest and coolest Qi2 Charger on the market. It delivers up to 25W wireless output, charging an iPhone 17 Pro to 50% in just 25 minutes. That matches wired charging speeds and reaches 80% almost as fast as a 20W wired brick.
Anker says this is twice as fast as the previous-generation MagGo Power Bank, and the standout feature here is the SnapCool technology: a built-in fingertip-sized turbo fan with dual air channels that keeps surface temperature below 96.8°F (cooler than the human palm) using an algorithm that adjusts fan speed in real time based on charging status.
The device recharges itself at 45W, reaching 80% charge in 52 minutes, 1.5 times faster than common 30W solutions. You also get an adjustable zero-to-80-degree kickstand rated for 5,000 cycles, MagSafe compatibility, and smart brand detection for optimized charging profiles. Anker also claims it’s the first wireless power bank to earn the SGS Premium Performance Mark, and it comes in three colors, weighing just about 7.76 oz. It’s available for pre-order at the time of writing for $87.99, with a sticker price of $109.99.
Acer DualPlay Mini
This gaming device is part laptop, part handheld
Gaming handhelds are more powerful than they get credit for. Sure, they’re modest gaming machines, but they also have enough performance to handle basic Windows 11 productivity duties. Without a keyboard or mouse, though, you need a handful of dongles and peripherals to use a PC gaming handheld as a mini laptop. Acer showed off a Project DualPlay Mini concept at IFA that aims to change that, and it’s genius.
It looks like your average 8-inch gaming handheld at first, but on the thicker side. That’s until you lift the lid and reveal the full-size QWERTY keyboard underneath. After opening the Project DualPlay Mini up, the screen actually flips down to create a tiny laptop. This “flip-and-swivel design” offers the best of both worlds between a gaming handheld and a miniature laptop, such as popular models from GPD. It’s powered by an unspecified Intel processor and has Acer’s signature Predator AeroBlade metal fan with thinner blades.
Acer didn’t incorporate a pointer into this concept, so you’ll need to bring your own mouse. It’s also strictly a concept at this stage, but I could see there being demand for a handheld like the Project DualPlay Mini. I’d leave my Steam Deck and Asus ROG handhelds behind in a heartbeat for it, that’s for sure.
Moto Watch Ultra
Motorola is back in the smartwatch game, big time
Motorola has finally made a new Wear OS smartwatch: the Moto Watch Ultra.
Packing in a powerful Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chipset, 2GB RAM, and 32GB storage, the new Moto Watch Ultra is off to a great start, not least because that’s all used to power the proper version of Wear OS, with all the bells and whistles.
The Moto Watch Ultra display is also worth noting. It features a 1.5-inch pOLED display covered with Gorilla Glass 3 for proper protection, and it looks fantastic. I’m also a big fan of the brushed stainless steel body, which, along with the four different strap options, makes the Moto Watch Ultra look like it’s really come to take Google, Samsung, and Apple to task.
Pinning it all together is a very competitive 550mAh battery, IP68 + 5ATM dust/water resistance, and, of course, Google Wallet support.
The Moto Watch Ultra is launching on September 10 for $349.
Plaud One
A recorder, a transcriber, and an agent, no phone required
Plaud One is a $249.99 pair of AI-powered earbuds and a charging case, a shift from the company’s earlier pin/recorder devices towards an agentic AI wearable. The Explorer Edition combines half in-ear buds (three MEMS mics plus a VPU each, 12mm drivers, adaptive ANC up to 40db, and an IP54 rating) with a case featuring four beamforming microphones, a built-in speaker, and a 4G LTE eSIM that lets it record and upload conversations without a nearby phone.
The earbuds record up to six hours of meetings, and the case extends this to roughly 25 hours, with combined battery life around 36 hours. An Agent button, or “Hey Plaud” voice trigger, activates Plaud Agent, which integrates with Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion, and Slack to draft emails, build documents, or schedule events based on captured conversations.
Buyers get $200 in Plaud Credits plus a 300-minute monthly transcription starter plan, with additional subscriptions starting at $8.33 per month. Only 2,000 Explorer Edition units are available globally via preorder, with shipments beginning in Q4 2026 and a broader retail launch expected in 2027.
Lenovo ThinkBook Aero
Lenovo put this laptop on a serious diet
Tech companies have spent years chasing thinner, lighter devices, but that usually comes with compromises in performance, cooling, battery life, or ports. Lenovo’s ThinkBook AeroConcept, which it announced at 2026’s IFA, finally manages to do what all ultra-thin laptops aspire to. At just 830 grams and under 10mm thick, it’s absurdly thin for a 14-inch laptop. The interesting part is that Lenovo hasn’t achieved this simply by stripping away everything that makes a laptop useful.
For starters, the laptop has absolutely no traditional cooling vents or fans. Lenovo is using four of Frore System’s tiny AirJet cooling modules, which rely on rapidly vibrating membranes to pull air in and push it across the system. Since these modules take up considerably less space than a conventional laptop fan, Lenovo was able to shrink the system board and, in turn, the rest of the laptop around it.
That doesn’t mean the 14-inch AeroConcept is only capable of handling lightweight tasks, either. Lenovo says the cooling setup is designed to sustain around 20W of power, giving it considerably more thermal headroom than you might expect from something this thin. Since there’s no conventional fan spinning inside, it should also remain virtually silent even when it’s being pushed!
Tecno Bezelless Phone
Bezels? Never heard of them
There was a time when smartphone makers seemed completely obsessed with killing off bezels. Every generation seemed to shave another millimeter off the edges, until tiny bezels eventually became so common that we all just sort of stopped talking about them. Since then, attention has shifted to foldables, flip phones, ultra-thin designs, and AI. But despite all that progress, nobody ever quite finished the job.
Well, Tecno decided it was time to pick that fight back up. Its Next-Gen Bezelless Concept Phone does exactly what the name suggests, completely eliminating the physical black border surrounding the display. Tecno says it achieved the 0mm display border by reworking the phone’s internal stacking, structural engineering, and screen-packaging techniques rather than simply making the existing bezel a little thinner.
There’s still a punch-hole cutout for the front-facing camera, so it admittedly isn’t quite a completely uninterrupted sheet of screen. However, it’s still an impressive concept regardless!
Acer Swift Blade 14
There’s a new lightweight laptop champ
Credit: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf
The MacBook Air might have to give up its name, because Acer’s latest thin-and-light laptop puts it to shame. Acer launched the Swift Blade 14 at IFA, and it’s an impossibly thin machine weighing only 799 grams. To put that in perspective, the current 13-inch MacBook Air weighs 1,230 grams. This is a laptop with a striking design that will feel lightweight in your bag. Acer used carbon fiber and a magnesium-aluminum alloy to make the chassis, which explains how it’s able to be structurally sound and light.
Better yet, the Swift Blade 14 packs a larger 14-inch display than the MacBook Air. The display might be the most impressive part of this Acer laptop. It sports an OLED panel with a 3K resolution and full coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut, so it’s perfect for creators.
There are some compromises made to achieve this attractive form factor. There are three USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C ports onboard — I would’ve liked to see USB4 or Thunderbolt ports instead. The chip is an Intel Core Series 3 processor in the Wildcat Lake family, so it’s designed for power efficiency rather than power. It’ll need it, because the 50Wh battery is on the smaller side. You do get a good amount of memory and storage with the 12GB RAM, 1TB SSD configuration.
Overall, the Swift Blade 14 is an engineering feat, and its innovative design is deserving of a spot on our list. As for whether you should buy it, that’ll depend on the price, which hasn’t been announced yet.
Flowtica Verso
An AI recorder that actually feels standalone
Beyond random robots crawling around the floors of IFA, a trend that was impossible to miss was AI-powered gadgets designed to record, transcribe, and summarize meetings. I’ve been using devices built to do exactly this for a while now, like the Plaud Note. The Flowtica Verso, though, is one of the few that seems to have solved what has always annoyed me most about them.
With most AI recorders, actually finishing a recording is only half the process. Once you’re done, you need to pull out your phone, open the companion app, wait for the recording to upload and process, and then dig through the results there. Verso gets around that with a 229ppi ePaper built directly into the device.
Once you’re done recording, all you need to do is hit a button on the device itself to send the recording off to Flowtica’s cloud AI for processing. Once it’s ready, the resulting transcript, summary, action items, and follow-ups can all be viewed directly on the Verso’s e-paper display.
You can even press and hold its dedicated Ask AI button to query previous meetings, retrieve information, draft follow-up emails, or generate personalized dashboards.There’s also a dedicated FlowMark button that lets you flag an important decision, idea, or action item while you’re recording, so you don’t have to remember to go hunting for it later.
The 98g device uses four MEMS microphones alongside a bone-conduction microphone, can capture conversations from up to five meters away, and packs 64GB of onboard storage with up to 72 hours of battery life. It can magnetically attach to a MagSafe-compatible phone, sit on a desk stand, or even be worn on a lanyard.
Lexar Muse Portable SSD
This SSD is thinner than some phone cases
When we first heard that Lexar had launched an ultra-thin portable SSD, my immediate reaction was basically: how thin can an SSD really be? Then I saw the Muse in person, and it’s exactly the kind of product that makes an immediate impression the moment you hold it. The Lexar Muse SSD measures just 3.8mm at its thickest point and tapers down to an absurd 1mm around the edges. It weighs only 26.5 grams!
Of course, this form factor doesn’t really leave any room for a conventional USB-C port. Instead, Lexar uses its own magnetic PogoPin connection, with the included SnapLink cable simply snapping onto the SSD when you need it. There’s also a magnetic sleeve that lets you attach the drive to the back of a compatible MagSafe iPhone, which makes the whole setup considerably cleaner than having a traditional portable SSD dangling from your phone.
Despite its size, you’re still getting read speeds of up to 1,050MB/s and write speeds of up to 1,000MB/s, with support for direct 4K ProRes recording at up to 120fps on compatible iPhones. The Lexar Muse will be available in 512GB and 1TB variants later this year.
All eyes turn to CES 2027
That’s it, folks: another wonderful, whirlwind IFA is drawing to an end, and that means only one thing: CES 2027 is firmly looming into view.