IFA 2024 highlights: Jen's walk around the show in Berlin

This was my first time at IFA in Berlin. Here are my highlights straight from the show, in the order of my visit.

Honor Magic V3: the design winner

On the first day, the show was only open to trade visitors, and construction was still going on everywhere. Honor already had its booth finished and showed the Honor Magic V3.

• Design: It’s unbelievably thin and light, even when folded. My favorite color is a brown with a slightly rosé-gold tone and a faux leather back. The hinge is insane. For me it’s the design winner of the year.
• Camera: The camera module has been redesigned and is now diamond-shaped.
• New compared with the Magic V2: The V3 is protected against dust and water and has wireless charging. With the V2, the claim was that it was only so thin because wireless charging was missing. That the V3 is still this thin is wild.
• Colors: Besides brown, there’s a more understated green without a faux leather back, probably plastic, that glitters a bit. Then there’s black for everyone who likes it very understated.

One day later, a professional table tennis player swept five new Magic V3s off the table tennis table to show how robust the slim device is. Watching that curls my toenails.

ESR: iPhone 16 accessories

Ad: ESR launched new products for IFA, including three cases for the iPhone 16. All have a hidden stand integrated into the camera cutout as a camera guard, are MagSafe compatible and have the cutout for the new camera button.

• Classic hybrid case: transparent.
• Cyber armor case: even more robust, with three layers of a PC back, a soft TPU shell and an inner lining. The iPhone survives drops from up to 7 m, and the color of the soft shell can be mixed.
• Cloud case: more understated, made of liquid silicone, with a very soft inner lining.

There’s also a new Qi2 charger with CryoBoost: a fan is built into the magnetic MagSafe charger that cools the iPhone during 15 watt charging so that it charges faster. That’s also available as a car charger. I also like ESR’s wallets with Find My: you can add the wallet to your Apple ID and search for it through that if it gets lost or stolen. All in all really well thought out.

Google: Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Pixel Buds Pro 2

Google was represented with the new devices that are already out: Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 9 Pro. My ordered Pixel 9 Pro XL is with me for testing right now. A video on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is coming, too. On the inner display you can see a clear improvement over last year, the displays are slimmer, much better and built with higher quality. You can see the crease, of course, but that applies to all foldables. It has never bothered me, it fades with time as you use it. The Pixel Buds Pro 2 have become significantly smaller again, and I’d like to test those too.

Xiaomi Mix Flip

I took the train to Xiaomi to look at the new Xiaomi Mix Flip. I really hope it comes to Germany soon. The large outer display is great to use because you can use not just a few widgets but a whole range of apps completely normally. Whether it ends up being all apps remains to be seen. As in all current Xiaomi smartphones, there are Leica lenses inside. The crease in the display is almost impossible to see or feel. Nothing was known about the price yet.

Nothing: lounge event with the 2a Plus

In the evening I went to Nothing’s lounge event in a Berlin club. The Nothing 2a Plus was presented there. The display is the same size as on the 2a, but the Plus has a somewhat better processor, a better selfie camera and, the strongest novelty, a really cool silver instead of the half-baked black-gray or white. There were new clothes too, I was more interested in the glowing temples.

Honor, Samsung and LG on visitor day

The next morning was the first official visitor day, suddenly crowded and loud. I attended a few press conferences.

• Honor: As part of an AI panel, the Honor CEO presented the Magic Book Art 14, with Snapdragon X Elite and so another Copilot+ PC, optimized for AI. The highlight: the camera isn’t in the display but can be taken out of the case and placed anywhere on the edge of the display. There are also new AI features, of which it remains to be seen how much works.
• Samsung: Samsung built a complete show of its own within the show, with a hall for all devices. Smart rings and watches were on display, as well as Micro LED TVs with an unbelievably intense picture, and gamers got their money’s worth too. There were no new devices, but there was Ballie: a small, cute robot that follows you everywhere, has a projector built in and a voice assistant. I’m curious whether and when it comes to market. There were also refrigerators that recognize what you put in or take out.
• LG: LG also built a show of its own within the show. My highlight was the CineBeam Q: a stylish, handy projector that adjusts itself when it isn’t standing upright. You can set it up anywhere and always have a symmetrical picture, with AI of course. LG also showed cabinets that clean and iron shoes and clothing, and its gaming lineup.

Verdict

The first official visitor day was also my last day at IFA. I let the evening wind down over dinner with great people and interesting conversations, because that’s part of a trade show too: meeting people who are like-minded. It was my very first IFA in Berlin, and I’m quite sure it won’t be my last.