Europe’s biggest tech show, IFA 2023, is currently in full swing, and Android Police is bringing you all the best announcements from Berlin. We’ve been on the ground getting you the latest news, but the truth is you’re always going to miss a few IFA reveals, with the show encompassing almost every facet of the consumer tech business and as much hardware as it does. If you’ve found it tough to keep up with the best new gadgets, these awards are for you. We’ve collated our picks of the best IFA 2023 announcements in one place.
Our best of IFA 2023 awards have been handed to the 11 gadgets announced in tandem with the show that we think are notable, look exciting, and that we just can’t wait to try out for ourselves in a full review. Some of these products haven’t had a physical presence at the show, but as they were launched to coincide with the event we’ve included them in our list. So without further ado, let’s jump into our picks for the best tech of IFA 2023.
DreameBot L20 Ultra
The new DreameBot L20 Ultra is a combination robot vacuum and mop from Dreametech, and it looks poised to set a new high-water mark for a company that’s been quietly producing many of the best floor cleaning robots on the market lately. It vacuums and mops floors without user intervention, of course, and features sensors to avoid obstacles. But it also comes with a number of more advanced features.
The L20 Ultra can extend its mop pads out to the side to more effectively clean corners, and even remove the pads entirely — on its own! — to clean high-pile rugs and carpets, leaving them in the charging base to ensure they don’t drip water on soft surfaces. At a staggering $1,500 MSRP, the DreameBot L20 Ultra is a major investment — but it’s getting us excited about robot vacuums again, which makes it a clear choice for our Best of IFA award.
The Dreamebot L20 Ultra is the robot vacuum and mop of your dream(e)s. It’s almost entirely automated, even able to extend or remove its mop pads by itself to better clean rugs and carpets, seamlessly switching between suction and mopping modes on the go. At $1,500 it’s certainly not cheap, but this might be a premium worth paying.
Fairphone 5
Fairphone has long been an industry leader when it comes to building a phone as fairly and repairable as possible, and the same is true for the Fairphone 5, the latest iteration of the company’s flagship smartphone. However, what makes the Fairphone 5 special is that it’s not special. At first glance, it looks just like any other great 2023 smartphone, with a modern display, competitive specs, and a great build quality all around. At a closer look, it may just be a tad bigger and bulkier than non-repairable smartphones, but you may take the Fairphone apart with a standard screwdriver and replace almost all parts yourself, a feat that virtually no other big smartphone brand offers.
The Fairphone 5 isn’t only about repairability, though. The company is also concerned with sourcing raw materials fairly and is working on paying everyone involved in the making and assembly of the phone a living wage. This approach to technology comes with a price, though. The Fairphone 5 is launching in Europe for €700 and £620, which is roughly $750.
The Fairphone 5 is a culmination of everything Fairphone learned over the past years. It’s the company’s most repairable phone yet that comes closest to a modern-looking flagship phones, all while being easily disassembled using standard tools.
Honor Magic V2
The Honor Magic V2 is impossibly thin while packing specs that seem too good to be true for its form factor. When you hold it in your hand while folded, it feels like a regular smartphone. At 9.9mm when folded, it undercuts a few regular smartphones in thickness, all while still packing two 120Hz screens with stylus input support, a 5,000mAh battery, and a flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. The impressive specs are matched by a familiar design and a good build quality, established by the Magic V and Magic Vs before it.
The Honor Magic V2 already launched in China in July 2023. At IFA 2023, Honor announced that it’s coming to global markets, but we’ve yet to hear more about exact availability, pricing, and storage configurations.
The Honor Magic V2 is the newest iteration in Honor’s foldable lineup, and it’s impossibly thin, undercutting some regular smartphones in thickness even when folded. Despite this, it packs competitive specs, including a big battery, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and great displays outside and inside.
Jabra Elite 10
In a show where we’ve seen some particularly tiny earbuds, the Jabra Elite 10 stand out as our favorites. These new flagship earbuds feature twice as powerful active noise cancelation compared to previous models. It’s also the first time the brand has brought its ComfortFit tech to earbuds. The early verdicts suggest these will fit more comfortably in your ear, but we want to put them through a full review before confirming that. Other features include support for spatial sound processing and Dolby Atmos, making these particularly feature-rich among compact earbuds. Sales will get underway sometime later in September for $250.
Jabra’s Elite 10 are the company’s flagship earbuds, packing 10mm drivers and 2x more powerful ANC. This is backed by solid battery life, multipoint connectivity, and excellent sound quality.
Jackery 1000 Plus
Take it from someone who spent nearly three days stuck in a blizzard without power last year: a good generator can be the difference between life and death. And while gas-guzzling behemoths still line the shelves of your local Home Depot, Jackery’sbattery-powered generatorshave become successful with good reason: they’re quiet, they’re sustainable, and they’re portable. With the Jackery 1000 Plus, the company has seemingly built one of its most flexible generators yet, combining high performance with true versatility for both power and charging.
The Jackery 1000 Plus is capable of charging via a wall charge — which fills its cells in less than two hours — or by using solar panels. It’s capable of outputting 2,000W, perfect for powering nearly any device or appliance you’re able to imagine. And with additional cells, you can make it last even longer on a charge. Whether you’re going camping or just trying to prepare for the ever-growing risk of natural disasters, a battery like this is no longer an inessential product.
Jackery Solar Generator 1000 Plus
With unparalleled output, the Jackery Solar Generator 1000 Plus is the top choice for similar-level portable power stations. Covering various scenarios, it provides support for camping, off-road travel, home emergencies, and more. Being versatile and expandable in capacity, it’s the all-in-one solar generator to power your life.
Lenovo Legion Go handheld
Handhelds are all the ragein 2023, thanks to Asus stirring things up with the ROG Ally. And so Lenovo has jumped on the bandwagon with the Legion Go, an exciting new gaming handheld announced officially at IFA 2023. This market expansion is a good thing, especially for gamers, as competition will see our options diversified while prices are driven down.
Beyond how the Legion Go may affect gaming at large, those of you into handheld gaming like we are at AP should be excited about the QHD IPS screen, detachable controllers, and kickstand. The price will be similar at $699, where both devices use the same chipset, but the bump in screen resolution and extra features like the kickstand should allow the Legion Go to stand on its own as a viable choice in the market, which is precisely why we’ve granted the Lenovo Legion Go our Best of IFA award.
Lenovo Legion Go
Roborock Q8 Max
It’s a big year for vacuums. The Roborock Q8 Max is an upper-midrange robot vacuum/mop, coming in at a cool $600. It’s Roborock’s first sub-premium robovac to come with the company’s 3D imaging-based Reactive Tech obstacle avoidance, which means it should be better than most vacuums in its price range at avoiding common obstacles like shoes and pet toys.
The Q8 Max’s mopping isn’t as advanced as what other Roborock bots offer, to say nothing of the DreameBot L20 Ultra’s impressive collection of mop features. Still, the Q8 Max is a Best of IFA pick thanks to its combination of high-tech obstacle avoidance and other desirable features at a price mere mortals might actually consider paying.
Roborock’s Q8 Max offers basic mopping but advanced vacuuming, bolstered by the company’s Reactive Tech obstacle avoidance, which should help it avoid your house’s most obvious trip hazards. A pair of rollers and solid 5,500Pa suction round out the spec sheet, supported by an app that lets you set custom routines and cleaning routes.
Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini
Who says that every soundbar needs to be massive? Many top-end options just feel too big for those with smaller homes, but that’s not the case with the latest from Sennheiser. The new Ambeo Soundbar is designed to give big sound in a small package that simulates a full 7.1.4 home theater system coming from this petite bar living under your TV. It utilizes the company’s Ambeo technology, offers Dolby Atmos support, and you’re able to pair it with additional subwoofers if you want to add more oomph to your living room. We’ve been impressed by the demos we’ve heard so far, and while the soundbar isn’t cheap at $800, if you’re looking for a top-tier option that’s suitable for smaller spaces, you may find this an ideal choice.
The Ambeo Soundbar Mini is a dinky addition to Sennheiser’s Ambeo range, but it still manages to squeeze four full-range speaker drivers and two 4-inch subs into a compact frame measuring just 70cm in length. Throw in support for multiple smart assistants, spatial audio, Atmos, and Chromecast, and you get a hell of a lot of soundbar for such a small package.
SwitchBot S10
IFA is all about robot vacuums in 2023. The SwitchBot S10 is designed to be a robot vacuum and mop which you don’t need to refill or drain — it can handle all that disgusting water itself. It does this by connecting into your home’s water line, and it’ll automatically drain and refill itself without you having to pick it up after every clean. There’s sure to be the odd occasion where you need to help the SwitchBot S10, but the fact it’s designed to do everything on its own allows you to rest assured that your floors will be sparkling clean day-to-day. The SwitchBot S10 isn’t cheap at $1,200, though, so consider what that’s worth to you. It’s set to appear on Kickstarter in October.
Switchbot S10
The SwitchBot S10 is the rare robovac that does something genuinely unique: it’s a robotic mop that can refill its water tank automatically. The downside, of course, is that you’ll have to connect its base station up to your plumbing, which will limit where you can place it - and may require some DIY skills. Get past that hurdle though, and you may never have to lift a finger again.
Urbanista Malibu
Bluetooth speakers are a dime a dozen, but what’s far rarer is a portable speaker you never have to charge. That’s the Urbanista Malibu’s goal, as it brings the solar technology seen onits Los Angeles headphonesto a gadget seemingly perfect for a day at the beach. With a full day’s worth of listening time on a single charge, Urbanista claims the device will never run out of battery — meaning you can comfortably leave the plug in a drawer without any concerns. Combined with IP67 water and dust resistance, this thing is ready to go wherever your life may lead, all without worrying about your battery.
The Malibu is more than just another portable Bluetooth speaker: it’s one you may never need to charge again, with a built-in solar panel that should keep it charging as it plays, saving you from ever reaching for a charging cable again - well, at least not during the day. An IP67 water-resistance rating makes it pretty durable too, meaning you have nothing to worry about in more ways than one.
Withings ScanWatch 2
Hybrid smartwatches offer an enticing blend of techy features, traditional styling, and long battery life. At IFA this year, Withings announced a couple of new hybrid smartwatches, including the ScanWatch 2. The second-gen ScanWatch keeps the form factor of the first — a traditional watch with a tiny, monochrome display embedded in its face — but supports all kinds of health-tracking tech, including SpO2 monitoring, AFib detection, and new for this generation, a skin temperature sensor that enables period tracking.
Withings is also talking up the ScanWatch 2’s updated health-tracking algorithms, which, the company says, makes the watch its “most precise tracking device to date.” With promised 30-day battery life and durable construction featuring stainless steel and sapphire crystal, the ScanWatch 2 should be an intriguing alternative to more conventional smartwatches when it launches in October, starting at $350.
The Withings ScanWatch 2 is the company’s latest high-end hybrid smartwatch featuring an upgraded PPG sensor and high dynamic accelerometer. It also comes with a temperature sensor for 24/7 temperature variation monitoring. All this and more in a timeless design.
