Tech Advisor’s Best of IFA 2024 Awards

It’s September but not quite new iPhone launch time so that means the Tech Advisor team is in Berlin for IFA 2024. 

The tech trade show is one of the biggest on the calendar and sees some of the world’s top tech brands launching all kinds of new products, most of which will arrive in time for Christmas. 

With no less than 27 halls of booths, our team has hit the ground running (sometimes literally) to find all the latest and greatest gadgets you’ll want to put on your wish list.

From phones and smartwatches to laptops, robot vacuum cleaners and much more, we’ve seen it all in person to sort the naff from the magnificent.

Here are the 16 products that won our Best of IFA 2024 awards…

Honor Magic V3

Honor’s new book-style foldable has arrived in Europe just two months after launching in China. And it has an even more groundbreaking design than its predecessor. 

The Magic V3 (£1,699) is just 9.2mm thick when folded and weighs only 226g – that’s similar to many regular phones. It’s the first foldable with a design that doesn’t feel compromised in any way. 

The hardware is similarly strong elsewhere, with two gorgeous displays (6.43-inch cover, 7.92-inch internal), strong Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 performance, impressive battery life and fast wired and wireless charging. 

50Mp and 50Mp 3.5x telephoto rear cameras are excellent, though the 40Mp ultrawide is a clear step down. AI features are hit-and-miss, while Honor’s MagicOS skin (based on Android 14) can feel overwhelming at times. 

Despite these flaws, the Magic V3 is a standout device that has genuine wow factor. 

Read our Honor Magic V3 review

Lenovo AutoTwist AI PC proof of concept

Finally, a proof of concept that we can actually see reaching the market in the future. With various possible use cases, the AutoTwist laptop from Lenovo is one of the most interesting devices at IFA this year. 

The lid can open and close automatically with voice commands or shut if you leave the device unattended for security. The motorised hinge can rotate the screen to follow you around the room, whether you’re on a video call or on stage presenting. 

As proof of concept, there are no plans for this laptop to come to market, but it’s exciting tech nonetheless.

Shark PowerDetect

Shark has upped the ante with a new range of vacuums and robot vacuums: the PowerDetect Pro line.

The model that caught our eye is the PowerDetect cordless vacuum, which has a floorhead equipped with fins that allow it to pick up dust and dirt on both the forward and back strokes, for much faster cleaning.

It also features the same detecting technology we saw and liked in the Shark Detect Pro: it’ll respond to dusty spots, corners and edges and a change in flooring. What’s more, you can buy it with the Auto Empty dock for hands-free emptying.

TCL 50 Pro Nxtpaper 5G

With its innovative display technology, the 50 Pro Nxtpaper 5G is one of the most interesting Android phones we’ve seen in a long time. 

Using the physical Nxtpaper Key you can switch between the regular display mode, which has a nice matt finish and Ink Paper Mode and Max Ink Mode depending on what you want to do.  

The switch is like magic and the e-reader style experience is great for reading, preserving battery and you can even use some apps in this mode. 

Learn more about the phone in our hands-on from IFA.

Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant Edition

Designed with smaller wrists and a more feminine style in mind, Withings has introduced the Brilliant Edition of the ScanWatch Nova watch.

It’s smaller and lighter than the regular Nova edition with a 39mm case but has all the same sensors and features. It comes in a silver/gold combination or titanium silver and goes on sale in November.

Acer Iconia X12

Acer has its sights on the likes of Apple and Samsung with its new Iconia X12, an Android tablet built for entertainment and productivity. 

The headline feature is a large 12.6-inch AMOLED panel with a 2.5K resolution. It’s also extremely thin and light at just 6.7mm and 600g but packs a Helio G99 processor and 10,000mAh battery. 

Optional accessories include a Bluetooth keyboard and aluminum stylus pen for different creative scenarios. You’ll just have to wait a little while as it arrives in January 2025. 

Nanoleaf Blocks

One of the leading smart light brands continues to release new products and Blocks is an interesting development which allows you to store and show off items. 

Although the set on display at IFA didn’t have any, you can get panels such as a pegboard and shelf so you can integrate things like plants or gadgets into your Nanoleaf lighting system. 

Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360

AI laptops are all the rage right now and Samsung wasn’t going to miss out on the party with its ‘AI for All’ theme at IFA 2024. 

The Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360 is a sleek powerhouse of a machine, offering features like 16-inch Dynamic AMOLED touchscreen, Intel Core Ultra 7 (Series 2) processor and a whopping 25 hours video playback. 

All of this comes in a 1.69kg rotating design and AI smart from both Galaxy AI and Copilot+. It starts at £1,699 and is available now. 

Honor MagicPad 2

When paying just £499 for an Android tablet, your expectations probably aren’t very high. But Honor’s MagicPad 2 shows just how much you can get for your money. 

It starts with the design, with a marble-like rear finish that looks and feels very premium. Honor has also struck a great balance – it’s relatively thin (5.8mm) and light (555g) without feeling flimsy. 

The 12.3-inch, 144Hz OLED screen is a joy to use, while no fewer than eight speakers deliver detailed, room-filling audio. 

Combining the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset with 12GB of RAM means the MagicPad 2 is plenty powerful enough for everyday use, though it’ll be interesting to see how it fares for gaming. Similarly, the 10,050mAh battery sounds promising, but it remains to be seen just how good battery life is. 

However, Honor’s MagicOS Android skin feels much more intuitive on the larger screen, while that price tag makes it a real contender in the mid-range tablet market.

Learn more in our Honor MagicPad 2 hands-on.

Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Foldable Charger

Perfect for travelling with a bunch of different devices that all need charging, this 3-in-1 charger is a very neat solution indeed.  

It’s 15W and Qi2 enabled and can charge your phone, smartwatch and devices like wireless earbuds case all at once. It’s got powerful magnets and the folding design means it packs down to a compact travel-friendly size. 

Ugreen Uno 6-in-1 USB Hub

Another useful gadget for travelling or home use is this new Uno USB hub from Ugreen. 

It’s part of the Uno range with cute emoji screens and this compact hub gives you HDMI, two USB-A, two USB-C and one 100W PD port. All in a compact and lightweight design you can easily throw into a bag.

Hoover HF4 Hydro

We test a lot of wet and dry vacuums and one of the perennial problems is that they just can’t get into the corners of a room the way a soft mop can.

Enter Hoover’s HF4 Hydro, which solves this problem with its unique, diamond-shaped mop head, designed to fit right into corners. The HF4 Hydro isn’t just a mop, either. It’s a modular cleaner: you can vacuum first, then swap out the dry floorhead for the mop. We were impressed with how light and manoeuvrable it is as well.

Ninja Luxe Café Premier

The Luxe Café line isn’t new, but it’s new to the UK, after a limited US release. There are three models, but the mid-range Premier (ES601) is the one we have our eye on. Unusually, it can produce espresso, filter coffee and cold brew.

It features a lot of shiny chrome and is very satisfying to use, although it provides a safety net in the form of its Barista Assist Technology, which will minutely adjust grind settings in response to sensor feedback and suggest recommendations for your next cup.

It also has a hands-free Dual Froth System with settings for plant-based milk.  We also like the price: semi-automatic espresso machines tend to be expensive, but this has a lot of features for £549.

LG Self-Driving AI Home Hub

Home helper robots have been around for a few years, but LG’s new offering is surprisingly compelling. 

The ‘Self-Driving AI Home Hub’ is just what it sounds like – a two-wheeled robot that uses AI to help you around the house. 

It’s powered by LG’s new Furon AI platform, which uses ChatGPT 4.0 to communicate naturally, even to some more unorthodox requests. It can also respond just like a human would, via expressions on the screen and movements of the ‘head’. 

But its main function is as an AI smart home hub, with LG offering support for lots of smart home providers and the Matter standard. 

A built-in camera helps it get around, but can also look at an image drawn on a companion tablet and use generative AI to create a story based on it. 

The LG Self-Driving AI Home Hub will be released in the first half of 2025 in South Korea, before presumably coming to other countries later. However, pricing is yet to be revealed. 

Candy City Fresco 300

These fridge-freezers were hard to miss, with four eye-catching colour options: Riviera, Forest Green, Cotton White and Powder Pink. Fridges and fridge-freezers with cool colour options tend to be out of reach unless you can afford to spend thousands. But not in this case.

We don’t have an exact price on these models yet but the City Fresco 300 in standard colours is currently selling for €499.99 in Europe, so we’d expect a similar price point for these models. And the good stuff isn’t only on the outside.

These are connected appliances (via the Hon app) with no-frost freezers, Circle Fresh technology to keep produce juicy for longer, and an adjustable temperature zone for fish and meat.

LG 2024 InstaView oven

If there’s one kitchen appliance that can really benefit from AI, it’s your oven. And LG’s new InstaView model makes the most of it. 

The experience centres around a camera built into the oven itself, which serves two main purposes. It lets you check on the progress of your food via a smartphone app, avoiding the need to constantly open. This makes cooking more convenient, but also more efficient. 

But what if you don’t know how to cook a particular food? The InstaView can also help with that. So-called ‘Gourmet AI’ can use the camera to identify what’s being cooked and automatically set the cooking time and mode. 

While only 30 recipes are supported, there are 80 different ‘Auto Cook’ modes to choose from. And with a 76L capacity, 4.3-inch LCD screen and air fry and sous-vide options, the latest InstaView oven looks to be a comprehensive cooking companion. 

However, it’s not yet clear how much it’ll cost, while availability is also yet to be revealed.