IFA - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Motorola X4: Four times the Bluetooth audio

  Lenovo's new Motorola X4 smartphone is half the price of Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S8, but does at least one thing twice as well: stream audio to multiple Bluetooth speakers or headphones.

• IBM's Watson looks for a role in the home

  Not content with helping to cure cancers and winning Jeopardy, Watson wants to get inside our heads and our homes, whispering instructions into our wireless headsets and helping us do our laundry.

• LG's smart fridge has Windows 10 on a transparent display

  In the short history of Internet-connected refrigerators, LG's latest is the boldest and craziest yet. The company has put a 29-inch Windows 10 Surface computer on one of the doors and, as if that's not enough, made the screen transparent so users can see inside the fridge.

• Sony previews prototype Xperia gadgets

  Sony is looking at taking the Xperia brand beyond smartphones and is showing off some prototype gadgets at the IFA trade show in Berlin.

• A series of tubes: What's next for home automation

  The prevalence of hot water radiators in European home heating systems has made room-by-room heating automation difficult -- until now.

• Peanuts with a purpose: Sen.se unveils new smart sensors at IFA

  Expecting people to figure out what its Cookie multipurpose smart sensors could be used for didn't work out so well for Sen.se. It's trying a different approach with its new Peanut sensors: application-specific packaging that sells the purpose, not the product.

• DJI's handheld gimbal promises cinematic images from smartphones

  DJI says smartphone users will be able to shoot smoother, more cinematic video with a new handheld gadget that packs video stabilization technology used on the company's drones.

• Keezel's wireless device protects hotel Wi-Fi , home IoT connections

  In cryptography, the "man in the middle" is usually an attacker -- but when Keezel wants to get between you and the Wi-Fi connection in your hotel or your home, it's for your own good.

• Sony's impressive, insane new Walkman debuts at IFA

  If you're a music lover who still isn't satisfied with the audio from your smartphone, Sony has a couple of new Walkmans that might be just what you're looking for -- assuming you have deep pockets.

• Stay tuned for new robot, says Sony CEO

  Sony's much anticipated new robot is under development and customers should hang on a little longer to see it, CEO Kaz Hirai said on Thursday.

• Toshiba hopes cloudless smartphone backup will have a bright future

  The centerpiece of Toshiba Storage Peripherals' booth at IFA is a prototype device that will back up the contents of your smartphone without using the cloud.

• Huawei picks new name, but no new technology, for 'Nova' phones

  Practical and reliable is the image Huawei Technologies is trying to project with two new smartphones unveiled at the IFA tradeshow on Thursday.

• Acer is betting your pets need gadgets too

  In the battle to sell more stuff to consumers, Acer has a new target: your pets.

• Bang & Olufsen puts a new spin on the portable Bluetooth speaker

  Audiophiles may roll their eyes at the very idea of portable Bluetooth speakers, but high-design hi-fi firm Bang & Olufsen just unveiled two of them in Berlin.

• If you're buying a TV, know these three letters: HDR

  After bigger screens, and thinner screens, and 3D screens, and curved screens, and 4K screens, HDR is the new flavor of the season in television technology and it's one worth paying attention to.