The Reviewed Awards at IFA 2023: The best of what's to come

IFA, Europe’s largest tech show, makes its annual return in Berlin to celebrate its 99th year, a milestone that encompasses a breathtaking span of technological development. IFA 2023 was no exception, with impressive product debuts lining the convention halls.

The Reviewed Awards at IFA 2023 represent the best of what we found at the show, products that won over our editors due to their innovation, core technology, design, and/or value.

Honor Magic V2

Folding phone fans will want to pay attention (and possibly, their hard-earned money) to Honor when it launches the Magic V2 folding phone in European and Latin American countries later this year. Weighing as little as 8.15 ounces, the Magic V2 is just 0.4 inches thick when folded and a mind-bending 0.19 inches when popped open. In both phone or tablet mode (with 6.43 and 7.92-inch OLED displays, respectively), you’ll enjoy butter-smooth graphics and video thanks to a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. Under the hood, there’s a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and 16GB of RAM with options for 256, 512GB, or 1TB of storage. Plus, the Honor Magic V2 has a triple rear camera array: 50MP Ultrawide and wide cameras are rounded out by a 20MP telephoto (up to 40 times digital zoom), with a maximum image resolution of up to 8,192 by 6,144 pixels.

TCL NXTPAPER Smartphone

The TCL NXTPAPER 40 isn’t designed to bowl over mobile device users with top-shelf specifications. Instead, it offers a display that’s easy on the eyes (thanks to reduced blue spectrum light), no matter what content you consume. Its 6.78-inch 1080p NXTPAPER screen has more in common with the Kindle Paperwhite than it does with an OLED or Retina display panel. Content is viewable in full color, in almost any lighting conditions (even in the dark, thanks to its backlight). The paper-like texture of its display glass makes tapping and swiping your way through the device’s UI a pleasure. Should you feel like doing a little bit of reading, the NXTPAPER 40’s display can be desaturated into monochrome, turning the smartphone into an e-reader that’ll fit into your hip pocket. With its feature set rounded out by a MediaTek Dimensity 6020 chipset, a 3.5mm headset jack (yay!), and 256GB of storage, we can’t wait to put this phone through its paces.

Anker Soundcore Space One Headphones

Anker has been at the top of the headphones game for a few years now, consistently releasing some of the best cheap earbuds like the Space A40 and Liberty 4 NC that offer performance far exceeding their price. The Space One are Anker’s first over-ears in a couple of years and live up to the expectations set by its recent earbuds. Their Noise canceling rivals more expensive headphones, they’re comfortable, have 40 hours of battery life with ANC turned on, and are only $100. Sound needs a bit of tweaking in the app, but apart from that, Anker has another winner.

Tecno Megabook S1 Dazzling Edition

Laptop makers from all over the globe have been expanding their colorway or RGB lighting options for the last several years—but Tecno stole the laptop show for us at IFA with a color-changing lid on its Megabook S1 Dazzling Edition, an industry-first. The surface is infused with "polychromatic photoisomer" technology, or a photoswitchable compound that can change into multiple colors when exposed to sunlight or UV rays, like transition eyeglass lenses, and then change back again. It’s similar to what causes the backs of rewritable CDs and DVDs to change color slightly when you “burn” them. How cool! The company says you’ll be able to customize the appearance of the lid’s surface, so it sounds like you’ll be able to choose the color(s) you want to appear and if you want it to have a pattern or say anything specific.

MSI B560 Project Zero

If you like building your own desktop gaming PCs but hate cable management, listen up: IFA 2023 marked MSI’s European unveiling of its B650 Project Zero mini-ATX (mATX) motherboard, which has most of the pin connectors on the back. The age of fewer twist-tie and zip-tie struggles is here. The main power, CPU, fan, SATA, and other connectors are all on reverse headers attached to the back of the motherboard—significantly alleviating cable routing concerns. MSI is not the first company to do this; Gigabyte has its own “reverse motherboard” inside of certain Maingear systems, but that’s a full-sized ATX board. MSI’s board will fit in smaller cases, and it retains most of the features that come on a full-sized motherboard so gamers can get the most out of a more compact system for less.

Casetify Ultra Bounce Case

Already known for making some of the toughest, most protective phone cases on the market, Casetify unveiled what promises to be its most extreme yet: the Ultra Bounce Case. The company reports that the new case, which sports unique shock-absorbing “bounce corners,” can safely protect against 32-foot drops. Along with the raised camera ring and lens cover, that’s some serious klutz-proofing. To keep your phone looking stylish and unique, the Ultra Bounce Case will have lots of customizable colors, patterns, and graphics—a hallmark of Casetify phone cases. The Ultra Bounce Case is expected to hit shelves in mid-September at a price of around $95.

Philips Hue Secure

While Philips Hue is not attending IFA per se, the global brand and smart lighting giant—and a Reviewed favorite—timed a major announcement to coordinate with the show, introducing a new product category: security cameras. Starting this fall, mostly by September, Philips Hue will integrate its signature smart lighting with brand new Philips Hue Secure cameras, sensors and a Security Center in its app, creating a smart scenario that means added security for your home. The set-up will allow users to monitor in real time and record video, trigger both light and sound alarms, and arm or disarm the system. But what’s really getting all the buzz is that Philips Hue has announced consumers can now operate within the Matter sphere via a simple software update that will push to any existing devices launched as far back as 2012.

TCL X955 Premium QD-Mini LED 4K TV

Some of the best TVs on the market blend mini-LEDs and quantum dots for a bright, colorful picture with precise contrast control. The TCL X955 (available in 85 and 98 inches) takes this formula and runs with it. According to TCL, this powerhouse TV delivers a whopping 5,000 nits of brightness (more than twice the brightest we’ve measured so far this year) across an impressive 5,184 dimming zones. The X955 is also built with gamers in mind, offering two HDMI 2.1 inputs that support refresh rates up to 144Hz with VRR enabled, and its dedicated eARC input is conveniently separate from its game-optimized ports. As of now, it’s unclear whether TCL will bring the X955 to North America. We’re keeping our fingers crossed, though.

Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini

As the name suggests, the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini is the smallest member of the Ambeo family. Coming in at 2.55 x 27.56 x 3.94 inches (HWD), the Mini is virtually identical in size to two other soundbars we loved—the Bose Smart Soundbar 600 and the Sonos Beam (Gen 2). Like those bars, the Mini supports Dolby Atmos sound through its eARC HDMI connection. The six drivers (four full-range drivers and two four-inch subwoofers) are powered by 250 Watts of class-D amplification, but none of them are angled up. Instead, the soundbar relies on virtual Atmos to deliver an immersive experience. The Ambeo Soundbar Mini is available now for just under $800.

Miele Duoflex HX1

We love Miele for its canister vacuums, and they always hit high on our best canister vacuums guide. So, when we got to try Miele’s new cordless stick vacuum on the show floor at IFA 2023, we were excited to see how the global brand approaches vacuuming in a different way. First impressions: It seems well constructed, and its high-end design and choice of colors are a nice touch if you’re storing it in full view within a smaller space. We love its SpeedLock system, which allows an easy transition from stick to handheld unit, and its Vortex Technology. Consumers can also upgrade to a pet version. We’re excited about its entry-level price point (€339), and we can’t wait to bring it into the lab for testing when it’s available in the States.

Bosch Kitchen Machine Series 6

There are no shortage of challengers to the storied KitchenAid stand mixer, but the field has become increasingly technologically advanced in recent months. With the introduction of the GE Profile Smart Mixer, we saw the first stand mixer to incorporate Wi-Fi connectivity, sensor mixing technology, and an integrated scale. Now, Bosch is bringing similar technology to market in a stand mixer that follows the beloved tilt-head construction that KitchenAid fans have relied on for generations. A countertop appliance from a beloved large-appliance brand turned our heads, and the potential for another smart stand mixer on the market has our interest very much piqued.

Shark Detect Pro

Wowza! Shark was more than happy to show off its flashy new Detect Pro smart cordless stick vacuum on the show floor, no doubt because this model takes “smart” to the next level as the vacuum manufacturer’s most intelligent floor cleaner to date. What it does is, well, detect your dirt problem and then figures out how best to clean the surface using four different sensors (dirt, floor type, edges, and low-light). It also boasts HEPA filtration, a reactive LED display, and a multisurface brushroll. The Detect Pro has just hit the market in the United States, timed to coincide with its launch at IFA 2023. $349 at Shark Ninja

Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer Air Fryer

Air fryers aren’t losing popularity any time soon, and we’ve tested just about every style of air fryer available—from drawer-style to air fryer toaster ovens, and even double-drawer air fryers. However, none have delivered the level of flexibility displayed by the Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer Air Fryer, and we got to see it in action at IFA 2023. The extra-large 10.4L capacity drawer can be divided into two distinct cooking zones that can operate unique cooking functions simultaneously. Set one side to air fry while the other bakes or dehydrates—the possible combinations are endless and we can’t stop thinking of all the things we can cook in this ultra-flexible machine.

JLab JBuds Mini

There’s no question earbuds keep getting smaller, and JLab is bringing us the smallest yet—the JBuds Mini. They’re the perfect solution for someone who finds larger earbuds uncomfortable or wants something light and easy to carry. The charging case even has a loop on it for adding to your keyring. The battery provides up to 5.5 hours of listening and, despite their small size, the JBuds have touch controls. Unfortunately, aside from the microphone for calls, noise-canceling capabilities are absent. Still, for $40 the JLab JBuds Mini (available for preorder now) pack a lot into a small size.

Withings ScanWatch 2

Withings debuted the upgraded second iteration of the brand’s hybrid fitness tracker-smartwatch, the ScanWatch 2, and it’s a knockout when it comes to tracking your health. In addition to the typical fitness stats, this watch boasts premium health features like 24/7 temperature monitoring, ECG readings and AFib detection, and blood oxygen variation. Withings tracks all this information and alerts you to changes in your baseline to proactively detect illnesses, improve recovery times, and optimize your circadian rhythm. And the rechargeable battery’s impressive 30-day lifespan allows for uninterrupted data collection.

Siemens iQ700 Induction Hob

The benefits of cooking with induction are known the world over, and now this already advanced technology is getting another boost. At IFA 2023, Siemens introduced a new induction hob that will deliver precise temperature control. Users will see the exact temperature associated with each setting rather than relying solely on an arbitrary 1 to 10 range. Induction cooking, already known for precision and consistency, just got even more precise and consistent. We're big fans of the Bosch induction range we've tested in the U.S., and with the same parent company, we're excited to see the advancements Siemens is making in induction cooking technology.