The best things I saw at IFA 2026

Smartphones, concept PCs and new challengers were on display.

IFA 2026 is a wrap and we saw more smartphones, more concept PCs and countless new challengers launching new tech and gadgets. IFA historically offers a place for wildcard ideas and big swings, while also giving companies a chance to turn their CES or MWC concepts into tangible consumer products.

A few trends bubbled up throughout the event this year. One was an ever-growing subcategory of cameras that take a middle route between dedicated professional cameras and smartphone shooters. Think DJI's hugely popular Osmo Pocket series, but with different ideas, like smartphones with removable cameras. There were even more 360-degree video cameras and gimbal cameras that can double up as an action cam. Are these rivals taking a chance to strike while GoPro figures out its future?

Elsewhere, Lenovo and Dell announced solid-looking, entry-level laptops meant to face off against the MacBook Neo, which has also inspired countless third-party peripheral stalls with new zesty colorways of mice, keyboards, chargers and more. Apple's influence on consumer tech can't be underestimated.

My colleague Sam went in depth on Lenovo's Project Swan concept, and his write-up made me want to see it for myself. Expanding screens on laptop prototypes aren't new for the company, but in this form factor it's all getting pretty close to future laptops we might be able to buy. It's an ultrabook-styled device this time around, at under 18mm thick and weighing only 3.5 pounds. That's not far off froms standard 14-inch laptops. However, the display can stretch to 17 inches for more workspace and (hopefully) a multitasking productivity boost.

It makes more sense than the vertically expanding notebooks we've seen before. Jaw-dropping prototypes often appear at shows like IFA, but Lenovo has a track record for eventually packaging cutting-edge display technology into retail models .

Lenovo's $700 IdeaPad Vibe is at the other end of the laptop spectrum. An entry-level, competitively priced laptop that's unashamedly chasing that MacBook Neo high. The colors? All gorgeous. The grey option? A contractual obligation for a laptop range. It's easy to daydream during countless tech briefings, launches and press conferences, but the Vibe pulled me back into the room. Unlike the MacBook Neo, the Vibe offers much more customization, including a choice between a Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor or AMD's Ryzen AI 400 chips. Surprisingly, ports abound: four USB ports (two Type-A and two Type-C), a microSD card reader and an HDMI connector. Perfect for connecting all the colorful matching accessories. A desirable, cheap laptop in 2026 is a tech trend I'm very much into.

Hohem, best known for gimbal accessories, is making its first standalone camera, the EyePic . It's not just an Osmo Pocket clone, though. It has a clever twist: the camera fully detaches. While the EyePic works as a solid 4K/60 fps gimbal camera, you can also pop the waterproof camera module off to wear on a lanyard or magnetically stick to a metal pole, all while previewing your shot on the handle's touchscreen from up to 30 feet away. Rotating the 2.5-inch display physically switches it to native vertical video without any cropping.