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LG shows off an 8K OLED and huge MicroLED TV, because Samsung
A few years ago it was curved TVs and 4K, but the never-ending game of LG vs. Samsung and who can create the most unnecessary display porn has moved on. Yesterday, Samsung showed off its first consumer-ready 8K QLED TV at IFA, but LG wasn't going to let its Korean nemesis take all the super-ultra-high-definition glory. And so today LG announced its own 88-inch 8K OLED panel, which is, naturally, a "world's first" because there's little reason for it to exist right now. There's no price or release date or really any information whatsoever on the TV because it's basically just a technical exercise, and because it's 3 inches bigger than the biggest Samsung TV, LG kinda won, I guess? And yes, it looks incredible.
Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Extreme will tempt you away from a MacBook Pro
With the ThinkPad X1 Extreme, Lenovo is trying to bridge the gap between its innovate X lineup and its larger and more powerful models. Consider it a glimpse of the ThinkPad's future. The X1 Extreme is the beefiest entry yet in the X series, thanks to dedicated NVIDIA GTX 1050Ti Max-Q graphics, as well as its support for Intel's latest eighth-generation CPUs. And yes, that includes the top-of-the-line Core i9 processor. It's probably a cliché to say this now, but it's the ideal ThinkPad for taking on Apple's recent MacBook Pros.
Lenovo's new Yoga Book replaces the keyboard with an e-ink screen
Last year, Lenovo surprised us with a novel concept. What if there was a laptop the size of a tablet with a touch-sensitive surface in place of a keyboard? That notion birthed the Yoga Book, a tablet-digitizer hybrid that had a 10-inch display on one side and a smooth, flat surface facing it. Long story short, we were excited about the premise, but ultimately disappointed by the terrible typing experience on what the company called its Halo keyboard.
Lenovo’s Yoga C630 is a Snapdragon-powered laptop with more potential
Qualcomm promised faster, longer-lasting computers when it launched the Snapdragon 850 at Computex earlier this year, but it didn't have any actual devices to announce then. Turns out we just had to wait a few more months to see them. Here at IFA, Lenovo is showing off the industry's first device to use the made-for-PCs mobile chipset: the Yoga C630 WOS (which stands for Windows on Snapdragon).
Lenovo's refocused Yoga line centers on premium laptops and Chromebooks
Lenovo makes a massive array of stuff. It's produced smart speakers, VR headsets, a Google Assistant display, tablets and phones, among other things. Within its laptops range alone, the company has five separate sub-brands: ThinkPad, IdeaPad, Yoga, Lenovo and Legion. And each of these brands forks even further, like the ThinkPad X, T, P, A, E, L and V series. Oh, and don't forget the ThinkPad Yoga series, which is technically under the ThinkPad sub-brand, but not in the Yoga. It's insanely confusing, but it seems like Lenovo might finally be simplifying things.
Lenovo’s ‘Jedi Challenges’ will let you do battle in AR as Kylo Ren
Lenovo has announced a Dark Side Expansion for its Star Wars: Jedi Challenges AR game, a free update that will let players battle Yoda, Rey and others as Kylo Ren. Along with added gameplay features, Lenovo is releasing a limited-edition Lightsaber Controller, just like the one Kylo Ren uses in the films, that glows while users are playing.
Olloclip's new clasp fits fancy lenses to any smartphone
Olloclip first started making special camera lenses for smartphones seven years ago, and an initial kit for the iPhone 4 snowballed into a whole business. Many new lenses and photography accessories have followed, typically in tandem with a new iPhone. But even when Olloclip ventured outside the Apple bubble, its products have always been device-specific. That changes with the newly announced and catchily named "Multi-Device Clip," which on its own is a simple mount you can clasp around any phone, Apple or otherwise. It's into this mount that you insert any of the company's "Connect X" lenses, originally developed specifically for the iPhone X.
Sennheiser's first true wireless earbuds will cost you $300
Today, Sennheiser introduced the Momentum True Wireless earbuds, which provide stereo sound thanks to 7mm dynamic drivers. These earbuds have a four-hour battery life; the charging case holds an additional eight hours of capacity. They will be available starting in mid-November for $299.95.
Sony's premium Bravia Master TVs start at $3,500 (updated)
If you've been eyeing Sony's top-of-the-line Bravia Master TVs, you now know just how large a dent they'll make in your bank account. Both the OLED-based A9F series and LED-based Z9F series are available for pre-order now, with a starting price of $3,500 for the 55-inch A9F and $4,500 for the 65-inch A9F. The 65-inch Z9F will cost you $3,500, and if you want more visual real estate, the 75-inch Z9F will set you back $6,000.
Xiaomi’s high-end Mix 3 joins the sliding camera craze
"Sorry, they look alike. We're launching in October." That's the cheeky Weibo message posted alongside a never-before-seen Xiaomi smartphone, courtesy of president Lin Bin right after Huawei's Honor Magic 2 teaser at IFA. And boy do they look alike. Similar to the Oppo Find X, both devices here feature a slide-out camera at the top to achieve an all-screen design, except for one major difference: the Xiaomi uses the full body for sliding. Given Xiaomi's track record with its near-bezel-less designs, it's safe to assume that Lin is prematurely showing off the upcoming Mix 3, which is a rather unusual move for Xiaomi, but one that would no doubt annoy the folks over at Huawei.
Watch Sony's IFA 2018 event in under 7 minutes
The new Xperia XZ3 smartphone and WH-1000XM3 high-end noise cancelling headphones are undoubtedly the highlights of Sony's presence here at IFA this year. But company execs including new-look CEO Kenichiro Yoshida weren't going to let the bright lights of the press conference stage dim without plugging Sony's other wares, including its Master series 4K TVs and a new high-res music player. But why listen to us when you can hear it all straight from the horse's mouth? And in less than seven minutes, no less!
Huawei's Honor is bringing the slider phone back
How to solve the problem of too much screen? After Honor showcased its new gaming phone to the IFA masses, it had a surprise extra announcement: The Honor Magic 2 (What? Never heard of the original Honor Magic?) It looks to be a phone that's (once again) all screen, no bezel, but has another solution for where to hide the pesky front-facing camera: In a slider component behind the front. Like the T-Mobile SideKick, and decades-old Samsung and Nokia phones, it looks like Honor are betting on the slider to solve the problem of all-screen smartphones. It's not the dumbest solution, Oppo's Find X does a similar trick, albeit with an internal mechanism. It's early days, though and other details are scant. You can expect advanced safe fast-charging and Huawei's next smartphone chip, the Kirin 980 -- which hasn't even been announced yet. Watch the unveiling after the break: We've skipped to the main part.
BlackBerry’s KEY2 LE is cheaper, brighter but watered down
It's barely been three months since BlackBerry (rather, TCL Communications) launched the KEY2, and the company is already ready to unveil a new variant here at IFA 2018. "It was always our intention to bring two variants of the KEY2 line," a spokesperson told Engadget. The KEY2 LE is a "more accessible" version of the original, with a thinner, less-boxy design and bolder color options. It's also $200 cheaper than the KEY2, but that obviously comes with some trade-offs.
ZTE's next flagship phone fine-tunes video from any source
It's been a crazy year for ZTE. It was lumped together with fellow Chinese tech giant Huawei in a Congressional bill in January that sought to ban government agencies from working with the pair, and again when US intelligence agencies warned users against buying devices from either. ZTE was later slammed with an export ban that prevented it from conducting business in America, and only recently came to a settlement agreement with the Commerce Department. The company is now under a ten-year probation period, and the ban has been suspended, just in time for ZTE to scramble to present a new phone at IFA 2018.
The world's lightest 15-inch laptop can't help but be fragile
Acer 15-inch Switch 5, the lightest laptop of its size in the world, isn't an entirely new product. At an event in May, Acer told us it was coming, but all the company had to show was a nonfunctional mockup of the product -- an idea of what the final hardware would look like. But picking up the finished article today, it still feels very much like a dummy model. It's so light, at just under 2.2 pounds (990g), you'd think it was nothing but a plastic case and a sticker for a screen.
Samsung's 8K QLED TV looks great, but who needs it?
Samsung's 8K ambitions became a bit more real today with the announcement of the Q900R, its first 8K QLED set that you'll be able to buy. It's the company's follow-up to the Q9S concept we saw at CES, complete with the same AI processing to upscale content into something resembling 8K. That feature is particularly important, since it gives Samsung a reason to deliver an 8K TV before there's any real content available. Based on my short time ogling the Q900R at Samsung's IFA booth, it certainly looks great. But at the end of the day, I wonder who really needs it.
Honor's affordable gaming phone is designed for 'PUBG'
Honor, a spin-off brand from Huawei, makes decent middleweight smartphones that are often, well, kind-of unremarkable. This time is different. Honor is going after a specific smartphone audience: The mobile gamer -- especially if you're into PUBG Mobile. The Honor Play was officially unveiled at IFA today, and all the major features are aggressively aimed at gamers. While there are no plans for a US release, the Play is priced keenly enough, at 329 euros (roughly $380) that, heck, some mobile gamers might even bite.
The Sony Xperia XZ3 vs. the XZ2: What's changed?
If it feels like it hasn't been that long since Sony's last flagship phone, you're not wrong. It was only a hair over six months ago that we met the Xperia XZ2 at this year's Mobile World Congress. We liked it well enough, though the XZ2 still fell a bit shy of the competition in our review two months later. Today we're looking at the new Xperia XZ3 and if you're thinking that there hasn't been enough time for major changes, you'd be somewhat right: This new handset still boasts a Snapdragon 845 processor and a 19-megapixel rear camera. But the screen did get bigger, and there are a few more notable upgrades if you dig in, including a better resolution and a larger battery. Check out the chart below for the full rundown versus the XZ2, and stay tuned for our review later this fall.
Sony's new 4K projectors are designed for gaming and sports
Sony has unveiled three new 4K projectors with some nice features for gamers, sports fans and cinephiles, if you can afford them. The new models offer true 4K at 60 fps (not pixel-shifted 4K, as with Benq's HT-2550 and other budget models), 10-bit color and HDR capability, perfect for 4K Blu-ray and Netflix streaming. They're also better for gaming, thanks to a new "lag-reduction" feature, though Sony didn't specify exactly how much better. Finally, there's a new 4K "Motionflow" frame-smoothing feature, which is terrible for movies (seriously, turn that off) but better suited for fast-moving sports.
Sony's excellent high-end headphones get a custom noise-canceling chip
We're big fans of Sony's WH-1000X noise-canceling headphones -- but now the company is taking things a step further. With the new 1000XM3 (Mark 3), Sony went back to the drawing board and redesigned the headphones entirely. Most important, it developed a new noise-canceling processor, the QN1, which Sony claims is four times better than the last model. Basically, that means the 1000XM3 will be better at blocking out things like airplane and subway noise, something the line already excelled at.
