10 Best New Products from Europe’s Biggest Trade Show (So Far)

Every year, Europe’s biggest consumer technology trade show is IFA. The event runs through September 5th, but most of new products will be revealed between August 29 (Wednesday) and August 31 (Friday). As you’d expect, a ton of new tech products are being announced at this year’s event. From Sony’s new WH-1000XM3 headphones to JBL’s and Sennheiser’s first true wireless earbuds to Nikon’s new entry-level DSLR and UE’s new best-ever Bluetooth speakers, there’s a little bit of everything. We’re rounded up all the best products from IFA 2018 that have been announced (so far).

LG’s 88-inch 8K OLED TV

Admittedly it’s just a prototype, but LG announced the world’s first 8K OLED TV at IFA 2018. It has a 7680 x 4320 picture resolution, meaning it has four times more pixels of 4K TV (and sixteen times as many pixels as a standard HDTV) – incredible detail. The main catch of such a TV is that, right now, there’s very little content that can take advantage of an 8K display, but LG expects that to change over the next few years (and so do we).

Acer Swift 5, the World’s Lightest 15-inch Laptop

Acer announced a number of thin, lightweight and really powerful laptops at this year’s IFA, but the Acer Swift 5 is the one that stands out from the rest. It’s the world’s lightest 15-inch laptop, at just 2.18 pounds, but it’s also packs some pretty impressive specs. It has Intel’s new and 8th-generation processors (you have the choice of an Intel Core i5 and i7), up to 16 GB of RAM and up to 1 TB of SSD built-in storage. You can expect the Swift 5 to be available in the US this coming January, starting at $1,099.

Audio-Technica ATH-CKR7TW True Wireless Earbuds

You’ll notice a few trends at IFA 2018, and one of them is true wireless earbuds – everybody is releasing new ones. Enter Audio-Technica’s take, the ATH-CKR7TW. They are the company’s first true wireless earbuds and feature things like Bluetooth 5.0 and a six-hour battery life. They’re designed with “11 mm drivers with diamond-like carbon coated diaphragms” so they’re supposed to sound really good, too. They’ll ship this fall for $249.

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones

As the next evolution of our favorite noise-canceling headphones, Sony’s WH-1000XM2, the new WH-1000XM3 seem to be a new evolution in the noise-canceling world. They’re packed with a new technology – Sony’s new HD noise-cancelling processor QN1 – so that the WH-1000XM3 are four times better at noise-cancellation than the 1000XM2. Four times. That’s crazy. The new headphones also offer new conveniences, such as a USB-C charging port and “quick charging” – 10 minutes of charging can give the headphones up to five hours of playtime. Needless to say, we’re stoked to test these. Coming this September for $350.

Bang & Olufsen BeoSound Edge

The BeoSound Edge is a fancy design-focused speaker that has a huge volume knob. It’s a powerful speaker, packing two four-inch midrange drivers and two 0.75-inch tweeters, along with a 10-inch woofer. The speaker also features B&O’s new Active Bass Port, so when you play the speaker really loudly it produces what the company calls “more energized bass.”

Polaroid OneStep+ Instant Camera

It’s the first Polaroid instant camera to have two lenses, a portrait lens and the OneStep 2’s standard lens. It’s the first Polaroid instant camera to have built-in Bluetooth and also a companion app, which allows photographers to shoot instant film photos with more manual controls.

You can read our full review of the OneStep+ Instant Camera, here.

Ultimate Ears Boom 3 and Megaboom 3

The company’s new flagship Bluetooth speakers look better with a tone-toned fabric design. They sound better. And they have a “magic button” that lets you change songs and play/pause without having to touch your phone (in case you’re in the pool). Best of all, these new speakers are really affordable, going for $150 and $200, respectively.

You can read our full review of the UE Megaboom 3, here.

Nikon D3500 DSLR

Nikon announced its D3500, which it’s calling its lightest and user-friendliest DSLR ever. The D3500 is an entry-level DSLR camera with in-camera Guide and Effects Modes to help novices shoot better, more creative photos. As for specs, it has a 24.2-megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor, 5fps continuous shooting, 100-25600 native ISO, and an 11-point autofocus system. It’s also capable of full HD video recording (1080p at 60fps) and it has SnapBridge Bluetooth connectivity, so you load photos directly from the D3500 to your phone. It’ll be available this September, starting at just $500 with an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR kit lens.

Sennheiser Momentum Earbuds

At $300, Sennheiser’s first true wireless earbuds are expensive. The justification is that they’re made of “high-quality” materials, they look nice, and they’re obviously designed to sound really good. They charge via USB-C and have a four-hour battery life. You can expect these to be released in mid-November.

JBL Endurance Peak

JBL announced two new true wireless earbuds the JBL Free and the JBL Endurance Peak (pictured). The Peak are the more interesting of the two, in my opinion, as they’re sweat-proof and have a “PowerHook” design to make sure they don’t fall out your ears. They can even be used when swimming. The JBL Free are more traditional-looking true wireless earbuds. The JBL Free are available now while you can expect the JBL Endurance Peak sometime this November.

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