The best gadgets and ideas at Europe’s IFA tech show
Kitchen appliances without cords and a toothbrush that cleans your teeth in 10 seconds are among the innovations turning heads in Berlin.
Kitchen appliances without cords and a toothbrush that cleans your teeth in seconds are among gadgets at Europe’s IFA technology show in Berlin.
The IFA technology show didn’t run as an in-person event for two years due to the pandemic. In 2022, big tech firms and start-ups alike are making up lost ground with interesting innovations.
-
Ki Cordless Kitchen
Soon your kitchen appliances won’t need cords. The Wireless Power Consortium has been working with manufacturers such as Philips, Bosch, Whirlpool and Miele to make a standard approach possible. A rollout of new appliances is due months from now.
The resulting Ki standard means mixers, juicers, kettles, rice cookers, bread makers, coffee makers, wine bottle chillers, slow cookers, toasters, and deep fryers won’t need to be plugged in to be powered.
Instead they will sit on top of your kitchen bench above an embedded transmitter that transfers power to them magnetically. Think of inductive power transfer as an extension of induction cooking, where a magnetic field generates heat in, say, a frypan. The same transmitter can be used for induction cooking in some instances.
-
Safeware air bags
Airbags open abruptly to protect us during road accidents. South Korean firm Safeware has been adapting airbags as a safety measure on construction sites where workers risk serious accidents from falls.
Sensors within an airbag vest can deploy the airbag within 0.2 seconds, says Safeware.
The company said the bag would protect a person falling around 7 metres. It cites performance tests which show the airbag mitigates the impact of a fall by up to 55 per cent.
Users wear the airbag as they would a backpack. It weighs 1.82kg.
-
Urbanista Solar Powered Earbuds
Swedish lifestyle audio brand Urbanista has already made a splash with its “Los Angeles” branded solar powered headphones. While charging most devices with solar takes time, in the case of headphones, it can be quick.
You get one hour’s play time from one hour of outdoor exposure or three hours of indoors exposure.
Urbanista is now releasing solar power earbuds called Phoenix. “The earphones’ streamlined charging case continuously recharges when exposed to all forms of outdoor or indoor light.”
The Phoenix earbuds also offer hybrid active noise cancelling and noise reduction microphones that filter out ambient sounds.
Urbanista sells its headphones in 90 countries including Australia so it seems likely the Phoenix will sell here. Recommended pricing is 149 Euros.
-
Samsung Bespoke Refrigerator
Householders considering renovating their kitchen might appreciate Samsung’s bespoke fridges. Having a swanky colour for your fridge door can take your kitchen’s look to the next level.
The bespoke refrigerator consists of vertical modules that allow food to be stored at different temperatures using individual temperature controls, for example your meat can be stored at a few degrees lower than other refrigerated products.
The modules can be stacked side-by-side, and you can choose from a variety of door colours. If you get sick of a door panel colour, you can easily change it. You can also select from different spatial customisations.
Bespoke fridges are due to roll out in Australia from October.
-
Y-Brush Sonic Toothbrush
The claim that Y-Brush can clean your teeth in 10 seconds flat sounds outrageous at first. But it’s not that far fetched if half your teeth are cleaned at the same time.
With Y-Brush, all teeth are brushed at the same time and for five seconds each, says the French company.
It says the Y-Brush works in a similar way to an electric sonic toothbrush. Y-Brush contains 35,000 nylon bristles that vibrate at a frantic pace.
The Australian tested the Y-Brush and the vibrations offered what seemed like a fast massage inside the mouth. My mouth felt fresh but it’s hard to gauge how effective Y-Brush is with a single test.
The company says the handle and the brush support are interchangeable and can be shared between multiple people of the same home. The rechargeable battery goes for three months and brush heads should be replaced every six months.
-
AirFly Adaptor
Twelvesouth has brought out a basic, $49.99 version of its AirFly adaptor that can make your long distance flight more comfortable.
Instead of getting tangled in airline issued headphone cords, you instead plug the small AirFly adapter into the flight infotainment system and use your own wireless earbuds or headsets when watching movies and listening to audio. You pair your headphones with the AirFly unit via Bluetooth.
AirFly was principally devised for connecting Apple AirPods, but the company says the system will work for all types of Bluetooth connected headphones.
When flying, you don’t have to unplug your audio or muck around with headphone cords to let the person beside you through. When the beverage cart arrives, two taps on the AirFly unit mutes the sound.
The newest AirFly has a 20-hour battery which the company says outlasts even the longest commercial flight.
-
Invoxia Smart Dog Collar
France’s Invoxia has announced a smart dog collar, but it does more than track your pet’s movements. It also monitors your dog’s heart rate and respiratory rate. Invoxia says it can manage this through thick fur, thanks to artificial intelligence and state-of-the-art sensors.
The collar also tracks scratching, barking, eating, and sleep quality.
The company says the smart dog collar is the first connected dog collar to use LTE-M, a network designed for connected devices based on 4G.
The smart collar is due in market later this year.
-
LG tiiun Seed Cabinet
Seed incubators are becoming increasingly popular among people living in apartments who have no access to an outside garden to grow vegetables, herbs, plants and flowers.
LG’s tiiun promises to provide the correct light to the 22 varieties of seeds that LG currently specifies for it. Different LED lighting is available on the top and bottom shelves and a companion app guides you as to what you can plant where.
You can grow plants that can be harvested together to create a drink, such as a “green smoothie”, or combined for a “vitamin plan”.
The app tells you the days remaining to germination, the period of growth and when to harvest.
Available seeds include thyme, peppermint, spearmint, Korean cabbage and kale.
A three-litre water tank delivers water to the plants every three hours.
Tiiun is available only in South Korea at this stage.
-
Smart home devices belonging to different brands such as Apple, Google and Amazon will soon communicate with one another. The Smart Home Alliance has brought competing brands together to let consumers build their smart homes from different sources.
At IFA Berlin, Germany’s Eve Systems showed off its range of switches, cameras, and motion blind controllers that are Matter compatible.
Matter has been designed to make connected devices more reliable.
Devices will still use connection methods such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, and Thread. However they will all speak and understand the same communication language and that is Matter.
Matter based networks are mesh networks controlled by a special router, but configuration of a network is automatic. For example, Apple’s HomePod mini contains a thread border router that will coordinate Matter devices.
Eve Systems plans to release its Matter compatible smart home devices this year.
-
Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED Laptop
Taiwan’s Asus has showed off its OLED folding screen Zenbook laptop. The folding screen and keyboard are separate, with the screen supported at back by a small pedestal holder. You can operate the screen independently, and at 17.3-inches, it is a very large touch screen device.
You can either place the keyboard in front of the screen or lay it on top of one of the two fold sections of the screen to create a smaller 12.5-inch laptop.
The Zenbook has a 12th generation Intel Core processor, a Harman Kardon-certified quad-speaker Dolby Atmos audio system, a 5MP AI-enhanced webcam, a HD IR camera for fast face login, and a colour sensor for automatic brightness and colour temperature control.
Asus says the hinge can withstand opening and closing up to 30,000 times.
-
Swiss Rig Bresson
Swiss Rig showed off its iPhone videologging kit aimed at simpler and more versatile video shooting and interviewing.
The small red device fits in your pocket and includes pro audio with phantom and analog gain, a 60mm condenser mic, a magnet mount to interface with a 4K-capable iPhone, and a thumbstick and multifunction button to control audio and video recording through its companion app, SuperContent.
You can squeeze one of the multifunction buttons to zoom in and out from a subject without having to take your eyes off the phone’s screen. You can also learn to automatically use buttons for starting and stopping video recording.
The Bresson can be powered by the 4K mobile camera, by a separate battery or a charger connected via USB-C.