First revealed at CES, Govee’s Sky Ceiling Light uses AI to create “personalized lighting based on users’ moods and daily needs.” The 21-inch Matter-compatible light also automatically adjusts its color, temperature, and brightness depending on the time and weather. It launches on September 4th.
IFA 2026
Europe’s biggest consumer technology trade show, IFA, is taking place from September 4–8, 2026. Companies from around the world will pack into Berlin’s massive Messe exhibition center to show off their wares. IFA sees a host of announcements across audio, TV, wearable, smartphone, and smart home brands, along with some of Europe’s biggest home appliance manufacturers. This year robotics and AI will likely be making a big splash at the German trade show.
Acer, which has owned the historic PC brand since 2008, has resurrected it in a line of cheap, cheerful, and exceedingly colorful hardware, ranging from a 14-inch laptop to a portable food steamer. It all goes on sale in Q4 this year, though for now it’s only hitting the market in Europe.
Samsung announced a new Galaxy Book6 laptop at IFA. It’s a 14-inch notebook with Intel Wildcat Lake processors, starting with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. And it’ll start at $799.
It’s got more ports than the Neo and a much higher watt-hour battery. But, oddly, Samsung omitted the keyboard’s backlight just as Apple did. Not my top choice of things to copy, but okay.



After years of living with home robots, I think we’re chasing the wrong machine.
Alongside a laptop / handheld hybrid concept, Acer is expanding its Predator Atlas line with a smaller 7-inch model. The Windows 11 handheld comes with up to an Intel Arc G3 Extreme CPU and Arc B390 GPU. It’s due in Q4, after the Atlas 8 releases this month. Pricing for both remains unknown.


Acer is announcing the Vero 16: a 16-inch laptop with tool-free internal access. The battery and SSD are user-replaceable, and the hinge and ports are also removable. Acer also says the processor can be upgraded for “at least two generations.”
An Acer service center will conduct the upgrades — not the user. And for now all pricing is TBD. The Vero 16 is launching outside North America in Q1 2027.
Alienware has been on a tear with its recent OLEDs. Now, its next big monitor is the AW3226Q, a 4K 32-inch tandem OLED with 165Hz refresh and RGB stripe subpixels for clearer text — expected this fall for $699.99.
Alienware is also teasing the AW2527HX, a 25-inch QD-OLED with 560Hz refresh, co-created with Team Liquid and designed for esports. Pricing is TBD until its Q1 2027 launch.
The golden age of OLEDs continues.






Jsaux has launched the Elite Extender, a $39.99 accessory for the original Nintendo Switch Pro controller that reminds me a bit of Sony’s Back Button Attachment for the PS4. It adds up to four mappable buttons for your most frequently-used buttons or for macros. The accessory boasts a 1,800mAh battery, though the host controller’s Amiibo functionality won’t work while it’s attached.
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Jsaux is launching the S1 Pro, a small $49.99 wireless controller that can wake the Switch 2, and connect to various other platforms via Bluetooth, 2.4GHz, or USB-C. It features Switch-like TMR sticks, gyro controls, and adjustable trigger throw distances. But its marquee feature is that it lets you connect two S1 Pros to a single 2.4GHz transmitter, and swap player assignments in local multiplayer games at will, so player two can jump in to help with a difficult part.
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Xiaomi, Apple, Huawei, and more are all launching flagship phones this month.




Its conversational AI agent is called ThinQ Claw (a riff on OpenClaw) and builds on its acquisition of Homey. LG says it can “understand user intent and context and help complete tasks by connecting and coordinating relevant services and devices,” be they LG appliances or third-party products. It’s being demoed for the first time at the big IFA tech show kicking off later this week.

This sucker can’t fly, but it can avoid your socks.

A ball-catching robot tennis coach, cuddly AI robots, and a laptop with a rotating screen for optimal doomscrolling.
In the first public demo of the new universal language for smart locks, I used a Samsung Galaxy S24 to tap-to-open a Nuki smart lock. No app necessary, and no need to unlock the phone first.
Aliro is based on Apple’s NFC Home Key technology and will support UWB unlocking, allowing any smartphone to securely unlock any door lock, regardless of ecosystem or brand. The Aliro standard is scheduled to launch later this year.


It’s a bucket list item for a tech journalist slash tennis fan. So, when I heard the Acemate Tennis Robot was coming to the IFA tech show in Berlin, I was first in line (like, literally off the plane and on to the court).
It was surprisingly fun, and the bot easily kept up with me using its two 4K binocular cameras and omnidirectional wheels. But I didn’t enjoy its post-match critique quite as much.


The customized XT5 Ultra model on display at IFA isn’t solid gold, but a PR rep told me that the company wanted to showcase designs like this because they “have appeal in the US market.”




It’s officially Day 1 of the IFA 2025 tech show, and I made a beeline for the Smart Home hall, where I’ll be checking out new products from Govee (like these fetching new pendant lights — coming soon), Aqara, Reolink, Aeotec, Shelly, and more.
Stay tuned to our IFA story stream for all the news.


Lenovo’s 14- and 15-inch ThinkPad X9 Aura Edition laptops are getting a glacier white color treatment for IFA 2025. The X9 may be polarizing to hardcore ThinkPad fans because it lacks a TrackPoint, but I dig this clean look.
Now imagine if a ThinkPad came in, gasp, colors?






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