4 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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IFA 2025

Europe’s biggest consumer technology trade show, IFA, is taking place once again in early September 2025. 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 from audio, TV, wearable, and smartphone brands, but lately the smart home industry has made the biggest impact at the German trade show.

Joanna Nelius
Joanna Nelius
Asus’ first Copilot Plus PC is getting a new Qualcomm chip.

The 15-inch Vivobook S 15 Windows laptop will come with an eight-core Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and a 2880 x 1620 display with a 120Hz refresh rate — all for $900 at Best Buy, available today.

Note: If you buy something from these links, we might get affiliate revenue.

An open and powered on laptop viewed at an angle.
Image: Asus
Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
MSI’s Claw successor handheld with Lunar Lake isn’t coming till next year.

The Claw was an embarrassment, and MSI quickly announced successors with Intel’s new Lunar Lake instead. But though MSI originally said the “MSI Claw 8 AI Plus” should arrive September, it’s now telling ComputerBase it won’t launch till CES in January.

Just to be clear, the ROG Ally X put the final nail in the original Claw’s coffin. Friends don’t let friends buy an original Claw.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
This smart humidifier can be refilled by a robot.

First announced at IFA last year, Switchbot’s new humidifier uses cold evaporation and a 4.5-liter tank that you’ll never have to refill yourself — if you own the Switchbot S10 robot vacuum. The latter can automatically bring water to the humidifier when it’s running low.

The SwitchBot Evaporative Humidifier (Auto-refill) is now available for $239.99 / €239.99. It supports Matter through a Switchbot Hub.

The Switchbot Humidifier next to the S10 vacuum.
The Switchbot Humidifier can be refilled by the S10 robot vacuum, which has a water station that can be hooked directly to your plumbing.
Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Joanna Nelius
Joanna Nelius
Dell says its next XPS 13 will get up to 26 hours* of battery life.

*While streaming Netflix at 1080p with an FHD+ screen at just 150 nits of brightness.

Still, that’s eight hours more than its last-gen laptop in the same test, even with the same battery size and display. The only thing on the spec sheet that’s changed is the processor — to Intel Lunar Lake.

Withings ScanWatch 2 and Light review: simple vibes for the tech-fatigued

These watches hit a nice balance between style and function without bombarding you with information.

Victoria Song
The coolest smart home gadgets I saw in BerlinThe coolest smart home gadgets I saw in Berlin
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Red Alert! Red Alert! Philips Hue’s new security system can light up your home like the Starship Enterprise.

The company’s Hue Secure security cameras sync with its smart lighting to flash red lights throughout your home if there’s a breach and sound a siren. But I don’t think they can lock down the bridge.

Here’s my hands-on on with the new hardware from the launch event at IFA 2023 and you can read more about the Hue Secure features (or lack of them) here.

Amazon just added support for bridges, but Matter is still in a bind

Bridging older smart home gadgets into Matter is finally fully supported, and cameras are on the horizon, but the new smart home standard still has plenty of unfulfilled promises.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
LG’s suitcase TV in the proverbial flesh.

“This would have been the coolest gadget ever if it was released in 1995,” says Jon. 27 inches, 1080p, three-hour battery. $999, shipping mid-October or maybe possibly September.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
This floodlight camera doesn’t look like a giant spider hanging off your house.

European tech manufacturers know how to make good-looking cameras.

The new Bosch Eyes Outdoor Camera II on display at IFA 2023 has a sleek look and integrated, full-color ambient lighting in addition to a 1,100-lumen floodlight. It only records in 1080p and costs €350, but compared to most floodlight cameras it’s got some je ne sais quoi. It comes in silver and black, but sadly it’s not coming to the US.

The Bosch Eyes Outdoor Camera II costs £320 / €350; there are no plans for a US release.
The Bosch Eyes Outdoor Camera II costs £320 / 350; there are no plans for a US release.
Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Jon Porter
Jon Porter
Some photos of TCL’s “paper-like” smartphone display.

TCL has equipped its latest smartphones with its NXTPAPER display technology, which is designed to reduce eye strain. Fundamentally they’re still backlit LCD panels, but they’re LCD panels that emit less blue light, and have an anti-glare coating and a matte-textured finish. Here’s how the display looks on the NXTPAPER 40 5G, whose 90Hz display can get as bright as 500 nits.

NXTPAPER 40 5G held at an angle.
NXTPAPER 40 5G.
NXTPAPER 40 5G from the rear.
1/3
The display is equipped with an anti-glare coating.
Photo by Jon Porter / The Verge
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Now you can view your fans in all their RGB glory.

Yeelight’s seriously fun Cube Smart Lamp (from $76) got a new feature this week. Announced at IFA 2023, the modular lighting system can now show real-time fan counts from your YouTube and Twitch live streams.

The Matter-compatible light fixture already displays a clock face on four of its cubes, and now it can sync with your YouTube and Twitch channels to display real-time viewer numbers while you stream.

The Cube Light (center and far sides) on show at Yeelight’s IFA booth. A new update to the Matter-compatible RGB lighting system lets you stream your Twitch and YouTube live view counts. 
The Cube Light (center and far sides) on show at Yeelight’s IFA booth. A new update to the Matter-compatible RGB lighting system lets you stream your Twitch and YouTube live view counts.
Photo Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Can Samsung Food usher in a new era for the smart kitchen?

Wi-Fi-connected kitchen appliances have struggled to prove their worth, but Samsung’s not entirely new app could help realize the potential of connected cooking.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
‘Hey robot, mow the lawn.’

The Dreame Roboticmower A1, a new robot lawnmower, can tackle yards as large as half an acre, which is good news for us Americans with big yards.

These electric autonomous grass-cutting devices have struggled to take off in the US due to range issues, complexity, and high costs.

While Dreame’s bot may cost as much as $2,000 (pricing isn’t finalized) it uses lidar mapping so there’s no need for clunky beacons or fiddly guide wire.

This robot lawnmower could take one more chore off your To Do.
This robot lawnmower could take one more chore off your To Do.
Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge