Best of IFA 2023: The laptops, smartphones, and innovations we love the most

IFA 2023 (or Internationale Funkausstellung if you’re nasty) is easily the biggest consumer electronics show outside of Vegas — giving us a glimpse at the future of gadgets at home and on the go.

After a couple of wobbly years amidst the pandemic, the show is back to full strength and you best believe the announcements did not disappoint. From Lenovo’s big Steam Deck competitor in the Legion Go to Honor giving Samsung a run for its money with the Magic V2 foldable, this has been an important show.

We have scoured the show floor to find the cream of the crop. Here are our favorite pieces of tech for this year’s IFA.

Best of Show: Lenovo Legion Go

Could the Lenovo Legion Go be the best gaming handheld of 2023? Right now, it’s a strong “maybe.” There’s plenty to like about the Legion Go, starting with its stunning 8.8-inch, 2560 x 1600, IPS display with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 144Hz refresh rate. Then you’ve got the powerful AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor with AMD RDNA 3 Graphics, removable controllers, 10 mappable buttons and the ability to accommodate just about every PC gaming platform out there.

And while some will definitely ding the Go for it’s hefty dimensions, if more powerful thermals and a larger battery life really live up to the hype, it’s an easy trade-off for me. Plus, the device is priced at a very competitive price. And while it’s not a perfect mobile gaming solution, but taking cues from other companies in the nascent space, Lenovo’s put the Legion Go in a prime position to be crowned king of the PC gaming handhelds.

Sherri L. Smith, Editor in Chief

Best Laptop: Lenovo Legion 9i

Lenovo has come out of the woodworks with a staggeringly powerful gaming laptop oin the Legion 9i. Boasting an Intel Core i9-13980HX processor, Nvidia RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, up to 2TB of SSD storage, 64GB of 5600Mhz DDR5 RAM and a 16-inch Mini-LED 3.2K display with a 165Hz refresh rate, it's no understatement to say this is one of the strongest gaming laptops out there.

We're looking forward to pitting this beast against our various performance tests, and personally, I'm excited to see how its Mini-LED display does. I'm a sucker for bright and vivid screens, and while Mini-LED is definitely not OLED, it can be wonderful nonetheless.

Momo Tabari, Staff Writer

Best Smartphone: Honor Magic V2

Honor’s latest foldable has stolen the IFA spotlight with its impressively slim, sleek design that has put the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 on notice. At just 0.39 inches when folded, with a weight of 8.1 ounces (the Z Fold 5 is 0.53 inches, and 8.9 ounces), this is quite the engineering feat — especially when you take a look at the spec sheet of this beast.

You’ve got a 6.43-inch display upfront, and opening the phone will reveal a 7.92-inch panel (both OLED 120Hz). On top of that, Honor has stuffed this with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, a triple rear camera system with a 50MP main, 50MP ultra wide, and a 20MP telephoto. Up front, there’s a 16MP selfie snapper, and all of this is kept powered with a 5,000 mAh battery (a bigger capacity than the bigger Z Fold 5).

One thing is clear. Honor is really taking the fight to Samsung this year for foldable supremacy.

Jason England, Content Editor

Best Innovation: Lenovo Legion Glasses

Yeah, gaming on an 8.8-inch display can be fun. But why settle for that small, albeit pretty screen when you can get a large display right in front of the face without taking over the TV? That’s where the Lenovo Legion Glasses come in. The relatively lightweight glasses utilize micro-OLED lens technology in order to deliver a high-resolution, virtual display that can range between 82  inches at three meters and 163 inches at 5 meters. It’s the difference between your average living room experience and a premium home theater.

In addition to swappable nose pads, there’s a lens holder that you can take to the optometrist to be fitted with prescription lenses. It’s a great way to enhance your mobile gaming experience.

Sherri L. Smith Editor in Chief

Best Headphones: Soundcore Space One

Since the Soundcore Space Q45s impressed me next year, I’ve been wondering just what Anker is going to pull out the bag to continue this Space lineage. Well, now we know, as the Soundcore Space One headphones look set to continue the trend of offering impressive ANC while upgrading some key features.

These include an expanded battery life to 40 hours, tweaked 40mm drivers, and a change in codec support that brings LDAC to the party. On top of that, the ANC in here has been tweaked to bring 2x stronger human voice reduction, and Bluetooth 5.3 guarantees a far stronger, more stable connection.

Jason England, Content Editor

Best Monitor: Lenovo ThinkVision 27 3D Monitor

3D glasses are a pain, especially for someone who already has to wear glasses daily. But with new 3D technology, you can snap those lenses in half and experience the future with the Lenovo ThinkVision 27 3D Monitor. Unlike some stagnant pieces of tech, the monitor is paired with real-time eye-tracking to create 3D visuals. Lenovo ships the monitor with a 3D Explorer software designed for 3D creation and consumption.

Its 3D functionality and ease-of-use is only one of its compelling features. This 27-inch monitor offers a 4K resolution with 99% coverage for both DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB color gamuts. It also features built-in speakers, USB Type-C docking and modular camera support.

Rami Tabari, Editor

Best TV: TCL X955

IFA is usually a show full of TVs and washing machines. While we don’t cover the latter, I can safely say that the TCL X955 is the breakthrough choice for the best big screen in Berlin. The key here is MiniLED, which is offering an insanely good picture quality — available in both 85 and 98-inch sizes.

One key selling point here has to be the screen’s brightness. We’re used to seeing a number hovering around 500-1,500 nits in laptops, but over 5,000 nits of peak brightness? That’s insanity, and makes for a super bright HDR quality, which paired with the increased number of dimming zones makes for super deep contrast.

Jason England, Content Editor