The IFA Berlin 2026 (Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin) has kicked off and, as expected, there’s a lot on AI this year. The big names like Samsung and LG have pinned AI as their big focus this year, showcasing how it works perfectly for modern connected homes. However, the consumer gadgets section isn’t empty, as many brands took to the stage to populate their laptop lineups and other consumer tech devices. The idea of screenless fitness trackers is catching the hype, with one of them utilising AI to adjust goals depending on individual activity levels.
Hence, unlike most traditional tech shows, the IFA Berlin 2026 is just not about new phones – there are ultra-lightweight laptops, conversational fridges, screenless wearables, and lots of AI adapted for consumers.
So, we decided to round up the coolest gadgets and announcements trending on social media and in the press at this year’s IFA Berlin, starting with a Samsung laptop that’s getting a lot of attention.
Samsung’s Galaxy Book6
After the MacBook Neo’s surprise entry into the sub-Rs 1 lakh laptop segment, every manufacturer now wants to offer something similar – an affordable laptop that’s built well. So, Samsung is directly targeting budget-conscious laptop buyers with its new Galaxy Book6 14-inch. It starts at $799 in the US and is powered by Intel Core 3 and Core 5 processors. The laptop packs up to 25 hours of local video playback and a full suite of Galaxy AI features. Crucially, Samsung kept the ports that the MacBook Neo and other modern ultraportables stripped away, i.e., a full-sized HDMI 1.4, dual USB-C, USB-A, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Acer’s wild laptop lineup
After Samsung, Acer showed up in Berlin with an entire army of form factors in the laptop segment, but the standout is the Acer Swift Blade 14. Weighing 799g and measuring just 14mm thick, Acer has managed to stuff an Intel Core Series 3 “Wildcat Lake” processor and a 3K OLED panel into something that weighs less than most tablets.
Then there’s another laptop, called Vero 16, which Acer says is designed to be repairable – consumers can replace the mainboard for future chip generations. There were some multi-screen setup accessories and a gaming handheld featuring a full-spec QWERTY keyboard.
Acer also displayed a Small Form Factor (SFF) PC powered by Nvidia’s RTX Spark platform. Housing a 20-core Grace CPU and a 6,144-core Blackwell GPU, this micro-tower delivers up to 1 petaflop of AI compute power. What’s interesting is that it is wrapped in a fun, vintage-inspired case featuring retro wood panel accents.
LG brings AI agents to your smart homes
Since AI agents have been trending this year, LG decided to embed them into its smart home ecosystem. Hence, we have the LG ThinQ Claw – a cheeky take on OpenClaw. ThinQ Claw is essentially an open-framework conversational AI agent designed for smart home setups. The idea is to give your smart home automation the advantage of natural language of GenAI. For example, if you tell it, “ I have guests coming tonight”, LG says that the system automatically manages the home appliances – it will heat up the oven, adjust the lighting, tweak the climate control systems accordingly, and set other preferences one might have. Sort of an early rudimentary version of Iron Man’s Jarvis!
Samsung too had AI for home
Samsung had something similar for its consumer appliances. On the stage, it revealed the Samsung CONNECT experience to showcase its “Companion to AI Living,” which includes,
Vision AI Companion: This is a conversational AI overlay built directly into Samsung’s 2026 TV line-up, letting viewers ask contextual questions or request recommendations on-screen without pausing their show.
Bespoke AI appliances: Samsung’s new Bespoke AI Washer lineup claims to cut energy usage by up to 70 per cent below Europe’s Class A minimum using intelligent load sensing. It is also paired with the updated Samsung AI Family Hub fridges that automatically track pantry inventory.
The Luna Band that adjusts its goals to you
Since ‘screen-less’ bands are in fashion at the moment, IFA Berlin had a Luna Band with AI at its heart. This subscription-free, screenless health tracker uses behavioural AI to adapt its sensor polling rates and metrics based on your daily activity patterns. Designed to compete with subscription-heavy platforms like Whoop and Google’s Fitbit, it offers continuous biometric monitoring without forcing another screen onto your wrist.
The cool new Homey Portal
Smart home brand Homey debuted the Homey Portal, a $249 desktop and wall-mountable control hub that resembles an oversized smartwatch. Featuring a 2.8-inch touchscreen surrounded by a tactile physical dial, it gives users localised tactile control over room scenes, thermostat levels, and media volume across Matter and Homey ecosystems.