Key Takeaways
- Robots have moved from gimmick to tool: Their movements are visibly smoother than a year ago. The convincing use case today is inspecting industrial plants where heat or gas keeps people out.
- Recording and summarising has grown up: Plaud now ships with earbuds, so calls can be captured without putting them on speaker — with everyone's consent, of course.
- The folding iPhone was on display as a dummy: Case makers had the prototype. Unfolded it is a four-by-three format, which means it can replace an iPad mini.
- Smart mirrors solve a real everyday problem: A full wardrobe and still nothing to wear. The mirror recommends an outfit based on the weather and what you actually own.
- Exoskeletons help twice over: They relieve people doing physical work, and they can be switched to add resistance so the same movement becomes training.
- The 2035 outlook became more concrete: Households will split into traditional and fully digitalised ones — with a robot that empties the dishwasher and an AI that occasionally suggests an earlier bedtime.
- The decisive question stays strategic: Is there a problem to go with this gadget? Clarify the task first, choose the technology second, and you avoid expensive detours.
Introduction
IFA 2026 ran from 4 to 8 September in Berlin, with more than 1,900 brands from 49 countries under the claim „Innovation For All“. Prof. Dr. Nicole Jekel and I spent a full day walking the halls. What stayed with us was not the announced products but how much had changed in twelve months.
Robots: from stunt to instrument
The question you ask about trade-show robots every year is whether they do anything useful. At the first booth a four-legged machine wandered around and then lay down. Two halls later the picture changed. The machines move faster and steadier than last year, and against the backdrop of a shrinking labour market that matters.
The strongest case today is inspection: plants with high temperatures or gases where people are no longer allowed for health reasons. Four legs reach corners two legs cannot, and some models flatten themselves to fit through tight openings. People standing on a robot, by contrast, is a trade-show stunt — impressive, but not a business model.
And in the home? Where things actually stand
The Unitree booth made the progress clearest. Last year we watched a robot there folding laundry — so slowly that our shared verdict was: by the time it finishes, I will have run five loads. This year the difference was visible without measuring anything.
Right beside it a robot sat at a piano. It is reminiscent of the self-playing pianos in old western films, but it is a useful yardstick: fine motor control in time is considerably harder than walking. Nicole had the use case ready immediately — if a household robot is going to be there anyway, it may as well play in the evening.
The most likeable machine of the day was a small robot moving across the hall floor, which promptly hid when we pointed a camera at it. By coincidence it was colour-matched to my jacket. It did not feel like talking to us that day.
Exoskeletons that relieve — or challenge
Exoskeletons improve every year and now include knee support. Two groups benefit: people with walking impairments, and anyone doing physical work who should be protected from injury. The clever part is that the devices can be reversed. Instead of making movement easier they make it harder, turning the working day into training.
Smart glasses: less display is more
I asked one manufacturer of sports glasses why there was no display. The answer was instructive: deliberately none, for safety reasons. At speed a display is a distraction. Listening to music, recording video and speaking to the device is enough.
Plaud: record, summarise, keep working
We have used Plaud for a while — Nicole in meetings, myself on calls. You press the button, ask everyone present for consent, and end up with a summary that beats most apps I know.
Two things are new. The device now comes with earbuds, so calls no longer have to be on speaker to be captured. And it speaks the Model Context Protocol, which means recordings can be processed in the AI environment you already use instead of only in the vendor's web interface.
The mirror that knows your wardrobe
One of the more surprising booths came from Korea: smart mirrors for the hallway, the bathroom or the dressing room. In the hallway they disinfect shoes with light and plasma. In the dressing room they recommend an outfit based on the weather and the clothes you own — solving the full-wardrobe-nothing-to-wear problem. Mounted horizontally in the bathroom, the same device performs a skin analysis.
E-ink: pictures that barely draw power
Colour e-ink panels hang on the wall like framed prints and, at first glance, look printed. Quality has improved noticeably over last year and slimmer frames are available. A different image in the morning than in the evening, at almost no energy cost.
The same principle appears as minimal smartphones with e-ink displays and deliberately fewer apps. I much prefer reading e-books on e-ink: you get tired in the evening instead of wired, and the temptation to check social media disappears.
Toys for the boys: projectors, guitars, cocktails
There is a category of device where I have to admit the enthusiasm arrives before the use case. Mini projectors belong to it. They get brighter, smaller and cheaper every year. Not yet enough for a lecture hall, but perfectly good for a home cinema or an evening in a camper van.
Next to them stood an electric guitar without strings. Nothing to replace, and presumably nothing to tune either. It folds up, so it travels. Innovation for all, quite literally.
And then the cocktail machine: the same principle as coffee, only with small cocktail capsules — lemon, cherry, blackcurrant — and a bottle of rum beside it. A conversation piece for any office. It will not make it into our kitchen; neither of us drinks alcohol.
The folding iPhone, as a dummy
Case makers had a prototype on the table. Folded it has a passport format; unfolded it is four by three, much like an iPad mini — and in my view it can replace one. Personally I found it a touch too thick once you imagine it without a case. Nicole disagrees and has already made up her mind.
More screen on the road
Anyone who works while travelling knows the problem: one laptop display is not enough. Blackview showed the answer as a folding construction — not one screen, not two, but three that fold together. The footprint on a desk is considerable, but the principle convinces.
Another booth showed touchscreens for the Mac. The concept is familiar from Microsoft's Studio, where it never quite caught on. As an iPad user I still tap the MacBook display regularly, because the hand simply expects it. Whether the coming MacBooks will offer it remains to be seen — here the retrofit already exists, in hardware and software.
Small things that end up in the suitcase
Some things are not an investment, simply practical. The travel shavers, for instance: genuinely small, and charged over USB. Anyone living out of a camper van or a hotel room saves another power adapter.
At a booth called Woosh our phone was cleaned for us. The liquid contains no alcohol and no ammonia — water plus the right formula, according to the supplier — and works on any screen: laptop, television, glasses, even the inside of a car windscreen. Nicole did the arithmetic on the spot: eleven thousand sprays for a normal phone, so half that for a folding one.
The same category holds the next generation of phone cases, complete with an attached plush toy. If the device is going to be large anyway, apparently it no longer matters.
Cars at an electronics show
Something you would not have expected at IFA a few years ago: cars. Chinese manufacturers clearly lead with digitalisation, partly for a practical reason — people in China spend more time in traffic, which makes in-car entertainment more important. Underestimating these suppliers is one of the bigger mistakes a European company can make. This is no longer made in China; it is made by China.
In between: the show as an experience
Between two halls stood a set of bumper cars. One could raise an eyebrow at that — I think it is clever. Elements like this make people stop walking and start talking. In my case they reliably triggered childhood memories.
A Sunday, incidentally, is a good day for IFA. The shops are closed and the halls are noticeably less crowded. A few steps in fresh air in between, and a Berlin currywurst — that is part of it too.
Looking ahead to 2035
Over the break the conversation turned to what will remain of all this in ten years. Sven Gabor Janszky's new book had arrived at our house days earlier. His thesis: by 2035 households will split into two groups — traditional ones that work roughly as they do today, and fully digitalised ones with a robot and AI support.
My own wish for such a robot is modest: it should empty the dishwasher. When ours gained interior lighting and app control I thought that was pleasant enough — it still did not empty itself. Judging by this show, we are no longer far from that.
Nicole added the second half of the picture: an AI that does not only take over tasks but also motivates — towards a workout, towards an earlier bedtime, towards the smart mirror. She calls it the mother mirror. Whether one wants that is a very personal question.
Is there a problem to go with this gadget?
For everything on show I ask the same question: is there a matching problem? For some devices the honest answer is no. For others you realise on the spot that you did have the problem — you had simply never named it.
My advice stays the same: settle the strategic side first, then move down into the technical solution. Occasionally the reverse view is worth taking too — looking at what is new and asking where it might apply. Both directions are legitimate as long as you know which one you are in.
Conclusion
It was worth the day. Visiting existing partners, picking up a few surprises, and the folding iPhone in between. It is a little like a bookshop: what you are looking for you order online, what you discover you find on site.
Mentioned Tools & Resources
- Plaud — recorder with AI summaries, now with earbuds and Model Context Protocol support.
- Exoskeletons — support for lifting and standing, switchable to training resistance.
- Smart mirrors — outfit recommendation, skin analysis, disinfection in the hallway.
- Colour e-ink displays — as picture frames and as minimal smartphones, very low power.
- Mini projectors — brighter and smaller every year, for home cinema and camper vans.
- Stringless electric guitar — nothing to tune or replace, and it folds up.
- Capsule cocktail machine — the coffee principle applied to drinks.
- Blackview — three folding screens for working on the road.
- Touchscreens for the Mac — a retrofit in hardware and software.
- Woosh — screen cleaning without alcohol or ammonia.
- Sven Gabor Janszky, „2035“ — on traditional versus digitalised households.
- IFA Berlin — 4 to 8 September 2026, more than 1,900 brands from 49 countries.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is visiting a trade show still worthwhile for companies?
Yes, though less because of the announced products. The value lies in unplanned discoveries and in conversations at the booths. Arrive with concrete questions and you get answers that appear in no press release.
Are humanoid robots ready for practical use?
Not for the household. They are ready where environments are dangerous for people — inspecting plants with heat, gases or hard-to-reach corners. Movement quality has improved visibly compared with last year.
Can I simply record calls with a device like Plaud?
No. Recording requires the consent of everyone involved. In practice that means asking at the start and documenting the answer. Without consent the recording is not lawful.
What does an e-ink display offer over a normal screen?
It only draws power when the image changes and it does not emit light. That is easier on battery and eyes, makes you tired in the evening rather than alert, and reduces distraction. It is unsuitable for moving content.
How do I judge whether a gadget suits my company?
By answering one question: which concrete problem does it solve, and how often does that problem occur here? If you cannot answer in two sentences, it is a toy — which is fine, but not an investment case.
What was the single most useful device on the tour?
A compact steam iron for travelling. It solves a problem I genuinely have, takes little space in a suitcase and replaces a workaround with a hotel hairdryer that never really worked.
