The Best of IFA 2026: 10 Groundbreaking Gadgets You Can (and Can't) Buy in America

BERLIN—Every September, we head to Berlin to cover IFA , Europe's answer to CES and one of the largest technology trade shows in the world.

Each year, we walk the sprawling halls of the Messe convention center, racking up tens of thousands of steps daily while checking out the latest prototypes and production-ready gadgets, knowing that some of those devices may never go on sale in the US. Amid the US government's trade restrictions on foreign tech , that's truer than ever. 

Still, while foreign drones , power inverters , robots , and routers are now heavily restricted in the US under the Trump administration, the pace of technological innovation beyond America's borders has not slowed down. This year, the show floor felt more densely packed than ever. From next-gen autonomous floor cleaners and humanoid robotics to a noticeably expanded presence of computing hardware, IFA 2026 delivered some of the most advanced tech we've seen to date.

Out of the thousands of gadgets on display, here are our top picks from the show.

Best Robot Vacuum

iRobot Roomba Max 875

The iRobot Roomba Max 875 aims to bridge the gap between automated convenience and manual cleaning power through its innovative SealForce tech, which lowers a skirt from the chassis onto the carpet to channel suction directly into fibers for superior fine-particle extraction. While traditional robot vacuums historically avoided sealed systems to preserve mobility, this adaptive skirt pairs high-end suction with an advanced hybrid mopping system featuring a self-cleaning roller mop, a stain-loosening steam nozzle, and a fully automated base that empties the dustbin while washing and drying the mop. If this moving seal performs as promised alongside its premium automated suite, the $1,199 Roomba Max 875—available in the US now—presents an exciting, highly compelling upgrade for automated home care. —Andrew Gebhart

Best Smart Light

Philips Hue Liane 360

Flat light strips with visible LED dots seem so antiquated compared with the Philips Hue Liane 360 . This smart rope light uses Hue's OmniGlow technology to emit even, 360-degree illumination across its full circumference. It looks like a neon sign, but it's as bendy as a traditional strip light, so you can shape, hang, or wrap it in countless ways. It can display 16 million colors and uses gradient technology to seamlessly blend multiple hues along its flexible length. And, of course, it works with the Hue app, so you can control its brightness and colors from your phone. The Liane 360 is available in the US now, starting at $399. —Angela Moscaritolo

Best Wellness Device

Dyson CameraJet

Dyson says that as many as 9 out of 10 people don't floss as much as they should, so it invented a high-tech toothbrush that can automatically eradicate the gunk from between your teeth. The $499 Dyson CameraJet uses a tiny camera beneath the bristles to detect gaps between your pearly whites and, within milliseconds, shoots out a conical burst to flush debris. The toothbrush features three oscillation modes, a bright light on the end so you can look deep into your mouth's crevices, and an automatic mouthwash dispenser, so you can brush, floss, and rinse in one go. It might seem like a gimmick, but after seeing it in person, I'm ready to drop half a grand for better oral hygiene. You can buy the Dyson CameraJet in the US now. —AM

Best Humanoid Robot

PrimeBOT Prime Q1 

Humanoids have mesmerized me in the past, but I've never felt an affinity toward one until I met PrimeBOT's Prime Q1. Firstly, it's child-sized, standing just under 3 feet tall. Secondly, it held my hand and walked with me around the Messe show floor. It's amazing to me how this small interaction tugged at my heartstrings, instantly reframing my view on humanoid robots. Designed for home companionship, the Prime Q1 supports 22 degrees of freedom, enabling it to nimbly walk, turn around, dance, and even perform more than 10 martial arts movements. It can also talk to you, and its appearance is highly customizable via 3D printing and modular head replacements. The Prime Q1 is expected to launch in China on Sept. 20 for around $8,000. —AM

Best Security Camera

Reolink OMVI 2i Ultra

Some outdoor home security cameras force you to choose between a wide-angle view and close-up detail, but the Reolink OMVI 2i Ultra offers both in a single wire-free model. It combines an 8MP wide-view camera and a 5MP pan-tilt camera, showing both feeds on a single screen in its companion app. When the wide-view camera detects a supported object (like an animal, person, or vehicle), the pan-tilt camera automatically zooms in on the target and moves to keep it in view. It offers 355-degree panning and 50-degree tilt capabilities, and is powered by a detachable 10,000mAh battery that promises up to six months of power on a single charge based on five minutes of recording per day and all-day standby. The OMVI 2i Ultra is slated for US release in the fall, with pricing expected to be between $200 and $250. —AM

Best 360 Camera

DJI Osmo 360 II

The DJI Osmo 360 II offers some good quality-of-life upgrades compared with the original, including easily replaceable lens covers and a bidirectional magnetic mount, and promises to deliver crisper 8K video, thanks to a move to square-aspect image sensors, which are ideal for capturing spherical 360-degree footage. It looks like a heck of a camera for savvy content creators, at least those who live outside the United States. As of now, DJI is on the FCC's Covered List, which means that the Osmo 360 II isn't able to receive certification for sale and import stateside. —Jim Fisher

Best Action/Vlogging Camera

Hohem Eyepic

DJI and Insta360 are the leaders in making gimbal-stabilized cameras for smooth handheld video recording, but there's a new player entering the arena—Hohem. Known for its smartphone gimbals , Hohem makes an impressive debut in the camera space with the Eyepic , thanks to its modular, magnetic design. It consists of two parts: a small, waterproof action cam that you can wear or take underwater and a handheld gimbal with a touch display and smooth stabilization. The Eyepic won't ship until next year, but I can't wait to try it out. —JF

Best Laptop

Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe

A wave of $699 laptops is suddenly upon us, as Lenovo's new IdeaPad Vibe joins Apple's MacBook Neo and Dell's XPS 13 on the market. Like those systems, the Vibe's base model comes with just 8GB of RAM and fairly modest processing (Qualcomm Snapdragon X and AMD Ryzen AI 400), so you should keep your speed expectations in check. But this is an affordable and portable laptop with a metal build and fun color options, making it a good pick for younger users, college students, and general shoppers who just want to get online. In an increasingly expensive PC environment, we welcome more attractive and attainable laptops. —Matthew Buzzi

Best Gaming Handheld

Acer Predator Atlas 7

It's true that there wasn't much gaming gear to choose from at this year's IFA, but we still found a compelling argument to highlight the Acer Predator Atlas 7. We got our hands on the Predator Atlas 8 at Computex in May, and walked away more than impressed. To that end, the Atlas 7 offers many of the Atlas 8's features—most importantly, its Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor—in a compact, 7-inch form factor. From our testing with the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ , we know that Intel's new processor can outpace AMD's Ryzen Z2 Extreme and AI Z2 Extreme, so we're excited to see if those gains persist in a smaller package. —Zackery Cuevas

Best Prototype

Lenovo ThinkBook Project AeroBlade

Over the last few years, we've seen plenty of demos of innovative fanless cooling tech for laptops—but few actual products. Until IFA, we hadn't seen a fanless laptop as slick and as evolved—and with as much potential—as the ThinkBook AeroBlade prototype. Using Frore Systems' AirJet hardware, Lenovo's eye-candy 14-inch laptop is a sliver-thin (only 10mm thick) ultralight that weighs a wild 1.85 pounds. Small solid-state cooling modules positioned inside, using piezoelectric tech, replace fans but push plenty of air over hot-running chips. And they can be more flexibly placed inside a laptop than fans can, which allows for new designs with bigger batteries, thinner chassis, and more. —John Burek

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