Best of IFA 2024: Android Police’s awards for one of tech’s biggest trade shows

Europe’s other tech trade show is here. Berlin’s IFA may not quite have the clout it did back when Sony regularly used it as a launchpad for Xperia hardware, but that hasn’t stopped almost every major tech brand around from turning up this week to display its wares.

Smartphones have been thin on the ground, but fortunately Honor took that as a challenge, bringing the world’s thinnest foldable in the form of the Magic V3. We’ve also seen HMD’s new modular phone, a couple of Android tablets, and the latest generation of TCL’s e-ink-adjacent NXTPAPER hardware – not to mention a host of drones, power banks, and all sorts of oddities besides.

Acer and Lenovo both got weird with laptop concepts too. Acer designed a detachable touchpad that doubles as a wireless gaming controller, while Lenovo’s Twist AI has a display that can open, close, or rotate following voice commands – useless in almost every practical sense, but admittedly quite cool.

Not everything that launches at tech trade shows is a winner, but some things have to be. Eight of them, to be precise, to make up Android Police’s Best of IFA awards for 2024.

Honor Magic V3

There’s thin, then there’s really thin

Thought Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold was thin? Honor’s Magic V3 is over a millimeter thinner, and comfortably the thinnest folding phone in the world right now, thin enough that we’re pretty sure foldables don’t need to get any slimmer.

We said this about the Pixel too, but it’s the sort of foldable that you really do forget is a foldable. When shut it feels just like a standard smartphone – it’s about the same weight as an S24 Ultra, and any extra heft is almost imperceptible at this point.

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Honor hasn’t gotten there by cutting corners either. You’ll still find a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 inside, plus a big battery and a pair of 120Hz LTPO OLED displays. The chunky rear camera packs 50MP main and telephoto cameras, plus a 40MP ultrawide, and while it’s no match for the best camera phones, it’s no slouch either.

As usual for Honor, there’s no US launch on the cards. But everywhere else, this is one to look out for.

Honor Magic V3

Honor’s Magic V3 is the thinnest folding phone in the world, measuring just 9.3mm when folded. Thin doesn’t mean underpowered, as Honor fitted the Magic V3 with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and 12 or 16GB of RAM. It features stylus support, a gorgeous 7.92-inch AMOLED internal panel, and a 6.43-inch OLED outer display. Despite how thin the Magic V3 is, Honor still fits a versatile camera system, making it an impressive piece of tech.

Acer Nitro Blaze 7

Gaming on the go

Acer has been a conspicuous absence from the burgeoning gaming handheld scene, but has finally arrived with the Nitro Blaze 7 – named for its display size, given that this is the first of its kind, not the seventh.

This is a Windows 11-powered handheld, making it a direct rival to the Asus ROG Ally X and Lenovo Legion Go, rather than any of the Android-based alternatives. That brings with it certain power though: an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS and up to 2TB storage and 16GB RAM. That 7-inch panel is LCD rather than OLED, but will run at a buttery smooth 144Hz refresh rate, though we’d be surprised if it ran the most intensive games quite that fast – the PC version of Horizon Forbidden West chugged along a little in our demo.

What we don’t have is pricing or a release date, so it’s hard to say for sure how tempting the Nitro Blaze 7 will be once it’s on sale. It doesn’t look to be breaking new ground in terms of its design or the core specs, but a little more competition in the market is no bad thing.

Acer Nitro Blaze 7

The Acer Nitro Blaze 7 is a new PC gaming handheld offering a Ryzen 7 8840HS chip, along with a 7-inch 144Hz variable refresh rate touchscreen IPS panel, and 16GB RAM. The price is still unknown, but we already know it will forgo touch pads and rear buttons, which could mean a competitive price.

Honor MagicPad 2

Premium design, premium specs

Once upon a time, no-one made Android tablets any more. Now they’re back in vogue, and almost every phone OEM offers its own tablet too.

The MagicPad 2 isn’t Honor’s first – what gave it away? – but it’s an impressively premium device that could well tempt buyers away from Samsung’s Galaxy Tab range in the markets where it’s launching.

The 12.3in display is probably the highlight. It’s spacious, but at 144Hz and 3K it’s also technically impressive, bolstered by 1,600 nits of peak brightness and the latest generation of Honor’s now-customary eye care technology. A big battery and a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 ensure this is more than just a pretty slate, so it should serve as either productivity hub or streaming screen depending on your preference.

Honor MagicPad 2

The Honor MagicPad 2 isn’t lacking in specs, with a powerful Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 under the hood. It also features a premium build, leading to a gorgeous 12.3-inch 3K display with 1,600 nits max brightness, ensuring your content pops off. With its big battery and high-performance chipset, the Honor MagicPad 2 is about more than just binging Netflix, it’s a serious working machine.

DJI Neo

Ultraportable drone

The Neo is DJI’s dinkiest drone yet, weighing in at less than five ounces. It’s designed to be compact and ultraportable – so much so that DJI isn’t even including a remote.

You shouldn’t need one though – you can control the drone entirely using your phone, or quick-start it in one of six different flight modes just by tapping a button on the body. The camera can shoot 12MP stills or 4K stabilized video, lasting up to 18 minutes on a charge.

It’s basic and compact, so you can get flying and filming without too much hassle – though you can connect it to other DJI remotes, microphones, and even goggles, so there’s nothing to stop you from making it more advanced.

DJI Neo

The DJI Neo is the ideal lightweight drone, weighing just five ounces. It’s compact but capable of taking 12MP still photos or 4K video. It doesn’t include a remote, but you can use your smartphone or other Neo accessories to control it, like remotes, microphones, or even goggles. It can fly for up to 18 minutes on a single charge.

Withings Scanwatch Nova Brilliant

Fitness tracking in style

We loved Withings’ Scanwatch Nova, a premium take on its Scanwatch 2 with a metal dive watch aesthetic. It’s a big and bulky timepiece though, which is where the new Nova Brilliant comes in.

This is a sleeker design in a 39mm size, with a design that feels closer to jewelry. Available in silver or gold, it’s built out of stainless steel with a titanium bezel, sapphire glass face, and metallic link band, and the final package feels like the most premium Withings watch yet.

There’s nothing too new in the tracking – the usual fitness features, temperature tracking, and heart health you’d expect from the company – but despite the smaller size this should still run for up to 30 days without needing a top-up, and it’ll look damn good doing it.

Withings Scanwatch Nova Brilliant

The Withings Scanwatch Nova Brilliant is a step up from the Scanwatch 2, with premium build materials and an elegant look. The Nova Brilliant features a titanium bezel with fluted accents, a two-tone case and bracelet, and a sapphire crystal, making it more durable for daily wear. It includes all the fitness features you’d expect from Withings, just in an aesthetically pleasing package.

HMD Fusion

Customize your phone

Remember Moto Mods? Someone at HMD sure does. The sometimes-Nokia licensee has followed up its Barbie flip phone with a fresh take on a modular Android device, the HMD Fusion.

This is essentially a budget Android phone with a set of official cases – dubbed ‘Fusion Outfits’ – that enable extra functionality like wireless charging or a ring light. The Fusion is also designed to be user-repairable, much like the recent Qi2-enabled Skyline. A US launch is confirmed for later this year, though the European pricing of €249 ($275) tells you about how much power this thing packs.

The fact that the four initial ‘Outfits’ include a rugged case and a clip-on gaming controller – two things that the accessory market has had covered for a while – makes us worry that HMD may be a little short on ideas for the Fusion. But if it can get a little weird and match some of Motorola’s wackiest ideas – a projector! – then the Fusion could have legs.

HMD Fusion

The HMD Fusion brings back modular cases to smartphones. It features modest budget specs, but the Fusion has multiple cases for you to add, such as adding features to the phone or changing its look entirely. There is even a gaming controller mod, giving you superior gaming performance on the go and better control of streamed console games.

TCL 50 NXTPAPER 5G

Easy on your eyes

IFA has seen the debut of two new phones in TCL’s NXTPAPER line, though we don’t know for sure if either will make it to American stores.

The big upgrade in the 50 NXTPAPER 5G and its Pro sibling is that both borrow a feature from the company’s tablets: a dedicated button to switch the display to ‘Max Ink Mode’, which not only cranks up the device’s e-ink capabilities but also mutes notifications and saves battery life – perfect if you want to lose yourself in a book or get your head down and focus on some work.

These are simple enough Android phones otherwise, with MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chips, 5,010mAh batteries, and 108MP main cameras. Weirdly, the only reason to go Pro is the jump from an 8MP to a 32MP selfie camera, so if these do ever make it to the US then we’d probably stick with the standard version.

TCL 50 NXTPAPER 5G

The TCL 50 NXTPAPER 5G brings some of the company’s tablet NXTPAPER features to smartphones. Its “Max Ink Mode” turns on all the display’s eye-comfort features but also silences notifications and improves battery life, allowing you to focus on what you’re reading. In addition, you get the benefits of a traditional smartphone.

Ugreen Uno Series

Why not have a cute charger?

Tech rarely tries to be cute, but Ugreen has leant into kawaii with its new range of Uno accessories. Building on last year’s popular Nexode chargers, the Uno range packs a TFT screen with emoji expressions into a larger set of products: plugs, power banks, Qi2 chargers, and even a USB hub.

The best of the bunch is probably the 10,000mAh power bank with Qi2 charging built into a magnetic plate that swivels up, doubling as a portable charging stand. The range also includes a 100W wall charger for when speed is of the essence, plus a couple of cheaper and slimmer power banks that prioritize portability.

Does your next power accessory need a cute robot face built in? No. But don’t you want it to anyway?

Ugreen Uno

The Ugreen Uno adds cute to charging your devices. It’s a 10,000mAh power bank with Qi2 charging capabilities, providing a versatile charging solution. The Uno also features a TFT panel, displaying cute emojis while you charge. The charging plate also swivels upwards, giving you a charging stand, ideal for when you want to use your phone as a bedside clock.