AI, Eye Protection, and Modularity.

Berlin, Germany, 10:00 AM local time/4:00 PM Beijing time, September 6: The Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (IFA 2024) officially kicked off in Berlin, Germany.

As one of the only consumer electronics exhibitions in the second half of the year and one of the most important annual events in the global technology and durable consumer goods industries, IFA has a rich history spanning exactly one century since its inception in 1924. From its humble beginnings as a showcase for radio equipment, IFA has evolved into a bellwether of technological innovation and consumer trends, documenting technological advancements and driving the adoption of key technologies.

To stay ahead of the latest trends in the tech industry, Leitech's reporting team has flown to Berlin, Germany, to uncover the latest developments from various manufacturers.

(Image source: Leitech Photography)

Germany has a rich history as a powerhouse in home appliances, boasting top heavy industry brands like Siemens and Bosch. Despite IFA's name including "Consumer Electronics," the spotlight has always been on home appliances, focusing on new technologies in this sector. As the exhibition has grown in size, more and more consumer electronics brands have joined the fray, expanding beyond the traditional home appliance arena. This year, in addition to Lenovo launching a slew of new products at IFA to establish its dominance in AI PCs, Honor also stole the show as the "star of the exhibit," with CEO Zhao Ming personally attending to unveil several highly anticipated AI hardware innovations. IFA officials have also extended significant support to Honor.

Over the next few days, the Leitech on-site reporting team will bring you firsthand, immersive coverage. Join me now as we explore some of the intriguing new consumer electronics and digital products unveiled on the first day of IFA 2024.

More Consumer Electronics on Display, with Multiple New Products Competing for Attention

- Triple Threat of AI Hardware: Honor Magic V3, MagicPad2, and MagicBook Art 14

So, which products have made Honor the star of IFA 2024?

During Honor's global launch event for its new products at IFA yesterday afternoon, CEO Zhao Ming unveiled three major products: the Honor Magic V3, Honor MagicPad2, and Honor MagicBook Art 14.

Look, I was sitting right there in the audience.

(Image source: Leitech Photography)

While these products may be familiar to those in the domestic market, they remain outstanding nonetheless.

The Honor Magic V3 stands out as one of the slimmest and lightest foldable flagship phones on the market, packing a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen3 processor, a 5,150mAh battery, and 66W wired/50W wireless fast charging into a sleek 9.2mm-thick, 226g body. It also boasts Honor's prized Oasis Eye Protection Display technology and AI capabilities powered by Honor's self-developed end-side large model.

(Image source: Leitech Photography)

Beyond redefining perceptions of foldable phones, Honor aims to leverage the Magic V3 to further solidify its global market presence.

Also on display were the Honor MagicPad 2, featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen3 processor and a 12.3-inch OLED display, and the Honor MagicBook Art 14, which excels in portability. Both devices incorporate Honor's proprietary AI eye protection technology, marking Honor's commitment to creating a hardware ecosystem that seamlessly integrates hardware and AI to deliver tangible benefits to users.

(Image source: X)

Moreover, at today's exhibition, Honor CEO Zhao Ming unveiled the industry's first open ecosystem agent and announced that the next-generation flagship Magic7 series will be the first to integrate the HONOR AI Agent. Unlike traditional step-by-step phone operations, the HONOR AI Agent understands on-screen content and performs multiple steps required to achieve a specific goal.

In other words, this makes the latest Magic series flagship phones the industry's first truly intelligent AI phones.

- Overlooked Players: TCL 50 NxtPaper / 50 Pro NxtPaper 5G

When it comes to eye protection, TCL also has something to say.

Join me at the TCL booth, where TCL unveiled two new NxtPaper phones at the exhibition: the TCL 50 Pro NxtPaper 5G, available for sale in Europe and the Americas, and the TCL 50 NxtPaper 5G, exclusively available in the EU market.

(Image source: X)

Unlike Honor, TCL focused on the screen, equipping both phones with the latest NxtPaper 3.0 display technology. Leveraging TCL's Circularly Polarized Light (CPL) screen technology, which mimics natural light emission, reflection, and refraction, the screens appear paper-like, while the matte finish suppresses diffuse reflection to reduce eye strain.

(Image source: X)

Interestingly, TCL has even added a slider button below the power button, allowing users to switch between Normal, Color Paper, and Max Ink modes with a single tap.

Overseas users seeking portable e-readers will surely appreciate this feature.

(Image source: TCL)

In collaboration with Microsoft, both devices offer a suite of AI features powered by Azure AI, including a writing assistant that summarizes text quickly and a translation assistant that translates selected text into multiple languages. However, their core specifications are somewhat mediocre, including a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor, a 5,010mAh battery, 33W wired fast charging, and a 108MP main camera, with slight differences only in the front camera configuration.

The TCL 50 Pro NxtPaper 5G retails for 299 euros (approximately RMB 2,353), while the TCL 50 NxtPaper 5G costs 229 euros (approximately RMB 1,802).

- A Consistently Unique Presence: HMD Fusion

After parting ways with Nokia's brand license, HMD Global has regrouped and returned to IFA this year.

In addition to the rebranded Nokia devices on display, HMD also showcased the all-new modular smartphone, HMD Fusion, along with its "Fusion outfits" modular solution.

(Image source: HMD)

In terms of specifications, details like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen2 processor and 720p 90Hz display may not be top priorities for many.

However, the most intriguing aspect of this device lies in its Smart Pin on the back.

(Image source: X)

According to the official announcement, users can connect various accessories to the device through the Smart Pin on the back, such as a wireless charging cover module and a ring light module controllable via the phone. Users can even print their own designs using the open-source HMD Fusion development kit.

Regarding practicality, I hesitate to make a definitive judgment. The history of mobile phones has repeatedly proven the unreliability of modular designs and the limitations posed by limited accessory options. Whether the open-source HMD Fusion development kit can address these issues remains to be seen.

Nevertheless, in terms of sheer fun factor, I'd give it a solid four and a half stars.

- Established Brands Striving for Innovation: Acer Iconia X12

Finally, follow me to the Acer booth.

While Acer may not be as well-known to some, the company has consistently been involved in the digital product business. At IFA 2024, Acer unveiled the Acer Iconia X12 Android tablet, a 12.6-inch large-screen tablet designed for movie watching.

(Image source: X)

Upon handling the device, I found the Acer Iconia X12's build quality to be average, despite its all-metal body lacking a particularly refined design aesthetic.

However, the tablet's main selling point is straightforward: its 12.6-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2.5K WQXGA (2560x1600) and a brightness of 400 nits, delivering vibrant visuals during my on-site demonstration. Unfortunately, the refresh rate is relatively low at 60Hz.

In addition to movie watching, Acer claims that the device can enhance creativity and productivity, hence the bundled aluminum stylus and Bluetooth keyboard. However, the lack of magnetic attraction for accessories gives the accessories a somewhat cheap appearance.

(Image source: X)

The tablet's processor choice is particularly intriguing. Acer has equipped the Iconia X12 with the MediaTek Helio G99, an entry-level processor consisting of two 2.2GHz A76 cores, six 2.0 GHz A55 cores, and a Mali-G57 MP2 GPU.

In the domestic market, tablets with this processor often retail for under RMB 1,000, making the Acer Iconia X12's price tag of 369 euros (approximately RMB 2,905) somewhat surprising.

It's fair to say that overseas digital enthusiasts are facing some challenges.

IFA Consumer Electronics Trends: AI, Eye Protection, and Modularity

Indeed, three trends are evident among the new products showcased on the first day of IFA 2024.

Firstly, there's the ubiquitous presence of AI functionality.

In addition to Honor's three new AI-focused products launched domestically, TCL's phones unveiled overseas also feature AI capabilities through collaboration with Microsoft Azure AI. Rumors even suggest that Qualcomm plans to bring AI capabilities to entry-level and mid-range devices from HMD or Transsion through partnerships.

(Image source: Leitech Photography)

As AI becomes more prevalent, features like AI removal, AI dialogue, AI wallpapers, and AI text-to-image generation are becoming increasingly common. The frequency of these features in daily life has sparked heated discussions. Manufacturers are encouraged to provide AI technologies that offer tangible benefits to users, akin to Honor's AI eye protection technology.

Perhaps it's more crucial to use AI to enhance phone usability rather than simply integrating it into devices.

Secondly, there's a universal emphasis on eye protection.

Most digital products showcased at IFA 2024 incorporate some form of eye protection. While budget-friendly HMD devices aside, TCL's NxtPaper technology may be the most advanced screen hardware solution for eye protection. Honor, on the other hand, aims to provide comprehensive eye protection by combining its custom "Oasis Eye Protection Display" with AI eye protection technology.

(Image source: Leitech On-site Photography)

Unlike the past, when Samsung screens were blindly adored, domestic smartphone screens have made significant progress in quality, specifications, and functionality. New dimming solutions, such as 360Hz triple-pulse DC, 120 single-pulse DC, and full-range high-frequency PWM dimming, are continually emerging. None of these solutions currently dominates the market, leaving room for improvement and competition.

I'm confident in saying that the best screens are yet to come, and manufacturers still have work to do in finding the ultimate eye protection solution.

Thirdly, modularity has made an unexpected comeback.

From detachable cameras to daily side-mounted modules that can be installed for use and support both front and rear photography, Honor's MagicBook Art creatively achieves a true full-screen design on PCs through modularity.

(Image source: Lei technology on-site filming)

The exhibition of HMD Fusion also evoked a little memory of Xiao Lei about the ancient mobile phone Moto Z. At that time, there were many amazing modules, such as the speaker mode provided by JBL, the camera module provided by Hasselblad, and the professional camera lens adapter module. They are still impressive today.

(Image source: Nothing)

Interestingly, less than two months before IFA 2024, Nothing, an overseas mobile phone company founded by former OnePlus CFO Pei Yu, also launched a light modular phone - CMF Phone1, which can connect various modular accessories such as its own produced back covers, brackets, and lanyards through the universal threaded port "Nothing Lock". We also produced the first evaluation of this machine. If you are interested, you may as well take a look.

Of course, with previous experience as a lesson, in order to avoid encountering insufficient modular accessories again, both HMD and Nothing have open-sourced their own module design schemes. The only problem now is that neither of these two manufacturers' products are very popular in the world, and their shipments are average. Whether they can support a modular ecosystem is still unknown.

The world needs more technological innovation, and Chinese brands are indispensable

On this day at IFA, Xiao Lei felt that there were not many consumer electronics manufacturers, but not many new digital products. The entire exhibition was more like a trade fair. From this perspective, brands like Honor are still very "smart": launching innovative new products at IFA can gain a lot of popularity, and then more efficiently and intensively influence consumers in Europe and even overseas markets.

In recent years, domestic manufacturers have been making waves in going overseas. Xiaomi has made all-out efforts in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Latin America, while Honor has focused on the European market, and OPPO has also performed prominently in the Asia-Pacific region. In an exclusive interview with Lei technology and other media in Berlin, Zhao Ming also pointed out that Europe is Honor's "second local market", and Honor has paid more and more attention to IFA since 2022 because it can communicate more efficiently with local consumers/industries/media through IFA.

Whether in home appliances or consumer electronics industry, IFA, CES, MWC, and AWE have become several major technology exhibitions that Chinese technology enterprises cannot bypass. More and more brands launch new products at these exhibitions to drive sales and "show off their muscles" to enhance their image. Xiao Lei looks forward to more Chinese consumer electronics brands strengthening their presence on the global stage in the future.

IFA 2024 will run from September 6 to 10 local time. Please join Lei technology in Berlin to discover more surprises brought by technology~

IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin) 2024 grandly opens from September 6 to 10. Lenovo, Honor, TCL, Hisense, Changhong, Longsys, TimeKettle, NARWAL, Dreame, XGIMI, DBOX, Baseus, UGREEN, Insta360, DJI, Leifen, and other Chinese technology giants gathered in Berlin and are about to release new products on the world stage. The Lei technology IFA 2024 reporting team went to the scene to explore the exhibition and conducted full-process tracking reports. Please stay tuned.