CNET’s Best of IFA 2026: The Most Exciting Tech We’ve Seen

We were able to see and get our hands on a wide range of exciting technologies at IFA 2026. After an opening ceremony highlighting the next generation of wearables, robots and AI, we stepped into this vision of the future at the show. More importantly, most of the technologies unveiled at the show, from ShowStoppers to the showfloor, are real products already available or coming soon. Among the top products showcased at IFA 2026 are XGIMI’s ultra-short throw projector, Xiaomi’s highly anticipated foldable phone, and Agibot’s humanoid robot capable of writing.

These products were selected from everything we saw at the show, but they are also just a small part of a larger event bringing together more than 2,000 exhibitors from around the world, each with specific features and use cases. IFA is a massive event with a little bit of everything, from smartphone gadgets – including Anker’s all-new line of chargers and desktop hubs – to smart home appliances focused on the European market, drones, TVs and much more.

This is BGR’s pick of the best of IFA 2026. We highlight the most exciting humanoid robots, phones, robot vacuums, glasses and projectors we’ve seen, including a few honorable mentions that made the 102nd edition of IFA one of the most intriguing trade shows in recent years.

Agibot is currently one of the largest manufacturers of humanoid robots in the industry. In June 2026, the company produced its 15,000th robot. At the time, Agibot had built more than 3,500 A-series robots, nearly 7,000 X1 models, and more than 4,700 G1 robots. With its latest A3 robot, Agibot has been able to achieve a new level of precision, since the robot now masters Chinese calligraphy.

This advancement is thanks to the company’s OmniHand 3 Ultra-M hand, which offers 20 active degrees of freedom with fully direct actuation. According to the company, this hand can hold up to 5 kilograms of weight and can open or close the hand in 0.3 seconds with high precision. Using sensors on his fingertips, he can easily detect changes in an object’s position, the amount of pressure he should use, and what’s in front of him – all important tools that have made Chinese calligraphy a reality.

This robot is 1.74 meters tall and weighs 60 kg (~132 pounds). In total, it has 51 active degrees of freedom and includes some of the latest technologies in humanoid robots, such as 3D LiDAR, RGB-D cameras, fisheye cameras and binocular vision, as well as GPS, RTK and UWB positioning. The robot also uses NVIDIA’s Jetson Thor platform for AI processing. Although calligraphy is the highlight, Agibot also claims that more than 100 robots can be coordinated at the same time to complete a task thanks to the ultra-wideband chip, making this robot ideal for factory work, coordinated presentations and much more. We also listed it among our best humanoid robots of IFA 2026.

A few years ago, BGR traveled to China to check out an upcoming line of projectors from XGIMI. At the time, we were impressed with the first iteration of the Aura Ultra Short Throw (UST) projector, as it looked sharp and clear, even with some ambient light in the room. Over the years (and trade shows), XGIMI has showcased its new offerings in darker environments to demonstrate image quality – as a projector company would – but at IFA 2026, something changed. At its booth and at ShowStoppers, XGIMI had little to no protection from direct light, and yet the new Aura 3 Max delivered a very sharp and bright image.

Even though a projector can’t do much yet, seeing it in person was impressive. With a brightness rating of 5,700 ISO lumens, XGIMI can deliver a 120-inch image while sitting just eight inches from the wall. For the first time, a UST projector also offers true 4K at 120Hz, as the company focuses not only on an exceptional picture for movies and TV shows, but also for gamers to enjoy their favorite titles on a very large screen.

This is all possible thanks to the company’s Dynamic Dual Iris technology, which optically controls apertures to regulate light, improve blacks and increase contrast. This projector will launch on Kickstarter next month, with an early bird price of $2,399 for the high-end model.

Kept under wraps for most of IFA 2026, we were one of the few publications to get hands-on with the Xiaomi 18 Fold, the company’s first passport-style foldable device. With over 380 products on display at the show, the one Xiaomi device we all wanted to use was behind thick glass. From our hands-on experience, we have not been informed about the specifications, other than the fact that Xiaomi uses a high-end proprietary chip and the phone has a triple-lens camera module.

Although using the phone with the outer display feels a bit odd due to its small form factor, the unfolded device resembles an iPad mini, which can be used in landscape or portrait orientation. When the phone was in landscape mode, the way everything was displayed made it look like I had two full-sized smartphone screens to use, while in portrait mode it felt like I had a tablet.

Since this form factor has been all the rage since the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and is the expected design of Apple’s first foldable phone, there was no other smartphone at IFA that could beat the hype of Xiaomi’s 18 Fold. Although I still have doubts about the black bars when watching videos on social media or typing text, this device has now been officially unveiled in China, we now know a lot more about the Xiaomi 18 Fold after using it ourselves. It truly is the year of passport-style foldable phones, but will this trend last?

IFA 2026 still offers many robot vacuum cleaners. Highlights include Roborock’s expanded Saros 20 line with a suitable roller mop, the Eufy robot vacuum (Anker) with certification to protect people with asthma and other health conditions, and then there’s Dreame. With its new Aqua20 Pro Ultra Roller

According to the company, this intense heat can soften and dissolve greasy residue before the roller mop even comes into contact with the floor, ensuring that the mop doesn’t get dirty and the robot doesn’t need to clean the same space multiple times. Dreame promises 18N of down pressure at 300rpm to tackle tough messes and promotes a near-perfect bacteria killing score.

This robot vacuum cleaner features powerful 40,000Pa suction, a dual detangling roller system, and a ProLeap threshold climbing mechanism that is claimed to overcome obstacles up to 10cm high. Another highlight of the product is how Dreame says it transitions from hard flooring to rugs or carpets. After all, even though the robot needs pressure to clean hard floors, a wet carpet would be a nightmare. For now, Dreame is selling this robot vacuum in Europe for €1,499 (around $1,750).

Just like last year, IFA 2026 was full of smart glasses. While some companies were doubling down on their efforts for 2025, others, like XREAL, were officially presenting their vision for the future at the trade show. While XREAL is no stranger to BGR (we’ve reviewed its One Pro headset), several features set the Aura glasses, which haven’t launched yet, apart. For example, this is the first time that a brand has partnered with Google for this type of mixed reality wearable, and it runs on Android XR, Google’s visionOS-type software.

With hand gestures in the air, I was able to control the glasses interface, navigate an immersive Google Maps experience, and even ask Gemini for help on a Steam Deck game. With a massive screen in front of my eyes – as the XREAL Aura features dual Micro-OLED displays with 1920 x 1200 resolution and 120Hz refresh rates – I could see why the company suggested these glasses could be ideal for gaming, media consumption, and productivity.

For example, users can connect devices to the headset pad and mirror the display of those devices seamlessly. Plus, a fun innovation from XREAL Aura is that the battery also doubles as a mouse, so users only need a keyboard to use the glasses like a computer. Although eye fatigue hit me after 20 minutes of use, these glasses have a lot of potential, and customers will be able to use them when they launch this fall.