Best of IFA 2023 Awards: All the very best products

Every year, the tech world takes over Berlin for the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin, more commonly known as IFA. This enormous trade convention sees all manners of tech debut, some of which are on the bleeding edge. The show has something for everyone, from new Android smartphones to smartwatches to smart homes and beyond.

As always, Android Authority was on the ground, hunting for the best new products we could find. Below, we’ve assembled our Best of IFA 2023 Awards winners!

Best of IFA 2023: Smartphones

Unfortunately, there weren’t too many smartphones launched at IFA 2023. Thankfully, there were two that blew us away for very different reasons. The best smartphones from IFA 2023 are:

Fairphone 5

Fairphone is a company focused on creating sustainable and ethically produced tech. The Fairphone 5 is its fifth-generation smartphone — and its best yet. Like previous Fairphones, this model offers complete repairability, meaning you can take the whole thing apart and replace/update individual components whenever necessary.

This repairability is important because Fairphone hopes to keep the Fairphone 5’s software updated for the next ten years. This is the best update commitment in the Android world, even better than Samsung’s. Over those ten years, you can replace the battery, the display, the ports, and even each camera lens. What’s more is that you don’t need any special tools or expertise, just one 00 screwdriver.

Even when you look beyond the repairability and update commitment, the Fairphone 5 is a terrific phone. It has a 90Hz display refresh rate, an excellent 50MP primary camera, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and the ever-rarer microSD card slot to expand that storage by up to 2TB.

The Fairphone 5 is available to pre-order now for €699 (~$755). It is available only in Europe at the moment, but a “de-Googled” version will come to the United States eventually at an undisclosed price.

HONOR V Purse

This was, by far, the most unexpected smartphone at IFA 2023. The HONOR V Purse is the kind of risk-taking phone we love to see at Android Authority. It might seem silly, but at least it’s different.

As its name suggests, the V Purse is a phone that kind of resembles a clutch purse. It has a small band that extends from the sides and is adorned with various trinkets. This allows you to carry the phone by the strap or dangle it from your wrist (if you have a small enough wrist, that is).

The device itself is a foldable phone, which lines up with the purse motif. However, it’s more like the HUAWEI Mate X than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 in that its foldable display is on the outside, not the inside. This prevents it from needing a separate display for the outside, which creates a much more seamless experience. We wish more foldables worked this way!

The HONOR V Purse is just a concept phone, so it will not be for sale now or likely ever. While it might not be for everyone, we applaud HONOR for pushing the boundaries of what a smartphone can be.

Best of IFA 2023: Wearables and hearables

At IFA 2023, there was no shortage of devices you wear on your wrist, in your ears, or put elsewhere on your body. We mostly focus on smartwatches and true wireless earbuds here at Android Authority, so our picks center on those categories.

Withings ScanWatch 2

Withings creates some of our favorite health-focused products. The ScanWatch series, in particular, is popular on our team for its classic style, including physical hands to show you the time.

The Withings ScanWatch 2 is the latest and greatest in the hybrid smartwatch realm and is nearly perfect. It has a timeless look to it, so much so that most people won’t even know you’re wearing a smartwatch.

It is a smartwatch, though, and has all the features you require for notifications, health tracking, etc. Health tracking, in particular, is an area in which the ScanWatch 2 excels. On top of the usual heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, SpO2 tracking, etc., it also has ECG support in the US and a full suite of tracking tools for women’s health.

Because it’s not a touch display smartwatch, it boasts up to 30-day battery life, depending on your usage. If you need a watch that barely ever needs to get on a charger, this is a terrific option.

The Withings ScanWatch 2 costs $349 / €349. You can buy it now from Withings, with shipments beginning in a few weeks.

JBL Soundgear Sense

Let’s face it: most true wireless earbuds are just subtle (or even not-so-subtle) riffs on Apple’s AirPods. The JBL Soundgear Sense, though, buck the trend and look positively unique on the market.

The most interesting aspect of the Soundgear Sense is their open-ear design. This means they don’t cover your ear canals at all, allowing you to naturally hear your music and the outside world at the same time. The only other major headphones we’ve seen like this were the Sony LinkBuds, so it’s great to see some new competition.

Since these are JBL earbuds, they obviously sound great. Even with the open-ear design, there’s plenty of booming bass thanks to a bass-enhancing algorithm. The 16.2mm drivers help with this as well. You also have full access to the JBL Headphones app, which gives you precise control over settings and EQ. They are also IP54-rated, making them perfect for workouts.

The JBL Soundgear Sense are available in Europe now for €149 and will come to the US soon for $149.

Best of IFA 2023: Gaming and apps

Gaming was a much bigger category this year as compared to previous IFA events. One device was all anyone talked about, though. Additionally, we wouldn’t normally give a Best of IFA Award to an app, but this one is particularly exceptional.

Lenovo Legion Go

Ever since the Steam Deck landed, the gaming handheld space has exploded with imitators. But there’s a new king of gaming handhelds in the Lenovo Legion Go, which currently has the best specs of any device in this category.

The Legion Go beats the Steam Deck in nearly every way, with a bigger, faster, and higher-resolution display, a more powerful processor, removable controllers, and a bigger battery. Players can also do things with the Legion Go that they simply can’t with the Steam Deck, such as use one of the detached controllers as a mouse for FPS accuracy.

Of course, Valve’s trump card is its Linux-based software, which is what keeps the Steam Deck a favorite for gamers. Lenovo has big ambitions, though, with the included Legion Space application giving you all the controls you could want over launching games, customizing them, and enhancing your gaming experience. Hopefully, as time goes on, it will be able to keep Windows 11 from bogging things down, which is an issue we’ve seen on other Windows-based handhelds.

The Lenovo Legion Go starts at $699 and will hit store shelves in October 2023. Pre-orders will likely start earlier than that, though.

Samsung Food

Back in 2019, Samsung bought an app called Whisk. The Whisk app helps you meal plan and find recipes. At IFA 2023, Samsung announced that it was officially rebranding the Whisk app as Samsung Food and beefing up the AI powers of the service.

The app — which is free and does not require the use of a Samsung phone — is as fun to use as it is useful. One of its star features is a recipe finder that works with the ingredients you already have in the house. You can also lift recipes from anywhere on the web and automatically generate shopping lists.

Check out the Samsung Food app on the Google Play Store.

Best of IFA 2023: Smart home and home theater

Devices you take with you when on the go are great, but what about the tech inside your home? We saw some truly exceptional smart home and home theater products at IFA 2023, and here are our favorites.

SwitchBot S10

The robot vacuum category is positively crowded with brands. Unfortunately, most of them do the same things: the vacuum moves around your house sucking up dust and mopping your floors until it returns to a dock.

The SwitchBot S10, however, is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. It has multiple docks you can put in different parts of your home, and each one eliminates a task you would need to perform manually. One dock connects to your water mains, allowing the S10 to automatically empty the dirty water in its mop reservoir and then fill it with clean water. You just need to connect the dock to your pipes in the bathroom or kitchen using the included adapters. This dock doesn’t even need power to work!

Another dock empties the dust from the S10’s bin, and yet another optional dock takes clean water from the vacuum and acts as a room humidifier. With all these tools, the only thing you need to do to maintain your robot vacuum is empty the dust dock occasionally. Everything else is fully automated.

As usual, the SwitchBot S10 will start on Kickstarter. The campaign will run from October 13 to December 13, with shipments beginning in 2024.

TCL Tutti Choral Speakers with Dolby Atmos FlexConnect

If you would love a full surround sound system in your home but don’t want to go through the hassle of setting it up, have we got a product for you. The TCL Tutti Choral Speaker set uses a new technology to automatically configure your surround sound experience no matter where you put the speakers.

First, put the two wireless Tutti Choral speakers anywhere in the same room as your TV. Start up the application — powered by the new Dolby Atmos FlexConnect service — and the speakers will “find” one another as well as the TV itself. Dolby’s algorithm will process all this info and create a listening experience that uses the two speakers and the TV speakers to create full surround sound. When we saw this in action, the whole process took less than 13 seconds.

Once you do this, you can move the speakers around as much as you like. You just need to repeat the steps anytime you change a speaker’s location.

The TCL Tutti Choral Speakers don’t have a price or a release date yet, but TCL hopes to have them out for the 2023 holiday shopping season.

Xgimi Horizon Ultra

Xgimi is well-known for creating high-quality projectors. The new Horizon Ultra is a flagship product with all the expected features: 4K support, Dolby Vision, a terrific brightness of 2,300 ISO lumens, and 12W Harman Kardon speakers.

It also uses Dual-Light technology, combining LED and laser light to offer incredibly accurate colors.

For you minimalists out there, the projector also has a built-in case that hides the lens away when not in use. This keeps it safe but also makes it discreet when you’re not actively watching a film.

The Xgimi Horizon Ultra costs €1,899 (~$2,050) and is available to pre-order now. Shipping begins on September 15.

Eve Play

The Eve Play solves a problem iPhone and iPad users with home theater systems probably have. That problem is an inability to wirelessly play music from your Apple devices on that home theater system. With the Eve Play, this becomes incredibly simple.

All you need to do is connect the Eve Play to one of your receiver’s inputs, whether using an optical cable, traditional RCA cables, or a coaxial cable. Connect the Eve Play to the internet using Wi-Fi or Ethernet, and that’s it: now you can use AirPlay to push your music from the iPhone to your receiver in seconds.

In other words, if your receiver doesn’t support AirPlay, it can with this device attached to it. Sometimes, the best products are the simplest!

The Eve Play is $149.95 / €149.95 and starts shipping on November 14, 2023. You can get it from Eve’s website.

Best of IFA 2023: Mobility and accessories

Our final category covers devices that either help you move or make your existing devices better.

Anker MagGo

Anker makes some of our favorite wireless chargers and charging accessories. At IFA 2023, the company rolled out updated versions of its MagGo series. Most notably, they all support the Qi2 standard. This will allow for faster wireless charging and future-proof them for when Android manufacturers start releasing phones with the technology (likely in 2024).

Our favorite device was the Anker MagGo Power Bank, which has a 10,000mAh battery built-in. The included kickstand allows you to charge your phone at up to 15W flat on a table or suspended magnetically in landscape or portrait orientations. It also has a display to let you know the remaining charge and other info.

The new Qi2-powered MagGo products will roll out starting in October 2023.

DeLorean Alpha Mini

When it comes right down to it, who wouldn’t want an electric go-kart branded by DeLorean — yes, the same DeLorean from the Back to the Future films? We certainly would, and after testing one out at IFA 2023, we think kids of all ages (and adult kids-at-heart) would have a blast zipping around in this thing.

Because it’s electric, the DeLorean Alpha Mini is basically silent. However, it has speakers that blast revving sounds and tire screeches at you, so you feel like you’re in a traditional go-kart.

DeLorean didn’t have a firm price or release date for us but said the go-kart would be available in the US for the 2023 holiday shopping season and cost around $1,500.

That’s everything we loved from IFA 2023. What was your favorite product? Let us know in the comments!