This week on The Wrap, what did IFA reveal? We’ll learn about expensive TVs as big as a wall, laser projection from Leica, and LG’s bendy screens, plus new gear from Sennheiser, Lenovo, Withings, and a new pair of earphones from Jabra reviewed, all in five minutes.
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It’s the beginning of September and you’re listening to The Wrap, Australia’s fastest technology roundup, and a hop skip and a jump away from the launch of the next iPhone, you can probably guess what the next show is going to be all about.
If you answered “Apple gadgets”, you’d be right, but before that stuff rocks up, there’s stuff from another event that just finished: IFA in Germany.
For those not aware, IFA is Europe’s answer to CES, only that it happens in the middle of the year, and is often focused on luxury gear such as big TVs and crazy new sound gear.
And this year, that’s exactly what happened, though foldables joined them as well.
So let’s start with the screens, because between LG and Samsung talking up gaming monitors in the days before, there was still stuff to talk about afterwards.
Take TVs, with Samsung using the show to say that it’ll be launching micro LED TVs in Australia, bringing what is basically a technology that turns your TV into a wall to cashed up buyers in Australia.
And when we say cashed up, we mean it. Samsung hasn’t given Australian prices for its modular micro LED concept, but its smallest size is said to cost eighty grand in the US for an 89 inch model, and there’s a 292 inch variant capable of hitting up to 7.4 metres diagonally that we can only assume will be very, very, very, very very very expensive. Yikes.
Also in the realm of expensive is another screen of sorts, as Leica enters laser TV. That’s not a TV made with lasers, but rather a laser projector aimed at either an 80 or 100 inch screen.
Leica collaborated with Hisense for its Cine 1 laser TV, and there’s support for Dolby Atmos and a Leica lens for clarity, but there’s also no price. We expect it won’t be cheap, even if it may not be as expensive as that massive micro LED screen.
And there’s one other massive conceptual screen on the way, this time form LG, as the company shows off a flexible bending OLED TV. That’s alongside the 97 inch OLED screen it has for luxury buyers, but the LG Flex is a little different. Press a button and you’ll be able to change the curve of the screen, be it for work or games or even movies, changing a 42 inch display to be curved at one of 20 different levels.
Like most things IFA, there’s no word on price, but that wasn’t the only bendy thing at the show.
Both Asus and Lenovo talked up foldable computers, the former with a 17 inch foldable OLED computer, while the latter – Lenovo – had a 16 inch computer that folded into a 12 inch to be more portable.
Lenovo’s X1 Fold grabs our attention for more than just its compact size, but also because it’s apparently easy to maintain, something laptops don’t often have these days, making it an interesting choice that could go the distance.
Something else in our homes tends to go the distance, and that’s great quality sound. Great speakers tend to do that, and there may be a few of those on the way courtesy of IFA.
Sennheiser has a new variation of its Atmos spatial soundbar on the way coming in the Ambeo Plus. It’s different from the roughly four thousand dollar Ambeo soundbar from a few years ago, and it’ll cost closer to half.
At twenty-four hundred dollars locally, the Ambeo Plus will offer Atmos and other forms of spatial audio in a 7.1.4 soundbar, which is something of a world first in a soundbar, complete with self calibration to match your room.
There’s also an optional Ambeo Sub on the way, set to cost a little over thousand dollars for a bassy extra that can reportedly be paired with up to three more subs.
LG has a fridge with speakers on the way, as well, but that’s not even the special feature. LG’s MoodUp fridge is a Bluetooth speaker in a fridge, and it comes with colour-changing LED panels, so you can make the fridge stand out in your home, almost like a piece of art. Kinda sorta.
There were other gadgets, as well, including a scale from Withings that can make an assessment about the fat in your body, while Kobo has built an eco-friendly eReader. There are lots of things happening, and lots of things on the way. Lots of personal tech.
And in the world of personal tech, there were earphones launched at the show, including a pair ready for release that we’ve reviewed.
Like last week’s Pixel Buds Pro, Jabra is ready with a pair of truly wireless earphones with active noise cancellation. Unlike Google’s earphones, these are inexpensive.
The Jabra Elite 5 bring noise cancelling tech, wireless charging, water resistance, and a solid 28 hours of battery life seven of which are in the earphones.
They could do with a little bit more bass, but at a little over two hundred dollars locally, Jabra’s Elite 5 hit a solid balance of quality and value, and are easily recommended.
Mind you, we’re expecting new AirPods any moment now, so there’s more to come.
For now, you’ve been listening to The Wrap, Australia’s fastest technology roundup. A new episode can be found each week at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get podcasts from. For now, have a great week, and we’ll see you next time on The Wrap. Stay safe, stay sane, and take care.
