The IFA 2026 tech event has begun, and these are the coolest devices we’ve spotted at the expo.
Anna Gragert
After nearly a week roaming the halls of IFA 2026, CNET staffers have seen a lot: some genuinely useful, some wonderfully strange. That includes a dishwasher and toothbrush equipped with cameras, Dyson’s largest air purifier and a speaker designed to soothe you to sleep. Together, they offer a glimpse at how tech companies think we’ll live, breathe, clean, sleep, work and play next.
Now that the show is wrapping up, we’ve sorted through everything we saw to pick the standouts. Here’s the best tech we spotted at IFA 2026.
An all-seeing dishwasher
Miele’s new Diamond G8 dishwasher has an AI-powered internal camera that scans your dishes and decides how to wash them so it doesn’t miss a single spot. Though Home and Kitchen Managing Editor David Watsky, who saw the dishwasher in person, was skeptical about this feature, he was left impressed.
But the Diamond G8’s scrubbing smarts don’t stop there. If you want the Diamond G8 to run only when electricity is most affordable, it can do that, too, waiting for the hours when power costs less.
Note-taking earbuds
Going beyond its AI note-taking wearable pin and credit card-like device that you can attach to your phone, Plaud launched the Plaud One earbuds to capture and transcribe your conversations and calls. You can even talk to Plaud’s AI by saying, “Hey Plaud,” and then ask it your questions or give it directives.
“We’d always recommend informing people that you’re using a recording device, and it’s important to note that recording phone calls without permission from all participants can be illegal in some states,” principal writer Katie Collins wrote when covering the Plaud One announcement.
A robot vacuum that seals itself to carpet
While robot vacuums are great for taking the effort out of keeping your floors clean, CNET’s testing has found that they don’t offer the same suction power as traditional vacuums. iRobot aims to improve on that with its new Roomba Max 875 Combo, which uses SealForce technology to seal itself to carpet and better suction up spots that need extra cleaning.
In a video call with Home and Robotics Editor Ajay Kumar prior to IFA 2026, Adam Pope, vice president and chief engineer at iRobot, said SealForce is like pressing harder with a traditional vacuum to thoroughly clean a specific patch of carpet, but in a robot vacuum format.
A smart ring puts contactless payments at your fingertips
In addition to having the health-tracking capabilities we expect of smart rings, Circular has added contactless payments, a feature typically found on smartwatches and smartphones, to its new subscription-free Ring 3 Pro and Ring 3 Slim. When covering the launch, principal writer Vanessa Hand Orellana wrote that the company also gave both rings haptic vibration alerts, a feature previously available on its first Circular Ring, along with advanced sleep metrics, glucose trend estimates and access to its AI health coach.
A laptop built to be repaired
With its new fourth-generation Vero 16, Acer brings the “right to repair” conversation into focus, as CNET writer Tyler Graham explained that the modular laptop is designed to let users easily upgrade its components themselves. There’s even a repair guide engraved on it to help with these swaps.
The Vero 16 didn’t come alone, as it was announced alongside Acer’s compact 14-inch Swift Blade 14 and sleek 16-inch Swift Air 16.
A speaker that lulls you to sleep
Alongside its Sleep Earbuds 4 and Sleep Earbuds 4 Pro with a touchscreen case, Anker introduced the SleepLab Pro speaker, which uses radar to track your sleep, breathing and heart rate, then customizes its audio to help you drift off to dreamland and stay there. “It looks like a thoughtfully designed piece of kit that I know I’d be happy to have on my bedside table,” Collins wrote when describing the device. It also triples as a sunrise alarm clock and a nightlight that glows in a range of shades.
A non-Pro SleepLab has the same features, minus radar sleep tracking.
Dyson’s largest air purifier
The new Dyson HushJet Big+Quiet Cool Pure+Formaldehyde (try to say that five times fast) was designed to purify multiple rooms using the company’s most powerful processor. As Kumar put it, it looks like a Dune sandworm with its nozzle head that can be rotated and tilted. While operating quietly, the purifier can capture 99.99% of pollutants down to 0.01 microns for a breath of fresh air.
Lenovo’s first rollable work laptop
Lenovo’s Project Swan concept is a laptop that expands horizontally at the touch of a button, transforming its display from 14 to 17 inches. But unlike the Legion Pro Rollable Graham spotted at CES 2026, this isn’t a gaming laptop – it’s for work. Perfect for work trips when you want a more compact 14-inch display for travel, but a 17-inch for getting the job done (or watching movies during your downtime).
Dyson’s first toothbrush
Dubbed the CameraJet, Dyson’s first toothbrush has a built-in, AI-powered camera that detects gaps between your teeth within 100 milliseconds so that it can floss while you brush. To do so, the brush has an anti-gravity tank that its charging dock fills with mouthrinse, which its jet uses to floss.
You can even use the CameraJet’s camera as an endoscope to see your teeth in the app, where brushing and flossing insights, coverage maps and guided cleaning are also available. However, this high-tech toothbrush comes at a cost: $500.
An Instant Pot-like feeder for cats
Pet care and home cleaning company Neakasa showed off its Riko smart wet food maker, which Watsky described as an Instant Pot for cats. All you have to do is add water to Riko’s reservoir and freeze-dried food, so refrigeration isn’t required. On demand or when feeding time is scheduled in the app, the device will prepare your feline’s feast by rehydrating and mixing the cat food. Bon appetit!
A smart radiator valve
Home Security and Smart Home Senior Editor Tyler Lacoma has been waiting for a smart thermostat that isn’t just for forced air heating and cooling, and smart home company Sonoff displayed exactly that at IFA. The TRV Smart Thermostatic Radiator Valve provides three temperature scheduling plans and frost protection and anti-calcification reminders. It even connects to window sensors to prevent energy waste. Just screw it onto your radiator’s valve pipe and let it take care of the rest.
A Roomba that carries another Roomba
Apparently, one Roomba is no longer enough. The Roomba Duo is a concept floor-cleaning system consisting of a large robot that vacuums and steam-mops open areas and a smaller Roomba that rides on top of it. When the Duo encounters furniture or another space it can’t squeeze beneath, a mechanical arm lowers the little robot to the floor and sends it in.
The two robots share a map and coordinate their cleaning through the Roomba app, while the larger unit also carries clean and dirty water tanks, a dust bag and enough hardware to function as its own mobile dock. It’s ambitious and ridiculous-looking, but honestly, it’s exactly the sort of thing we come to IFA to see. Because it remains a concept, iRobot hasn’t announced a price or release date.
IFA runs from Sept. 4 to Sept. 8. We’ll continue updating this list as we see the best that the tech event has to offer.
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