Leica presents the television of the future

Asus is introducing the “Zenbook 17 Fold OLED” this year: A gigantic 17-inch display that can be used in all sorts of folding configurations thanks to the separate keyboard. A built-in Intel i7 in the energy-saving version powers the Windows 11 system, which, when folded, still has the associated keyboard in its middle.

Users have to decide whether this is really practical – there is no question that it is expensive: 3699 euros will be charged for the futuristic device from the fourth quarter of 2022.

This form factor is already known for Lenovo. At CES 2020, the company presented the first notebook with a foldable display, the “Thinkpad X1 Fold”. There’s a new edition this year that confusingly bears the same name. Overall, the device now has a larger display and has become flatter and more powerful. The new “Thinkpad X1 Fold” will be available from December and will then cost from 2499 euros.

At Panasonic, everything revolved around the topic of sustainability at the press conference. In addition to new TV sets, environmentally friendly heating and air conditioning units and the latest kitchen equipment, the Japanese group also presented a multifunctional device for body care: “MultiShape”.

This consists of a rechargeable battery handle that can be equipped with a wide variety of attachments: for cutting hair, trimming a beard, trimming eyebrows, but also for brushing teeth. This should save space in the luggage, especially when travelling.

The big advantage of the system: All attachments can be bought separately, only the battery handle is really required. If you only want a beard trimmer and an electric toothbrush, you can just get these attachments.

Apple has not yet introduced the iPhone 14, but there are accessories for the smartphone. Manufacturer SBS Mobile is showing its mobile phone cases at the IFA. Click here for the article.

The Ukrainian television manufacturer Kivi is daring to launch a Europe-wide market: Until now, the TVs from the company, which was founded in Ukraine in 2016, were only available in selected Eastern European countries such as Poland, Hungary and Romania, but now the company also wants to gain a foothold in Central and Western Europe.

To this end, it presented a number of new Smart TVs at this year’s IFA, which are primarily in the entry-level and mid-range range and are to be made available to a broad mass of customers.

With its TV sets, Kivi relies on a minimalist form factor, with the focus on the television experience. The loudspeakers installed in the televisions were developed in cooperation with the Japanese technology group JVC Kenwood.

Also special: With “Kivi TV”, the company wants to offer a media hub where customers can benefit from various functions directly upon publication, including various TV channels, games and a workout program.

TP Vision, the company that sells Philips brand TVs and soundbars, has unveiled new TVs and audio equipment at IFA. In the field of OLED TVs, Philips has a top-of-the-range model with the “OLED+937”, which is equipped with the in-house “P5 AI Intelligent Dual Engine” image processor.

New technology in the field of artificial intelligence ensures even better classification of the content shown on the screen and allows the television to adjust the image accordingly. At the same time, the built-in “Ambient Intelligence” sensor ensures that the right lighting mood is captured and reproduced by the built-in LEDs.

In addition, the manufacturer presented new sound products from the “Fidelio” series, which are intended to turn the television experience into an audiovisual highlight.

The device manufacturer Bosch presented the “Eyes Indoor Camera 2” at the IFA, a camera for smart home systems. According to Bosch, the indoor camera has intelligent motion detection that should be able to distinguish human movements from other movements.

When the camera detects potential intruders, a siren built into the camera goes off and can drive the criminals away.

With the Audio Plus function, the “Eyes indoor camera 2” uses artificial intelligence to “detect suspicious noises such as broken glass when windows are smashed or alarm sounds from non-smart smoke alarm devices,” says Bosch. The function should be able to be booked by buyers of the camera and costs extra.

Furthermore, the camera has a so-called privacy mode. With a tap of your finger on the camera housing or via an app, the camera head of the indoor camera can be lowered into the housing, after which no more pictures are taken.

The “Eyes indoor camera 2” is to be sold from the fourth quarter and costs 259.95 euros.

Household manufacturer Miele is bringing more artificial intelligence to its appliances. A technology called “Smart Food ID” uses a camera to automatically monitor the preparation of food in the oven.

“Smart Food ID” should continue to learn using photos of the meals, Miele reports. The system currently recognizes around 25 different dishes and even distinguishes between fresh and frozen pizza. The program is based on the degree of browning and, for example, stops the preparation of the pizza when it is crispy.

Influencers can use the images from the oven camera to share them on social networks such as Instagram. Miele calls the function “Picture Share”. The pictures can also be sent to friends and relatives.

Miele introduced “Smart Food ID” in Denmark and Great Britain last year as a test. From October, the application will be available free of charge in seven European countries, with Germany and other countries to follow in 2023.

Another function on his kitchen appliances is “CookAssist”. This is an app-based guide to frying and cooking with Miele induction hobs. These are equipped with temperature sensors. An algorithm uses the data to control the temperature of the hobs in order to deliver “good frying results”. This is to prevent food from burning.

Ever since Apple introduced the AirPods, the true wireless headphone segment has been booming. JBL has now added two innovations to the classic formula: a “smart case” with a display and the brand new wireless standard Bluetooth LE audio.

The display on the charging case of the “JBL Tour Pro 2” is used on the one hand to adjust the sound of the earphones – i.e. to switch to noise-cancelling mode, for example – and on the other hand it is an extension of the smartphone and allows calls to be answered and messages to be displayed and social media notifications. Could be practical – or superfluous, you have to try that.

The total of 40 hours of playback time is impressive – which is also likely to be due to the new Bluetooth standard. Because Bluetooth LE Audio should either be significantly more economical with comparable sound quality – or offer significantly more sound quality with comparable battery consumption. Here one has apparently decided, at least in part, for the term.

The new headphones will be available from January 2023 for around 250 euros.