Friday, September 11, 2020
IFA brings out impressive products, but one of the best parts about the show is its variety of announcements. There are phones, tablets, home devices, laptops, wearables of all kinds, and so much more. Sure, we don't cover the connected washing machines, but for the categories, we do follow like PC, gaming, and laptops, we saw lots of great announcements at this year's show. Here are our absolute favorite picks — the ones that are deserving of our Best of IFA 2020 awards.
Best of IFA 2020
Best
Samsung's Galaxy Book Flex 5G
One of the nicest looking laptops just got faster.
Samsung's already svelte Galaxy Book Flex gets updated with the latest Intel 11th Gen and Iris Xe processors for improved performance (especially for graphics). But it's the addition of 5G that is interesting as this 13.3-inch flippable laptop (with a siloed pen) becomes a real mobile workhorse for those who need portability … and want to look good.
Best
NVIDIA RTX 3090
All the GPU.
Like PC CPUs, it is nearly an annual event now where NVIDIA gets on stage and trots its "now faster" graphics cards. But at IFA 2020, NVIDIA almost stole the show with its entire new RTX 30xx line, culminating in the unveiling of the jaw-dropping RTX 3090 ($1,500). The card can is allegedly 50% faster than the Titan RTX, and it can deliver up to 60fps at 8K. Yes, 8K. Color us impressed.
Best
ASUS ROG Swift PG259QNR
A new display for that new RTX 30xx graphics card.
If you are getting a new GPU from NVIDIA, why not splurge and get the ASUS's latest powerhouse display? The ROG Swift PG259QNR has an absolute ridiculous 360Hz refresh rate, 1ms gray-to-gray response times, and supports NVIDIA's new Reflex Latency Analyzer. This is a pro-eSports monitor all the way, but nothing is stopping you from getting one too—no word on price and availability.
Best
Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G Compute Platform
Last year's ARM CPU gets a bump, 5G, and more.
Qualcomm keeps trucking along with Microsoft for Windows 10 on ARM. The latest Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G Compute Platform delivers improved performance, efficiency, adds optional 5G, and it now supports Wi-Fi 6. The new chip can be found in the new Acer Spin 7, a teased new laptop from HP, and we wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft uses it for a refreshed Surface Pro X later this year.
Best
Lenovo Yoga 9i
A laptop with leather and a glass haptics trackpad? We're in.
Although technically announced a few days before the virtual IFA conference, Lenovo is usually there in force. This year, the company announced the new Lenovo Yoga 9i 14-inch and 15-inch premium convertible laptops. The new design features an optional "Shadow Black Leather" cover for the outside, which looks luxurious, and an all-glass trackpad with palm rest area. That trackpad is also haptics based, so no moving parts - a first from Lenovo. There's also new Intel 11th Gen CPU and Iris Xe graphics to boot.
Bottom line
It's easy to get excited when you can see so many great new products in the span of just a few days. Lenovo, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, ASUS, and Samsung all brought something exciting to the table, and they're all worthy of receiving our Best of IFA 2020 awards.
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