IFA 2024 Day 3: Beauties And Beasts

Today at IFA, we hit the show floor, not knowing what to expect. As it turned out, we inadvertently visited tech that lived out on the extremes of the genre. Some tech is built to be beautiful, and some tech is built to last. Admittedly, some fall into both categories, but leaning more one way than the other.

The beautiful tech has great design and functionality — and often compromises of durability, because durable design is (by some standards) not beautiful. Meanwhile, durable tech has no room for niceties — it's simply built tough, and that's where the compromises come in. Our reporters found examples from both sides of the spectrum, plus some in between, but today is (mostly) about living on the extremes.

From wonder-inducing TVs and monitors to hard core portable (and less-than-portable) technology, here are some favorite items we saw on the show floor on day three IFA 2024.

The last 3DTV fad ended a while ago, and if previous cycles are followed, it may be a while before another one hits. But this hasn't stopped Hisense from showing us what can be done with current cutting edge 3D technology. That comes in the shape of a 110-inch screen rocking an 8K display. It has a peak brightness of 2,000 nits and a dynamic contrast ratio of 5,000:1. Add in some fancy backlight control algorithms and some local dimming, and you have a screen that's capable of popping out a very 3D-looking representation of a statue, or a tiger's head, or Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring."

You need to stand in a certain spot to see the 3D image in all of its glory. Glasses-free 3D just works that way, but it is a lot kinder on the eyes from a wider range of viewing angles than a lot of the other stuff we've seen. There are no solid plans to release a production version as things stand, and there isn't going to be much content around for you to run on it anyway, but it is an exciting glimpse of what we might see during the next inevitable 3D resurgence. As for actual, practical uses — Hisense believes a version could be sold to the likes of museums, medical centers, and various educational environments. So, there's every chance that you may see it in person over the next few years.

First, let's be clear: 3DTV is in no way making a comeback. But, Samsung's effort is still worth taking a look at and the photo above doesn't really do it justice. That's because a camera is used to track the user's eyes, and the image is adjusted based on where said user is looking. So, when you're sitting in a chair and looking at the screen, you get that sort of 3D sense of depth. Imagine something like the old Nintendo 3Ds, but far more advanced. The best part is, the 3D image can be generated from 2D content with (sigh) AI.

There are some downsides with Samsung's monitor. It feels like one of those things that will give you a bad headache if you stare at it for more than a few minutes. There are also instances where a character will be walking toward you in a game and a wall will pop up or something. Those instances are very uncomfortable. Finally, because of the way it's designed, the experience is tailored to — and meant for– one user at a time. So, you can game away in 3D but your friend sitting next to you will see something similar to the photo above, which isn't exactly pleasant. If you have to be social, the 3D option can be disabled pretty easily, though that just gives you a fairly nice, but ultimately standard, gaming monitor.

Light is both what makes a projector work and the projection's main enemy. You can see the image on the projection surface because it's bright enough to stand out when compared to the environment around it. To make images more visible, you can either block that light out with something like a set of blackout curtains, purchase a fancy anti-light screen which will only reflect light from a certain angle back at you, or just buy a very bright projector.

The latter is what JMGO has with the N1S Ultimate. With 3,500 ANSI lumens in its arsenal, you can't help but feel it's bright enough to project a movie directly onto the sun. It's certainly what you need if you plan on doing any projection outdoors in the daytime.

In addition to the high brightness levels, the projector packs a 1,600:1 contrast ratio, true 4K resolution, and a built-in gimbal that should allow for easy setup. With high-end specs comes a high-end price point: expect to part with $2,799 should you wish to get your hands on the N1S Ultimate — though there are a few other projectors in the range if you want to nab something a bit more toned down and spend less money in the process.

Smartphones are definitely a category of product that straddle the line between beautiful and tough, but every once in a while, you come across a phone that tips the scales one way or another — in this case, the Ulefone Armor 24 definitely skews toward the durable, as it's ultra-durable. This phone is a massive brick and the headline has to be the 22,000 mAh battery that this monster is packing. When lying face down, this phone is thicker than my iPhone 15 Pro, its Spigen case, the ESR wallet on the back (which is, by the way, stuffed to the brim with cards), and the finger grip that folds out on the back of that wallet. It's a brick.

Beyond that, the internal specs are ... not impressive. It has a MediaTek Helio G96 processor, which is not new. There's 12 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of storage, both of which are respectable. The Armor 24 has a bright lamp on the back with emergency flashing function, which is a nice addition for a phone that's supposed to go with you anywhere you want. Speaking of going anywhere, the phone is limited to 4G, which is not ideal, but probably okay. But overall, this is a handset that will be bought by those who want an all-day (or maybe all-week, to be more accurate) phone that can survive disconnected from power.

This Polish company built a series of phones that are durable enough to have a very appropriate name: Hammer. You might think that "hammer" indicates the phone is tough enough to drive a nail into a board. You would be right. But not only is a hammer phone tough enough to drive a nail, you can do so with the screen. You can swing this phone like a hammer (I did) and hit an actual nail on the head to drive it into the board.

The secret to the durable screen lies beneath. The display is the typical sandwich of Gorilla Glass with the panel underneath, but that is backed by a sheet of metal that reinforces the screen and does not allow it to flex and break. It's pretty wild. Hammer has several models of phones that can accomplish this, which is all the more remarkable. I'm not sure that I will ever want to drive a nail into a board again with a phone screen, but it's somehow comforting to realize that one day, I might be able to.

You know how you're walking down the street when you realize you need a gigantic Android tablet stored in a suitcase, and you just don't have one? I hate when that happens. Fortunately, the MP Pixcase will soon be available for purchase to solve that exact problem. The MP Pixcase is a 27-inch full touchscreen Android 12-based tablet that gets stored in a suitcase and weighs a mere 35 pounds. It's a simple concept, really.

The suitcase not only stores the tablet on a stand (that can display the screen in portrait or landscape, by the way) but it also houses compartments for a remote, a game controller, cables, and a speaker system that actually sounds ... not bad. Use cases (and believe me, I asked what the use cases were) include tailgating, outdoor picnics, and times when you want to take your entertainment on the road and enjoy with a 27-inch tablet in tow. The creators are correct in that the weight isn't too much of a problem because it'll be in a car or other vehicle most of the time, but that doesn't really put my doubts to bed. The bottom line here is this thing exists, and you'll soon (October-ish) be able to buy one, for whatever use case you can imagine this filling. We won't judge, but your friends might.