IFA 2026 trends - local AI boxes, open back headphones, e-ink, and more
Published on September 24, 2026
IFA is on my doorstep in Berlin, and I always enjoy finding the more interesting products nestled amongst the rooms of fridges, ovens, and TVs. Rather than cover everything, I looked for the trends and products that interested me. In summary, the trends for me were Local, open-back and planar magnetic headphones are having a moment, and e-ink keeps popping up in unexpected places.
I made three videos from the event, and this post combines them. Note that many companies haven’t released pricing or availability yet.
Mini PCs, local AI devices, and AI NAS
Violoop - A local AI assistant box
The first device I saw is a small box with its own local model from Violoop. It has a simple screen for the UI, and an HDMI capture connection to your computer. The idea is that it monitors your screen, picks up context, such as an email from a friend, and suggests the next step without you writing a prompt. The raw screen feed and some AI processing stay on the device, although cloud-enabled modes can send a filtered text summary to an external model.
I asked what it does that software on my computer can’t. The answer is mostly the “proactive” angle and not paying for cloud AI usage. It’s an interesting idea, but I’m not convinced a separate box watching my screen is better than a local model running on the machine I already own.
Minisforum MS-S1 MAX-P495
Minisforum had a lot of products I’d love to get my hands on. The MS-S1 MAX-P495 is a mini workstation designed for local AI. It uses an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 495 processor with up to 192 GB of unified memory, up to 131 TOPS of AI performance, USB4 and USB4 V2, and a lot of ports. Minisforum hasn’t announced pricing, and I don’t expect it to be cheap.
Minisforum N5 MAX-P495 AI NAS
The N5 MAX-P495 sits in a similar space but adds drive bays at the front for up to 200 TB of storage. It uses the same processor and unified memory as the MS-S1, and Minisforum positions it as an “AI NAS” for running models, agents, and knowledge bases on your own data. Again, no pricing, and I suspect availability of a lot of these devices is a problem.
Minisforum showed the NAS running its own operating system, connected to from a Mac. It’s Debian-based and comes with local models, chat interfaces, Docker, and more pre-installed. The hardware officially supports MinisCloud OS, Windows 11, and Linux, so you can install another operating system instead. This may be important to you, because the Minisforum OS isn’t open source as far as I can tell, so auditing it is hard. How much you trust it depends on what you store on it. If you don’t want to use the OS directly, you can connect to the device’s ports and endpoints from other machines.
Minisforum S5
The S5 is a fanless, all-flash NAS. It uses an Intel Core 3 304 processor rather than AMD, with 16 GB of RAM that you can’t upgrade. It has five M.2 NVMe slots for up to 40 TB of storage, 10 GbE and 2.5 GbE networking, Wi-Fi 7, and USB4. It’s more low-end than the N5, but the demo still ran a small agent (Minisforum’s take on OpenClaw) and semantic photo search, and connected to macOS as a standard file share.
Minisforum M2 Air-304
The Elite Mini M2 Air-304 is a more traditional mini PC. It uses the same Intel Core 3 304, dual 2.5 GbE ports, up to 64 GB of DDR5, flexible storage options, and supports multiple 4K displays. It’s small enough to stack, and the barebone version starts at around $263.
Minisforum AtomMan G1 Pro
Not really my thing, but the AtomMan G1 Pro is a compact gaming PC with an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX, a desktop-class RTX 5060, 32 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB SSD in a 3.8 litre case. It looks nice and many of you may be in the market for one. It’s already on Amazon (listed there as the “MINISFORUM G1 Pro”).
Headphones and audio
Edifier WH950NB Pro
On the Edifier stand, I tried the WH950NB Pro wireless over-ear headphones. The show floor and the booth were loud, and with the noise cancelling on, I could still hear some background noise but not the people talking to me. Edifier claims 70 hours of battery life with ANC off and an eight-microphone noise-cancelling system. A representative also told me that the battery and ear pads are replaceable, although those repairability details aren’t in Edifier’s published IFA announcement. That’s not everything, but it covers the parts that wear out most.
Edifier NeoBuds Pro
The NeoBuds Pro aren’t new and I don’t enjoy trying earbuds, but they feel light despite their fairly large size. They offer five hours of playback from the earbuds plus 15 hours from the charging case with ANC on, or six plus 18 hours with ANC off. I noticed that many earbuds, especially from Chinese brands, now use a more vertical earpiece instead of a round one. I’ve never managed to get those to fit well. You can find them on Amazon.
Edifier studio monitors
I’m in the market for studio monitors, if only I had the room for them. Edifier showed three sizes. The large XR6 active studio monitors use a three-way design and include room-calibration software, but Edifier hasn’t announced pricing or availability. The smaller white MR5 and MR3 models look really nice. I couldn’t hear much detail over the background noise, but I really like the look of them.
Edifier planar magnetic headphones
I also tried a pair of Edifier’s planar magnetic headphones in a small, isolated listening room, which was a nice break from the noise of the floor. I haven’t confirmed the exact model, but the pair I tried is open-back. Open-back seems to be having a moment, with a few at the event. They’re big and comfortable, with high detail and low distortion.
Audeze Maxwell 2, LCD-X, and MM-100
Audeze makes planar magnetic headphones, and the rep explained that its magnet design gives much lower distortion and clearer transients. Its newer headphones also include SLAM, a system for better bass response.
The latest model is the Maxwell 2, designed as a gaming headset but also popular with music people. It connects over Bluetooth, USB, a 3.5 mm cable, or a wireless dongle. The dongle switches between PlayStation or Xbox and PC or Mac, and gives you 24-bit, 96 kHz audio with low latency. Audeze also offers a separate Maxwell 2 ANC variant that reduces background noise by up to 35 dB. The representative said Audeze deliberately stops there because stronger ANC changes the character of the audio.
The part that interested me most is the microphone. The representative told me you can use it as a USB input in software such as Logic and monitor yourself through the headset. It’s not a studio mic, but it could be useful if you find the right position. I’ve been trying to find a good setup for podcast and video work with a microphone close to me but not in my face. Headset mics often sound hollow and a bit “in your face” to me, but the rep, also a podcaster, suggested keeping it a little away from your mouth for a better tone.
For open-back listening, the LCD-X is Audeze’s most popular model, and liked by hi-fi enthusiasts and mix engineers (available on Amazon). There’s also a closed-back version with a slightly different feel and tuning. Finally, the MM-100 is the more affordable model in Audeze’s Manny Marroquin-developed MM series. They’re neutral headphones, designed for mixing, and also available on Amazon.
Auricle awareONE cartilage conduction headphones
These are a different kind of headphone. The Auricle awareONE uses cartilage conduction, so the sound is physical vibration from a transducer that clips onto your ear. It’s hard to reproduce in a video, but I could hear music while my earlobe vibrated, mostly in time with the kick and snare. The team told me the transducer covers frequencies up to 16 kHz, but it’s the low frequencies you feel most. The sound quality was good in my demo.
My main feeling is that they’re about to fall off, though I have the same problem with in-ear headphones. It’s also a bit ticklish, which the team admits takes some getting used to. Beyond the vibration, they’re normal Bluetooth headphones. The use case is feeling the music while staying aware of your surroundings, for example, when cycling.
MorningBlues lyric speakers
MorningBlues showed a series of lyric speakers. The SonicGlass A1 is a transparent speaker that displays the lyrics of the song you’re playing with generated graphics. It doesn’t show the song’s music video, which would be cool, but maybe that’s possible in the future. There’s an app for configuration, and it connects over Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or a cable.
The range also includes a speaker that looks like a painting (Portrait T2); the Cabinet S1, also called Nightstand S1 in some company material, which combines a speaker with storage; and, at the stand, a large cinema-and-karaoke-style table on wheels that showed films as well as lyrics. My favourite device was a little controller box labelled Music Hub C1 at IFA; the current MorningBlues website calls it Music Hub 1. It looks like something from Teenage Engineering and lets you remove parts of tracks, such as the vocals, for a karaoke party. MorningBlues says it also works with speakers from other brands.
Input devices, health testing, smart plants, and e-ink phones
KAGE GhostPad
The GhostPad is a mousepad that’s also an input device. The idea is to replace a Stream Deck, MIDI controller, or game controller without adding more hardware to your desk. It has 16 touch-sensitive controls that also detect force, and you program it with a web app. The version shown at IFA used 2x8 or 8x2 layouts, and the maker told me it could switch between up to 10 modes. You can assign keyboard shortcuts, game axes, or MIDI controls. A detachable module handles the display, and it works wirelessly or over USB-C.
It’s large because it’s aimed at gamers, and I haven’t used a mouse pad in about 20 years. But the maker is a graphic designer who uses it for shortcuts in After Effects, and it started as a MIDI project. With my MIDI setup, that’s the part that interests me. The rep told me a crowdfunding campaign starts in about a month. The website currently lists early access pre-orders at €129, with delivery in Q4 2026.
Vivoo at-home testing
Vivoo makes at-home urine testing kits, which appeal to me as someone who doesn’t like blood tests. You dip the test strip, wait about a minute and a half, and scan it with the free iOS or Android app to get results on eight parameters. It doesn’t cover everything I want to test, but it’s a start. Each test is single use, and Vivoo sells multi-test kits in Europe, also available on Amazon. The app also scans meals, and it works with European food, which isn’t always the case with these apps. There’s also cycle tracking and fertility testing.
Vivoo also has a Smart Toilet device that clips into the toilet bowl and measures hydration. It only measures hydration for now, isn’t single use, and connects to the same app. At the time of writing, Vivoo lists a $99 launch tier shipping in November, while its $129 standard tier is scheduled for a later batch.
Smart plant sensors and PlantSenso
Smart plant care had a noticeable presence. The current Willow sensor measures soil moisture, light, temperature, and humidity. At IFA, the team showed me a smaller new version that they said also measures fertility (NPK), so it can tell you which fertiliser to use. They expect it to launch in January for around €12 to €15. The current sensor needs a hub; the team said the new one will work with or without it. The hub uses Wi-Fi, the sensors use Bluetooth, and one hub pairs with up to 40 sensors.
Willow sensors integrate with Homey, so you can automate humidifiers or lights based on readings. Your plants also get personalities. For example, if a plant is too hot, it can turn on music.
PlantSenso takes the personality idea further as a gamified plant system. You scan your plant with your phone camera to identify it from a database of over 12,000 plants, then name it and choose a personality for its Tamagotchi-style creature. The sensor tracks moisture, nutrients, temperature, and light, and knows what each plant type needs, so a cactus doesn’t get the same advice as a fern. Look after your plant and the creature levels up, unlocks new accessories, and evolves. It sends notifications from the creature when your plant needs something. It’s modular, and you can connect a water pump to water plants from the app while you’re away. Pre-orders open on October 10, with deliveries expected by the end of the year. The main unit costs $89.99, and the app has no mandatory subscription.
Mudita Kompakt
The final device is the Mudita Kompakt, an e-ink phone from Polish company Mudita, designed for digital minimalism and privacy. Some people buy it for their children, but most buy it for themselves. It’s based on the Android Open Source Project with no Google services, and Mudita has built its own interface and developed lower levels of the OS. The standout feature is “Offline+” mode, which goes beyond flight mode by physically cutting power to some components, such as the microphones and mobile modem.
Many customers install extra apps, and right now you do that by sideloading, which Mudita makes easier with a desktop app that supports drag and drop. MuditaOS K 2.0 is due this autumn, with November reported as the likely release date. It adds an InkApps repository of community apps built with Mudita’s free Mindful Design system, new launcher options, app management, and Google Calendar sync for people who don’t want a Google phone but still need their calendar.
Mudita’s own apps have no animations, so they work well with e-ink’s slow refresh. Sideloaded apps may not. I see the same on my Boox, where KOReader works well and non-optimised apps drain the battery. WhatsApp works fine in greyscale, though. The camera captures in colour, but the screen shows it in black and white with a refresh rate like a 20 year old digital camera.
It’s light, smaller than most modern smartphones, and feels good in the hand. The e-ink is smoother than I expected thanks to Mudita’s own drivers. It has a physical SIM and eSIM, a headphone jack, up to six days of standby battery life, and five years of software and security updates. Mudita lists it at $399, and it is also available on Amazon, where the price may differ. With Nokia popular again and e-ink everywhere at IFA, it’s a growing market.
Wrapping up
The biggest trend at IFA 2026 is local AI hardware, with everything from a screen-watching assistant box to NAS devices with 192 GB of unified memory. I like the idea of keeping my data and models at home, but I want more open software on these devices before I trust them with it. On the audio side, planar magnetic and open-back headphones are everywhere. And the Mudita Kompakt and the GhostPad are the two devices I’d most like to spend more time with.
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