Circular debuted two new smart rings at IFA, the Ring 3 Pro and Ring 3 Slim, both featuring built-in NFC for contactless payments via supported Visa or Mastercard cards—a capability absent from Oura and Samsung's Galaxy Ring. The Pro adds FDA-cleared ECG, blood-pressure monitoring, and a bigger battery lasting up to 12 days, while the Slim is lighter and thinner but caps battery life at 10 days. Pricing and availability have not been disclosed.
HTC is bringing its Vive Eagle smart glasses to the US market after debuting them last year, offering a screen-free, glasses-first design. The device includes a 12MP ultrawide camera, 32GB of encrypted storage, and support for either OpenAI or Gemini voice assistants, running on Qualcomm's Snapdragon AR1 chip. Pricing starts at $499 for standard or sunglass lenses, rising to $599 for photochromic versions.
HTC is finally launching its Vive Eagle smart glasses outside Taiwan, expanding availability to North America, Europe, the UK and Australia a year after their original release. The hardware remains largely unchanged, featuring a Snapdragon AR Gen 1 chip, 12-megapixel camera, open-ear speakers and support for OpenAI or Gemini assistants, with US sales starting today at $499 and European shipments beginning September 21st.
Philips Hue is expanding its smart lighting range with unconventional designs, including a flexible, colorful light that can be bent into shapes and a tall pole light meant to be propped against a wall rather than mounted. The additions signal a shift toward more sculptural, decor-focused lighting rather than purely functional fixtures.
Circular has launched its Ring 3 series, succeeding last year's Ring 2, in two versions: a titanium Pro model retaining ECG-based AFib detection, and a lighter Slim model using biocompatible epoxy but lacking ECG tracking. Both rings add vibrating alerts for alarms and reminders and an NFC chip enabling contactless payments directly from the ring.
Kohler Health and startup Throne are marketing camera-equipped toilet attachments that use AI to scan urine and stool for color, consistency, and hydration markers, then generate daily 'gut health' scores through a companion app. Kohler's device costs $449 with a $130 annual membership, while Throne, which recently raised $10 million, charges $399 plus a $70 yearly fee. Both companies say their tools track what's normal for each user rather than issuing blanket health verdicts, unlike existing at-home microbiome test kits.
Fairphone has launched the Gen 6 Plus, an Android phone stripped of manufacturer bloat and carrier apps, shipping only with Google-mandated software and a companion tool called My Fairphone. The device also supports an easy switch to /e/OS, an open-source Android fork that removes Google services entirely for users wanting maximum data privacy.
Xiaomi officially unveiled the Xiaomi 18 Fold at IFA 2026, giving the public its first real look at the wide-screen foldable in a cherry red finish after weeks of leaked images. The device features a triple-camera setup with a focal range suggesting roughly 3.3x telephoto zoom, and it debuts alongside more than 380 other products at Xiaomi's booth, including its smart home and connected ecosystem lineup.
Anker previewed several new chargers before IFA 2026, headlined by the MagGo Power Bank Pro 2, a 25W wireless power bank with a built-in fan that keeps temperatures under 96.8°F during charging. The lineup also includes a Laptop Charger Pro that claims to identify the exact laptop model plugged into it, and a MagStand Charging Station combining three charging modes in one device.
Anker introduced MindBase, a device positioned as a central controller for connected homes, combining Matter compatibility with local AI processing and built-in network-attached storage. The product aims to manage smart home devices while also handling data storage and AI tasks directly on the hardware rather than relying solely on the cloud.
Anker introduced MindBase, an AI-powered smart home hub that centralizes control of its security, energy, cleaning, and audio devices while running a large language model on-device for local processing. The hub offers up to 48TB of local storage with no subscription fees and connects to third-party ecosystems like Matter, Apple HomeKit, Alexa, Google Assistant, and Home Assistant via a feature called EasyOmni Link. Alongside MindBase, Anker's Eufy brand also revealed new security hardware including the E50 NVR system, a video doorbell, and a window camera.
Anker plans to phase out its Soundcore, Eufy, and other sub-brand names worldwide, consolidating everything under the unified Anker identity. The rollout will vary by country—Japan, for instance, is set to complete the switch by the end of 2026 under a 'One Anker' initiative—meaning products currently sold as Soundcore earbuds or Eufy cameras will eventually be rebranded as Anker devices.
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