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Tech News
A veteran smart-home reviewer argues that despite a wave of humanoid robots shown at CES and this week's IFA in Berlin, including 1X's $20,000 Neo, none are truly ready to handle household chores. She notes homes are cluttered, unpredictable, and full of stairs, conditions that heavy, leg-based machines struggle to navigate safely.
iRobot has unveiled the Roomba Max 875 Combo, a robot vacuum that lowers a skirt to seal its chassis against carpet fibers, concentrating airflow instead of letting it escape around the edges. The company says this SealForce technology lets the device reach 35,000 pascals of suction and clean three times deeper into carpets than prior models. iRobot is showcasing the device at IFA Berlin 2026.
IFA, Europe's largest tech trade show, returns to Berlin from September 4th to 8th, drawing more than 200,000 attendees. Major manufacturers will present new products spanning appliances, smartphones, and smart home devices, with most significant announcements expected to surface in the days leading up to the official opening.
Berlin's government has been hit by a hacking incident in which attackers are reportedly demanding a ransom, according to Mayor Kai Wegner. Wegner said state police, prosecutors and federal security agencies are urgently investigating who is behind the breach and determining what data was compromised.
Gizmodo is providing rolling coverage of IFA 2026, the annual consumer electronics trade show held in Berlin, reporting on hardware and gadget announcements as they emerge from exhibitors. The live updates format compiles news from across the show floor into a single continuously updated feed.
Berlin officials confirmed cybercriminals are attempting to extort the city after the Rhysida ransomware gang publicly listed it on their leak site last Friday, following an intrusion discovered in mid-August. The attackers claim to have stolen nearly 1.44 million files totaling 5.79TB, including government, legal, financial, HR, and health records, along with credentials belonging to senior officials and infrastructure security assessments. Mayor Kai Wergner said Berlin will not pay, and law enforcement including the State Criminal Police Office and federal security agencies are investigating.
Plaud, a major player in AI note-taking hardware, has introduced the Plaud One, a pair of earbuds that embed its agentic AI software directly into headphones. The device can record conversations and phone calls via a built-in eSIM with 4G LTE, then transcribe them and generate summaries, follow-ups, or reports, integrating with tools like Gmail, Slack, and Notion. The product will be shown publicly for the first time at IFA 2026 in Berlin.