Berlin’s annual IFA electronics show isn’t typically a hotspot of PC news, since it follows hot on the heels of the computer-centric Computex in June. Instead, it’s usually more of a mobile and smart home event. But not this year!
Intel used IFA to launch its hotly anticipated “Lunar Lake” Core Series Ultra 2 processors, packing a radical new architecture and seriously improved graphics chops. Not to be outgunned, Qualcomm revealed new 8-core variants of its Snapdragon X PC chips, aiming to bring multi-day battery life to sub-$900 laptops.
The result? A flood of laptop announcements at IFA 2024. With so many notebook reveals crammed into such a short time span, however, the deluge felt a bit same-y at times – but not with the delightfully unorthodox systems below, which lean on surprisingly nifty gimmicks to stand out from the crowd.
Without further ado, let’s get weird.
Read more: The best laptops we’ve tested
Cooler Master
It’s a mini-ITX PC that looks like a cybernetic shark. Coooooool. That’s it, that’s the tweet.
Cooler Master’s Shark X PC comes with decent internal components, though nothing you couldn’t cobble together yourself in a normal case for around $1,500. But it’s the case that makes this beast of a PC so special. From our coverage:
“But you aren’t here for the actual parts, are you? You want to know about that robo-shark enclosure (well, sort-of enclosure… many of the parts are exposed to open air). It’s designed by Thai artist and PC modder Inony, with a frame that poses the “shark” in a leaping stature about three feet high. Note the MasterLiquid 120 Atmos AIO cooler, with cables that look like teeth coming off of the motherboard.”
It’s over the top and I want one – though for $7,000, you’d think they’d be able to throw in a friggin’ laser beam on its friggin’ head.
Lenovo got funky and started doing the twist at IFA, with a new AutoTwist concept laptop that uses AI something something to unfold itself and then automatically twist around to face you as you wander around. Again: coooool.
But that’s not all! From our not-so-hands-on time with the laptop:
“It’s also voice-activated. You can use the command “Hi Twist” followed by “open lid,” “laptop mode,” and “tablet mode,” and the display will move to the correct position without you lifting a finger. Furthermore, it will also close automatically if you leave the laptop unattended, so someone doesn’t steal that amazing idea you just jotted down in a coffee shop while you pop to the bathroom.”
I can see this idea gaining some serious traction in high-end ThinkPads and ThinkBooks used by execs wandering around conference tables. I’m not so sure this would be a compelling feature for more mainstream uses but hey – it’s rad.
Mark Hachman/Foundry
Acer’s Project DualPlay lets you have your PC gaming cake and eat it too. This unorthodox concept gaming laptop lets you play with mouse and keyboard, just as you’d expect. But when you need to get your Elden Ring on, pressing a release button pops out the touchpad – which, as it turns out, is embedded inside of a fully functional gaming controller.
Acer says that the wireless touchpad is held in place with an “electromagnetic lock,” and when it’s released the laptop’s speakers also pop out from the sides.
Like Lenovo’s AutoTwist, DualPlay unfortunately remains a mere concept for now, but I could see this being a hit with mobile gamers if the concept ever makes it to the big leagues – especially if Acer nails the controller feel.
Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptops rock, and they’ve rocked for years. The new Aura Edition appears to keep the streak alive, blending the latest Intel hardware with an impossibly thin and light design (and that iconic little red tracking nub).
But it’s the cool new “Smart Share” feature (ostensibly powered by AI, because of course it is) that captured our attention. From our hands-on coverage:
“Lenovo’s real party trick here is Smart Share, where you can physically tap your phone on the side of the lid and, like magic, a window pops up with your gallery to transfer your pictures between the two devices.
Rather than something like NFC to trigger the connection, Lenovo says it uses ‘sensor fusion’ with elements like listening for the resonance of the tap as well as the accelerometer in the phone. It then uses a combination of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for the connection. When it works (I was looking at a pre-production sample) it’s almost instantaneous, and importantly works with both Android and iPhone.”
Just look at Chris Martin’s video tweet of this in action above. Simply boop your phone against your laptop and boop, your files now automagically appear on your laptop! It’s a delightful feature that I hope makes it into more notebooks in the future, though it’s an exclusive Lenovo feature in Intel’s Unison app for now.
MSI
The MSI MEG Vision X AI is a powerful desktop PC that’s truly thicc – and that sports a huge built-in front panel screen for its dedicated AI-powered chatbot. Here’s our description of it:
“Screens hard-mounted to desktop cases aren’t a new idea, but MSI is pitching this one as a dedicated “Human Machine Interface,” which sounds like marketing speak for that giant spike that goes into the back of Neo’s head in The Matrix. MSI’s version is decidedly less spikey, of course, and it’s really just a dedicated view for the proprietary “MSI AI Engine,” which includes a chatbot that runs locally on the desktop.
MSI’s promotional materials don’t elaborate on what exactly you’ll chat with your desktop PC about, but it can “search documents within your local folders, analyze, summarize, and respond to you based on the data in your files.” That front-mounted display can also do more old-fashioned gaming desktop things, like showing info about system performance and temperature, giving you quick access to RGB color settings, etc.”
Why not simply display that information on your existing monitor? Doesn’t that make more sense? Yes indeed – but then you’d lose the ability for your PC to serve as hulking, party trick-infused centerpiece in your home. And as a wise man once said, anything worth doing is worth overdoing.
Further reading: 8 gorgeous laptops dripping with ultimate luxury
