Best of IFA 2026: MacBook Neo competitors, monitors, and wild laptop concepts
IFA isn't typically a PC-focused show. But this year, Europe's biggest tech show had plenty of computing hardware, in between robots and AI washing machines.
Laptop OEMs are continuing to adapt to a market riled by RAM shortages and the debut of the MacBook Neo earlier this year. Dell, Acer, and Lenovo all dropped more affordable, mid-range machines with plenty of color options - and let's not forget Packard Bell.
Nvidia and AMD, on the other hand, are both trying to bring AI computing home - shortages and high prices or not. Nvidia continued to tease its RTX Spark platform (including an October release date), while AMD finally has device partners for its AMD Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 495, with up to 192GB of unified memory. While Nvidia's RTX Spark loomed large over the PC side of the show, there wasn't much newly announced hardware, aside from Lenovo's 2-in-1 and a mini PC from Acer. Pricing is still unknown, and demos were largely locked down behind company representatives. We're still waiting to see the true impact of these systems on the PC market.
In between, some unique monitors and peripherals dotted the show floor, challenging size and speed constraints to innovate where they can amid a challenging component and pricing landscape. - Andrew E. Freedman
Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe
IFA 2026 proved the Windows world is not slowing down when it comes to producing rivals to the MacBook Neo. But Lenovo has taken the fight to its logical extremes, adding more color and personalization options. The IdeaPad Vibe sports seven colors, ranging from chill blue to spicy gold and, of course, lowkey gray.
You can also choose the colors for the keys on the keyboard. In theory, you buy a set to match or contrast when you purchase the laptop, though you may be able to buy additional sets down the line to mix it up. You don't see replaceable keycaps on laptops too often.The internal specs include AMD Ryzen AI 4000 series or Snapdragon X processors. There are 14- and 15-inch screens, and all-aluminum builds or a plastic bottom. The base model will start at $699, matching perfectly with the MacBook Neo and Dell XPS 13, and bringing a ton of style to the mid-level budget PC space. - Andrew E. Freedman
Acer Nitro XV275U Z2
While we've seen a lot of activity in the mid- to high-end of the gaming monitor sector, especially with OLED panels, there's still a lot to be excited about in the entry-level / budget segment. And Acer aims to make cash-strapped gamers happy with its Nitro XV275U Z2.
This is a tri-mode monitor, offering three distinct resolution/refresh rate presets thanks to Dynamic Frequency and Resolution (DFR). Featuring a 27-inch IPS panel, the Nitro XV275U Z2 has a native QHD (2560 x 1440) resolution and 275 Hz refresh rate. However, you can step down to 1080p resolution and boost the maximum refresh rate to 360 Hz. And if you're willing to sacrifice even more resolution by dropping to 720p, you'll be blessed with a 500 Hz maximum refresh rate.
That's a lot of flexibility for gamers, and Acer further ups the value factor by including 1,152-zone Mini LED backlighting, typical brightness of 500 nits, and 1,000 nits in HDR mode. Best of all, the Nitro XV275U Z2 will be available at an enticing price of $329 when it debuts in Q4 2026. - Brandon Hill
Lexar Muse(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
With so much of the world's flash memory capacity being gobbled up by AI hardware, most storage makers don't seem to be focused on consumer innovation. But Lexar hasn't taken its eye off the portable SSD space, showing off its Muse, a drive about the size of a credit card - and a few cards thick at 3.15 x 1.89 x 0.15 inches. And bulk matters when your drive is designed primarily to attach magnetically to the back of your phone for recording video. The Muse does this with a magnetic sleeve that you slide the drive into, much like a card holder.Lexar says the svelte design was achieved through a combination of a custom thin PCB, high-density NAND stacking, and an internal design that's more integrated than most external SSDs. There are, of course, some downsides to the ultra-thin design, like the lack of space for a USB-C port, which Lexar has replaced with pogo pins on the back and a proprietary magnetic SnapLink cable. Capacity is also limited to just 512GB and 1TB. The 10 Gbps drive is expected to arrive later this year. - Matt Safford
Minisforum N5 Max(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
With AMD's Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 495 finally launching in systems, it wasn't surprising to see it in a handful of mini PCs and workstations. But it was surprising to find it in a NAS.
The Minisforum N5 Max takes the Gorgon Halo part (it's also available with last-gen Strix Halo) and puts it in a five-bay network-attached storage device. Beyond those five HDD bays (up to 32TB each, or 160TB total), five M.2 SSD slots allow up to another 40TB, giving this device up to 200TB of space for your files. Do you want Qwen 3.8 and 200TB of files? Because on the show floor, the company showed Qwen 3.8 navigating 200TB of files.
The idea, according to Minisforum, is that your agents are running on the same device as all of your files, making for one convenient local device. The system comes with the 16-core, 32-thread processor, AMD Radeon 8065S graphics, and up to 192GB of LPDDR5x unified memory. It's likely to come at the end of September, and while reps for Minisforum didn't have a price, they suggested it could be over $7,000, just like the company's upcoming Gorgon Halo workstation.The system supports the company's MinisCloud OS, Linux, Proxmox, and Windows 11. So in theory, you could use this as your primary computer. But this is one of the only pieces of AI computing furniture we saw here at IFA. - Andrew E. Freedman
Acer Project DualPlay Mini(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
Acer's Project DualPlay Mini is the platonic ideal of a concept device, in that it's equal parts interesting, impractical, and unlikely to be a product you can actually buy. It's a handheld clamshell that transitions into a netbook-style device, giving you access to a keyboard so you can get work done on the go.
The device is unsurprisingly chunky, and the keyboard is decisively impractical, but concepts are for trying out new ideas. The device folds in half, but it doesn't feature two displays. Rather, the display is set on a separate hinge that can rotate to the front in handheld mode, or to the back in laptop mode. Acer told us at IFA that the device comes with a Panther Lake chip, though it's unclear if that's Panther Lake proper or one of Intel's cut-down G3 SoCs for handhelds.
The device features a fingerprint reader, along with two USB-C ports (likely Thunderbolt 4) and two back buttons, typical of most handhelds. It adopts the same cooling system as the Predator Atlas 8, Acer's traditional G3 handheld. Although it's not clear if we'll eventually see the DualPlay Mini on store shelves, we were able to see the device in-person at IFA, showcasing that it's much further along than a few renders - Jake Roach
Read more: Acer's wild Project DualPlay Mini is a foldable handheld that doubles as a netbook