A phone and fashion accessory? Chinese company unveils all at the IFA

Copyright euronews

Published on 08/09/2023 - 17:20•Updated 11/09/2023 - 17:08

Chinese company HONOR stole the show at the IFA 2023 by unveiling a new foldable phone, and phone designed like a purse.

IFA Berlin is one of the most important high-tech trade fairs in the world. Sustainability, design and innovation are the main trends at the 2023 edition.

In the smartphone market, the time has come for foldable smartphones. Chinese manufacturer HONOR is a firm believer. At the show's opening ceremony, its CEO unveiled two new products:

The first is the HONOR Magic V2, a thin (9.9 mm) and light (231 grams) foldable phone that has already won over Chinese consumers.

But the star of the show was this concept phone: the HONOR V Purse, which can be worn on the shoulder like a handbag with a design that can be adapted in a multitude of ways.

George Zhao, CEO of HONOR, explains: "You can carry it like a wallet, you can easily travel with it everywhere. Now, this would not only be a purse that integrates camera or credit card, but it is also fashionable. Nowadays in your wardrobe, you have a lot of bags to match different dresses and suits. But with the HONOR V Purse, a smartphone can match any dress".

Less textile, more glamour. To combine fashion and high-tech, HONOR invites artists and designers to its platform.

Yunuene, a Mexican artist whose work focuses on contemporary style, says: "Art and technology sometimes go hand in hand, but when they come together, they create very interesting things. If you're in the office, you choose one design, if you're at a party, you change it for another. If you're against animal abuse, you'll advertise it there. And in the future fashion is going to be like that".

More than 2000 exhibitors from 48 countries participated in the show. Other interesting areas were those related to artificial intelligence, of course, which is making its way into our connected homes. And helping us to reduce our energy consumption.

Sophie Lung, from technology company LG, says: "Artificial Intelligence technology tracks how you use energy as a whole. So if you're low on energy, the system will have its own optimised version to tell you how to save your energy while still being conveniently very comfortable".