Smartphone makers are betting on camera features to help their flagship devices stand out. Samsung launched its first dual-cameras on the Note 8, Sony introduced super slow-mo video-recording on its XZ Premium and XZ1 series, while LG equipped the V30 with a glass lens that boasts a wide f/1.6 aperture. But Huawei has chosen a different route. In lieu of a new phone, the company showed off its Kirin 970 chip at IFA 2017, calling attention to the chipset's AI capabilities. The Kirin 970 will power Huawei's next flagship phone, the Mate 10, which is set to launch at a separate October event in Munich.

Bike helmets should be about safety first and foremost, but that doesn't mean you can't rock one that's also stylish. This cycling helmet is designed to protect your head whilst offering a sleek commuter design, enhanced by a strip of bright red LEDs on the back that you can light up every time you break or turn. Aside from that, the BH51 can pair with your phone via Bluetooth, making it possible to take calls or listen to music directly from the helmet. The stereo speakers uses bone conduction technology, so you can get your audio fix and be able to pay attention to the outside world simultaneously. Best of all, you'll look straight out of Robocop or Tron wearing it -- and you know how much you want that.

Bike helmets should be about safety first and foremost, but that doesn't mean you can't rock one that's also stylish. This cycling helmet is designed to protect your head whilst offering a sleek commuter design, enhanced by a strip of bright red LEDs on the back that you can light up every time you break or turn. Aside from that, the BH51 can pair with your phone via Bluetooth, making it possible to take calls or listen to music directly from the helmet. The stereo speakers uses bone conduction technology, so you can get your audio fix and be able to pay attention to the outside world simultaneously. Best of all, you'll look straight out of Robocop or Tron wearing it -- and you know how much you want that.

Of all the spaces in our homes, the kitchen is the one that has seen the least change in the last few years. Sure, that countertop CD player has given way to an Echo, but you've probably not invested in a smartphone-controlled oven or DRM-enabled juicer. Look hard enough, however, and you can see more radical shifts in the appliances world on the horizon. It's just going to take a while before this technology is affordable enough for us mere mortals. Historically, when technology has made an impact in the kitchen, it often radically redefines how our society operates. Statistician Hans Rosling believed that the washing machine was the most important invention in the world.

LG Electronics is planning to go all-out in acquiring AI technologies in an attempt to boost its smart home business. At IFA 2017, the South Korean electronics company disclosed what it intends to do by 2020. Over the weekend, LG's home appliance and air solutions division head Song Dae-hyun spoke at a press conference at a hotel in Berlin about the tech company's move to expand its smart home business. According to Song, LG wants to boost this aspect of its company by doubling its investment in mergers and acquisitions of artificial intelligence and Internet of Things technologies, Korea Herald has learned. "As for the AI business, inorganic growth would be more effective. LG officially seeks to acquire some AI companies. But so far, many acquisition projects fell apart due to market conditions," Song said before noting that Samsung's neighboring rival "is aggressively looking for a good AI company."

We're still diving deep into Europe's biggest tech show: the weekend included pianos that can talk with Alexa, and testing out both LG and Nokia's newest phones' photography -- including selfies. LG's new V30, unveiled at IFA 2017, is the first smartphone to offer a glass lens with a f/1.6 aperture, and has some rather cool video-recording tools that should excite aspiring Spielbergs. To see if it really lives up to the sales promises, Reviews Editor Cherlynn Low took the V30 on a trigger-happy tour of Berlin's Tier Garden, and found it a versatile, powerful camera. In fact, its filmmaking features are truly standout. It doesn't do justice to the label's imaging heritage.

Huawei launched the latest mobile Kirin 970 chipset that has its own AI processor built-in. The announcement was made during the ongoing IFA tech show in Berlin. The Kirin 970 chip is powered by an octa-core CPU and the latest generation 12-core GPU. The Chinese smartphone company says the mobile chipset will be built using on a 10nm manufacturing process, similar to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 and Samsung's Exynos 8895 chipsets. It will also support HDR 10, and 4K video recording at 60 frames per second (fps).

Of the many things we expected to see at IFA 2017, cutting-edge instruments weren't one of them. But Yamaha is using its time in Berlin to showcase the Clavinova all-electric, smart pianos, which use an iOS device and LEDs above each key to teach you how to play. With the Smart Pianist application, which will also be available on Android next year, you can learn how to play tracks in real-time thanks to blue and red lights that will come on every time you're supposed to hit a key. Not only that, but if you can read music, there's a chord chart being displayed on the iPad in real-time for whatever song you're playing. In terms of Alexa compatibility, Amazon's virtual assistant isn't built into the Clavinova smart pianos.

Technology conventions such as IFA often serve as a window into the near future, with the concepts on the show floor offering a glimpse of what gadgets are in the pipeline. The ubiquity of virtual assistants, drones and virtual reality were all first flagged at shows like IFA, so it's far from a guessing game. And a striking trend has been appearing in every corner of the convention centre this year – robots. Robotics have been becoming increasingly prevalent in the tech world for some time now, partly driven by the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Once inanimate devices have been coming to life and learning as they do.

The event is also a chance for companies to showcase their latest innovations for home appliances. Samsung did its part this year with the WW8800M washer, which sports technology called QuickDrive that promises to complete a full load of laundry in just 39 minutes --typically it's about 70. The company says it's able to do this without compromising washing performance, energy efficiency and fabric care, something that will matter deeply to people who are extra conscious of how they do their laundry. Oh and it says AI is involved. Samsung is betting heavily on the "artificial intelligence" powers of its WW8800M to make laundry day less of a chore.