It's September, meaning the 2019 edition of International Funkausstellung-- aka IFA-- is upon us. All the major names, including the likes of Samsung, LG and Lenovo, will be present, together with smaller European counterparts, bringing plenty of product launches and at least a few novelties to the show.
IFA 2019 marks the 95th year of the storied trade show. It occupies 161200 square metres at the Messe Berlin and hosts no less than 1814 exhibitors making a who's who of CE brands. The show is open to the public from 6-11 September, but 4-5 September are the press days, meaning this is when the major announcements take place. In fact some companies have already released information on what will be on show, allowing us to draw a clearer picture as to what expect.
Giant TVs make some of the most spectacular offerings at IFA 2019, and the likes of Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Sharp will be ready with the latest and greatest-- not to mention highest resolution. Another company to keep an eye on is Philips, who back at IFA 2018 announced a "multi-year partnership" with audio maker B&W. Either way, we are ready to gawk at impressive 8K and, perhaps closer to the consumer market, all manner of 4K TVs in all flavours of display technology.
Audio also makes a big part of IFA 2019. Sonos promises the "biggest event of the year" at the show, a possible hint at the launch of the much rumoured Bluetooth speaker, while Sony mysteriously told the press to "save the date." The Japanese giant is tight lipped, but considering 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the Walkman we wouldn't be surprised the company has something related to portable audio up its sleeve.
Smartphones will surely factor at the Berlin show. While these days Samsung prefers to launch its flagship devices at own events, it will surely have something mobile on show, perhaps the revised version of the foldable Galaxy Fold. The rumour mill suggests LG will presents the dual-screen V60 ThinQ phone. Another company supposedly launching a smartphone at IFA 2019 is Sony, who reportedly has a sequel to the Xperia 2 all set for Berlin. Nokia license holder HMD Global has a press event set, and Huawei CEO Richard Yu will be taking the opening keynote stage.
Qualcomm president Cristiano Amon also has an IFA keynote. The company has a heavy investment in both 5G and Wifi 6, meaning it will surely use the show to tell more about its plans involving the latest in wireless connectivity, especially those relating to the European market. Speaking of wireless connectivity, Netgear plans to announce a Wifi 6 version of the Orbi mesh router on 6 September, which happens to be IFA opening day!
IFA is the traditional home for the launch of plenty of laptop and tablet devices, which is unsurprising considering the distance between the show and the holiday season. We predict Intel will use IFA to push the Project Athena laptop specification, bringing about plenty of vendors showing off laptops promising faster performance, better graphics and, of course, improved battery lives, all thanks to Ice Lake 10th gen Core processors.
We of course will be bringing you the best from IFA 2019, so make sure to stay tuned as we make our way through Messe Berlin!
Go IFA 2019