The IFA (International Consumer Electronics Fair) 2018 is in full swing. Between August 31st and September 5th, more than 250.000 trade visitors, press representatives and consumers from all over the world stream into the exhibition halls under the Berlin radio tower to learn about today's innovations and tomorrow's technologies of the future.
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Over 1800 exhibitors
With over 1800 exhibitors from the electronics industry, it is one of the largest trade fairs for consumer electronics in the world. In addition to the numerous large companies such as Google, Samsung and Amazon, many start-ups, research laboratories and universities are also represented who want to contribute their part to the innovation of the next generation of technology.
The main focus this year is on innovative voice control and artificial intelligence (AI).
The IFA, which takes place every summer, is one of the oldest industrial fairs in Germany and has been an integral part of the entertainment and consumer electronics industry since it was first exhibited in 1924.
In addition to the presentation of new products, the IFA also offers many events such as the IFA Keynotes, the IFA+ Summit and the IFA hosted conferences. There, exhibitors and experts can talk and argue about the possible future of their technology sector in discussions and presentations.
IFA events
In the IFA NEXT Startup Days Founders and companies of tomorrow present their ideas and developments on six theme days. On the stage in Hall 26, the start-ups can inspire investors, journalists and potential buyers with their products in so-called 5-minute pitches.
The new one also belongs to Hall 26 Shift automotive premiere, which takes place on September 4th and 5th. In cooperation with the Geneva International Motor Show, Palexbo and Messe Berlin, the IFA is offering a convention on new technologies relating to mobility for the first time.
Parallel to the IFA in the exhibition halls, the IFA Global Markets in the STATION Berlin instead of . The sourcing platform running in the center of the city is the ideal place for all suppliers, component manufacturers as well as equipment and design producers. With specially provided meeting rooms, tours for trade visitors and expert talks, it is the ideal place to make new business contacts.
8K TVs, ultra-thin notebooks and powerful smartphones
The many innovations traditionally include presentations of new televisions, notebooks and smartphones from established manufacturers.
8K, artificial intelligence and Alexa voice control
Samsung presents, for example, its new Q900 series, so-called 8K QLED TVs. With a total of 7.680 x 4.320 pixels, the televisions have a pixel rate four times that of 4K devices (3.840 x 2.160) and 16 times that of Full-HD-Displays. In addition, the built-in AI is said to upscale different resolutions to 8K and thus improve sharpness, contours and shading. The first devices in this series are to be available exclusively from Saturn & Media Markt from mid-October. The price range is between €4.999 and €14.999.
Auch LG presented first 8KOLED TV in front, but no mention of the start of sales and price.
Panasonic At the IFA, on the other hand, it relies on voice control in its new devices.
From October 2018, the new Ultra HD TVs will be available with the Alexa voice control of Amazon fitted. The retrofitting of all devices purchased in 2018 also runs automatically and free of charge. With Alexa, the television can be innovatively controlled by voice and compatible household devices can also be connected.
The notebook trend is moving in the direction of – smaller, narrower, lighter.
The new notebooks Asus Zenbook row or the Acer Swift 5 offer smaller borders, more power and interesting features.
More Performance and efficiency, the new Asus notebooks are mainly due to the newly installed processors of the Whiskey Lake-U generation of the Intel Core i series.
A new feature is the introduction of the "ErgoLift", which ensures that the keyboard is lifted at the back when the device is folded out, thus creating an improved air flow for the fan.
A practical change in the Zenbook series in the 13 and 14 inch versions is the new, illuminated number block integrated into the touchpad, which would otherwise be omitted as standard in the size.
In the Pro version of the 14-inch notebook, the TouchPad is even replaced by a so-called ScreenPad, which can act as a pocket calculator, control element for Microsoft Office or Spotify, among other things. The high-resolution ScreenPad can also be used as a second screen.
Other positive changes to the Zenbook series include an upgrade from Full HD to 4K displays and improved runtime thanks to a more powerful battery. Entry-level devices in the series start at €1.100.
The Acer Swift 5 scores with its unbelievable lightness.
The notebook announced in April and now presented at the IFA is currently the lightest in its 970-inch class with a weight of 15 grams.
This low weight was achieved through the use of magnesium as the housing material and the omission of the glass cover on the touchscreen. This device also features a new processor from the Whiskey Lake-U family.
In contrast to the Zenbook series from Asus, the 15,6-inch display has a touch display, but only with a full HD Resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels instead of 4K.
The starting price is 1200€.
Smartphone launches 2018
The IFA is not a classic smartphone trade fair, but there were also some new products in this area. In addition to top smartphones such as the Sony Xperia XZ3 and the ZTE Axon 9 Pro, the focus was mainly on smartphones between the mid-range and flagship models. According to the mobile phone manufacturers, demand has increased in this price segment.
Among other things, these new devices were presented:
– ZTE Axon 9 Pro,
–Huawei Mate 20 Lite
– Blackberry Key2 LE
– HTC U20 Lite
- Motorola One
- LG G7 One
The “Light” version of the BlackBerry Khey 2 with a brand-typical analogue keyboard and that ZTE Axon 9 Pro, which scores with great hardware equipment and a comparatively low entry-level price.
The BlackBerry Key 2 LE should be around €2 cheaper than its better equipped brother Key 250 and thus close a gap in the product range. BlackBerry, on the other hand, saves on the hardware in terms of battery, camera and processor. In addition, the LE does not have the sensibly integrated touch on the keyboard in the Key 2 and thus the control by swiping gestures. The Blackberry Key 2 LE should appear in September and the starting price should be around €400.
The hardware in ZTE Axon 9 Pro shines with a built-in Qualcomm 845 processor with 8 cores, 4 with 1,8 GHz each for power saving and another 4 with 2,8 GHz each for performance tuned cores. With a diagonal of 6,21 inches and a resolution of 2248x 1080 pixels, which is interrupted by the notch at the top edge of the display, the Axon 9 Pro offers a sharp picture.
The screen also scores with a high-contrast, colorful and bright OLED display. The ZTE's camera offers solid results but can't keep up with top-of-the-line competing devices like the Samsung Galaxy S9+ and Huawei P20 Pro.
Unfortunately, the software is only based on Android 8.1, instead of the newer version 9. The planned RRP of €650 is certainly the main selling point for the ZTE Axon 9 Pro and thus sets a strong exclamation mark over the competition.
In addition to the classic innovations, there is also a lot of space at the IFA 2018 for visions and curiosities of the future.
Dog robots, smart diapers and flying vacuum cleaners
Are parts of these curious, but often very well thought-out innovations at the IFA 2018.
The so-called Flying Magic Cleaner from Japan is one of these inventions. In short, it's a "flying vacuum cleaner" - but it's not quite that simple.
For Ataraina is showing a flying drone at the trade fair, which is supposed to suck the dust out of the air in your own four walls. However, this does not only mean house dust, it should also filter ultra-fine particles such as fine dust or even tobacco smoke from the air.
With the help of distance sensors, the flying robot scans the room and thus prevents a collision with walls or similar obstacles. Even if the Flying Magic Cleaner is only a prototype so far, this new invention could find its use especially in homes on busy roads.
Another development that may only appear sensible at second glance could not only help many parents. Because the smart diaper from Cvilux with the name "Opro9“ has a built-in humidity and temperature sensor and sends a notification via Bluetooth to the smartphone when it erupts. The range is approx. 30 m and the app can be used to monitor up to 5 diapers at the same time.
The company wants to use its invention to address nursing homes and childcare facilities, among other things. The product is to be launched at a price of €50 per sensor.
This is a development inspired by science fiction films Aska3D Plate.
The touch panel is projected into the room floating freely, but can only be seen and operated from a certain angle. Buttons and controls can be operated with the 3D touchpad. Thus, for example, entering a password cannot be recognized from the outside and is particularly useful in the security sector.
However, handling is still a bit difficult and input does not always work reliably. Especially because there is no haptic feedback. However, further improvements could make this development prevail in the future.
A little helper for on the go is the Pockettalk translator from Sourcenext. This offers translations in over 74 languages, depending on the language in audio or text output. Operation is extremely simple. You speak the text to be translated into the device and the small box translates it using an online database that can be accessed via the Internet. The price should be between 250-300€.
The entertainment robot presented at the IFA AIBO from Sony come back.
The robot in the form of a dog, which has been sold since 1999 but was discontinued in 2006, is getting a new edition. It has been available in Japan since January of this year and is scheduled to hit the US market in September. A release in Europe is still open. The entertainment robot can give paws, play with the owner and perform various other imitations of its real role model. In Japan, you pay the equivalent of just under $1.500 for such a dog-like robot.