Daniel Todaro sends his report from IFA Berlin 2022.
Following a two-year hiatus, IFA returned this year to re-energise the tech world’s attention! From smartphones and smart homes to TV, audio and domestic appliances, the show was packed with the newest and most exciting products from some of our favourite brands.
IFA is one of the largest tech events, with a confirmed 1,100 exhibitors and 161,000 visitors this year, and the show attracted a strong media presence – more than 2,500 journalists headed to Berlin and around half of them were representing international media organisations.
A vital industry showcase for brands presenting their latest products, IFA provides observers a window into the latest technology trends, discovering where brands are developing their product portfolios. Furthermore, it’s a barometer for retailers to see what’s coming, helping them prepare for range planning and the knowledge share required to sell these new products effectively in the coming seasons.
Since 2019 consumers’ lives have changed and there’s more consideration of lifestyle choices and the technology people use day-to-day. The overriding message of sustainability was being shouting about loudly by every brand, both in terms of materials and product usage. However, I noted that less was being said about the ethics of manufacturing and how products are made; perhaps this is a step too far to address across all category lifecycles.
The sustainability message carried into some of the stand designs too, with Panasonic and its hall being very low cost, with a focus on reduced waste (pictured above). This meant no floor covering and attention was focussed on the products rather than the setting. Also of note, was the fact that some brands didn’t even attend this year – Sony’s only presence was a meeting booth.
Read Daniel’s piece in full in the latest issue of ERT – out now!
Brands have been busy bringing new products to the market that reflect consumers’ changing styles recently. One such company was LG, which brought the new MoodUp fridge (left), which is not only filled with advanced refrigeration features but also has personalisation at its core.
Owners are able to change the colour of their fridge depending on their mood and light up their kitchen to reflect the desired ambiance. Furthermore, it incorporates speakers to play music, thus providing an additional sonic experience. With the LG ThinQ app on your mobile devices you will be able to adjust the lighting from 22 colours on the upper panels and 29 colours on the lower panels! For those that don’t need this choice of combinations there are also four pre-set colour schemes.
Elsewhere, Samsung showcased its Bespoke range of home appliances (left), which again enabled clever personalisation of your appliances to match your living space and turn them into statement pieces for your home.
This naturally extended into some more traditional technology you’d expect to see at IFA, such as the new Laser 4K Triple and NEO QLED 8K TVs.
Toshiba also had some interesting tricks up its sleeve; the new TikTok TV, for example, brings this huge social platform to the biggest screen in your home with Quantum Dot 5K technology and Dolby Atmos and Onkyo speakers.
