• Industry leadership on Artificial Intelligence and Voice Recognition on display at IFA 2018
• Home Appliances@IFA celebrates 10th anniversary
• Success story of IFA Global Markets continues – NEW : debut for Shift AUTOMOTIVE
The world’s top brands are bringing their industry leadership to IFA 2018, showcasing a wealth of smart innovation. Among the big trends on display in Berlin: intelligent, connected devices for the home, Artificial Intelligence, TVs with even better picture quality and advanced connected electric appliances. This year’s IFA is yet again fully booked, with 1,814 exhibitors occupying two exhibition areas covering 161,200 square meters. The entire Berlin Exhibition Grounds as well as IFA Global Markets (for trade visitors only) at STATION Berlin on Gleisdreieck are packed with brands, OEMs and ODMs. The popularity of IFA highlights its role as the World’s Leading Trade Show for Consumer and Home Electronics.
AI and voice recognition are rapidly making their mark in the market for appliances and consumer electronics, as consumers recognize how these technologies can help them to improve their daily lives. At IFA 2018, the benefits of both technologies are becoming obvious: people become smarter, because AI helps them to understand data, they make technology easier to use, and they take on all the boring tasks no one likes to do.
“What makes IFA special is that it’s a place for many different industries – each with their expert knowledge – to share, discuss and develop their innovation and vision. Nowadays, hardly any company can innovate without partners, alliances or open eco-systems. That brings a new mindset and heralds the Age of Co-innovation“, said Dr. Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin.
“The IFA acts as a catalyst for the digital world. No other trade show is so international and offers as much growth potential for digital innovation as IFA, “says Jens Heithecker, IFA Executive Director.
This year, IFA will build on its role as an innovative force in the consumer and home electronics market and expand as an international platform and meeting place. IFA has long established itself as the world’s largest trade show for home appliances, and this year the industry is celebrating its tenth anniversary of coming to Berlin. Since the launch of Home Appliances@IFA in 2008, the number of companies exhibiting small and major domestic appliances has trebled.
“The fact that Home Appliances@IFA is taking place for the 10th time impressively underlines IFA’s high standing. The trade show has long become the world’s leading platform for consumer electronics and home appliances, and because of this winning combination is a sustained force for innovation and growth. This role is reflected in its impressive figures and continually rising orders – in 2017 to the tune of more than 4.7 billion euros – and an exhibition area that once again is booked up. Over the six days of the show retailers, trade visitors, the media and the general public will again witness a wealth of innovations and new products“, said Hans-Joachim Kamp, chairman of the board of gfu Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH, the organizers of IFA.
“Globally, the market for home appliances diverged in 2018: in many regions the market for small and major domestic appliances continued to grow. In that area health and well-being, as well as food preparation and cordless devices were major trends. In the market for major domestic appliances there was a decline which the trend towards better-equipped, higher-quality devices should be able to absorb in the second half of 2018. Other recognizable trends include multi-purpose, interconnected appliances“, said Dr. Reinhard Zinkann, chairman ZVEI devision major Home Appliances . “IFA is an excellent platform for the home appliance industry to do business. The past ten years have been a big success. This year at IFA the industry will again demonstrate the added value that its innovative products can give to customers.“
This is the second year for IFA NEXT, the innovation hub at IFA, and it has almost doubled its floor space in Hall 26; high demand means that there is now also a second stage where start-ups and innovators can present products, technology and innovation. In short, in 2018 IFA NEXT boasts an even more topics and a broader program of events, featuring not only established R&D laboratories and leading global players, but also 125 startups from 21 countries – showcasing more innovation than ever before. This year, voice recognition and artificial intelligence are key topics at IFA NEXT.
IFA 2018 also marks the premiere for Shift AUTOMOTIVE, a two-day convention featuring keynotes, panel discussions and speeches on the future of mobility. Shift AUTOMOTIVE shows co-innovation at its best, bringing together ideas of industry leaders from the worlds of automotive and consumer electronics. The event focuses on consumers’ needs and shows how new automotive technology is changing how people work, live and drive.
As well as the Berlin Exhibition Grounds, which in 2018 are exclusively reserved for product brands, IFA is again occupying 20,000 square meters of additional exhibition space at STATION Berlin, near Potsdamer Platz. From 2 to 5 September, it’s the marketplace for IFA Global Markets, which is open exclusively to trade visitors, suppliers, component manufacturers and OEMs/ODMs, where they will meet customers and business partners from the consumer and home electronics markets.
Industry trends
Visitors to this year’s IFA will be able to admire screens with a resolution of 8k, flexible displays that can be rolled up like a window blind, large video walls, new HDR technology and 3D audio systems. The ongoing development of voice commands is another exciting area, and virtual assistants utilizing such systems will become an established feature of many more types of equipment: in televisions, sound systems, soundbars and headphones, as well as in small and major domestic appliances.
Interconnected devices continue to be the main focus of the home appliance market, a development that will lead to smarter and more diverse products. This year that will bring further improvements to the already high level of functionality of interconnected appliances. These devices can exchange information and register personal habits. Equipped with this information they can then suggest improvements and optimizations. In this way the users of interconnected devices can save time as well as benefiting from increased capacities and resources. They can also receive a wealth of advice, for example, about saving energy or clothing care, as well as new recipes and new ways of preparing meals. Consequently, in the fields of consumer electronics and home appliances, the two dominant trends of voice control and artificial intelligence (AI) will have a far-reaching influence on IFA 2018.
Markets continue to grow
In 2018 global turnover in the consumer electronics market is forecast to exceed 854 billion euros, equivalent to about one per cent growth. Developments in the global market for electrical home appliances are positive too. GfK’s market researchers predict that sales of small domestic appliances* will reach approximately 48 billion euros, a rise of around eight per cent. Sales of major domestic appliances are expected to attain 178 billion euros, an increase of 2.2 per cent. *excluding North America
About IFA Berlin
IFA is the world’s leading trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances. It will take place at the Berlin Exhibition Grounds (ExpoCenter City) from 31 August to 5 September 2018. Alongside the event, IFA Global Markets will take place from 2 to 5 September at Station Berlin, bringing together buyers and OEMs / ODMs at Europe’s largest sourcing show for the electronics sector.
For more details visit at : www.ifa-berlin.com
