IFA, a major consumer electronics show, will see the world's leading brands in consumer electronics and home appliances present a record number of new products at the show opening today (August 31) in Berlin, Germany.

This year’s IFA is booked up and boasts two fully occupied exhibition areas: the entire Berlin Exhibition Grounds as well as IFA Global Markets (for trade visitors only) at Station Berlin on Gleisdreieck are full up for 2018, said a statement from the organisers.

The event will run until September 5.

The world’s leading brands will showcase their latest technology highlights: intelligent and interconnected home appliances, artificial intelligence and TVs featuring an even better picture quality are some of the big trends at this year’s event, it said.

This year, in its role as an innovative force for growth in the consumer electronics and home appliance markets, IFA will continue to expand and build on its standing as an international platform and meeting place.

Furthermore, IFA has long established itself as the world’s largest trade show for home appliances, and this year the industry is celebrating its tenth participation in the event. Since the launch of Home Appliances@IFA 2008 the number of companies exhibiting small and major domestic appliances has trebled.

Hans-Joachim Kamp, chairman of the board of gfu Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH, the organisers of IFA, said: “IFA’s success is impressive proof of the show’s long-term ability to make forward-looking decisions and target specific audiences. Home appliance and consumer electronics products and markets are converging all the time.”

“The event was unique in recognising this trend at an early stage. The resultant success shows it has become the world’s leading platform for both markets. It is perfectly positioned to write another chapter in this unique success story. IFA does not follow short-term trends. Its strength lies instead in a clearly defined role, in which it fully satisfies the demands of exhibitors, retailers, trade visitors, the media and the public,” he said.

This year IFA NEXT, the innovation hub at IFA, is taking place for the second time and has almost doubled its floor space in Hall 26. It also features a second stage for presenting products, technology and innovations.

In short, the event boasts an even wider range of topics and program of events, and with 125 startups from 21 countries will present more innovations than ever before. Thus, at IFA 2018 startups, entrepreneurs and designers will have even more space for their creative and forward-looking ideas.

This year, voice recognition and artificial intelligence are key topics at IFA NEXT. The House of Smart Living, an installation that sets the standard for connected living, will bring this topic closer to visitors: be it the coffee machine, digital media or energy management, everything reacts to voice commands, while a background learning process ensures machines automatically adapt every system to users’ needs.

The House of Smart Living is part of a combined presentation organized by ZVEI, VDE and ZVEH (under the aegis of ZVEH – the German Association of Electrical and IT Professions).

This is also the first time the Shift Automotive convention will be taking place there, featuring keynotes, panel discussions and motivational speeches on the future of networked mobility. The event will put consumers’ needs first and shows how new technology is changing people’s lives, thinking and the way they travel.

Dr Christian Göke, chief executive officer, Messe Berlin, said: “For us, Coinnovation is the interplay of different industries, such as Shift Automotive, where car manufacturers and electronics companies jointly discuss the challenges of the future of mobility.” – TradeArabia News Service