IFA 2020 Special Edition Trends

Here at BWP we love consumer tech and always keep up with the latest trends. Like all of us, IFA 2020 had to adapt to COVID-19, so this year it was delivered as a hybrid mix of physical and virtual events across its usual autumn weekend. Where last year’s show had 2,300 exhibitors, 2020’s ‘Special Edition’ IFA had under 200, yet it still remains the most important showcase for tech trends and innovations.

We dialled in from the office this year rather than heading across to the Messe, here are our key take outs:

Mobile
It’s all about the 5G! Not a mass of new phones or tablets this year but Samsung gave us possibly its cheapest 5G phone with the Galaxy A42 5G and the upgraded Galaxy Z Fold 2,  £1,799 of folding phone tech, plus all the usual multi-app refinements and 5G. Whilst TCL launched a new line-up of budget-friendly Android tablets to compete with the Amazon Fire range.

Smart Home
No slowing down for the smart home sector. Amazon-owned, Blink's well regarded smart security cameras got an upgrade for autumn 2020 with the new Indoor and Outdoor. Four-year battery life, night vision and two-way chat plus Alexa integrations. Neato announced the D8, D9 and D10 robot vacuum cleaning trio, featuring a HEPA filter and LiDAR guidance system. The Lenovo Smart Clock Essential is a talkative timepiece that nails the basics. Bless your bedside table with this Google Assistant-equipped alarm clock.

Audio
Definitely not all about that base, more noise-cancellation, portability, and waterproofing. With new noise-cancelling headphones and true wireless earbuds from JBL, Philips and Fresh ‘n Rebel. An abundance of speakers on offer, both the Sonos ‘Move’ portable smart speaker and the Harman Kardon Citation 200 combines Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity to take your music seamlessly from indoors to outdoors, along with a host of rugged waterproof speakers from JBL. 

TV Displays
V has provided both a source of news and a distraction from world events and Philips continues to deliver the goods with the PHILIPS OLED+935 including its new P5 image processor with AI. The standout device is undoubtably the Philips Hue Play gradient light strip, which adds Ambilight features to your TV. The new gradient model is capable of mixing up the shades and colours thanks to a series of individually addressable LEDs.

Wearables
The increased consumer awareness around health and wellbeing has elevated the wearable device market. IFA 2020 has largely been dominated by smartwatches, with the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy Fit 2, the Honor Watch GS Pro, Honor Watch ES, Fitbit Sense and a new TCL smartwatch designed for seniors, complete with a fall detection feature. In true IFA-style, the humble facemask has even had some wearable-tech savvy upgrades. LG has developed the PuriCare wearable air purifier. Yes, it is a powered air purifier that straps to your face with the added touch of a case equipped with UV-LED lights to kill harmful germs while charging the mask.