IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin) is Europe’s biggest consumer electronics show. From 31st August to 5th September, Messe Berlin is opening its doors to hundreds of brands for a showcase of new products.
From Samsung to Sony, Technics to Philips, this is when we find out the gear and gadgets to look forward to over the coming weeks and months.
And there's already news on 8K TVs from LG, Samsung and more, a Philips + B&W OLED, headphones galore, wireless speakers, and plenty more.
IFA 2018 - Day 4 highlights
Samsung 8K QLED hands-on review
VQ introduces Alexa voice control to its vintage Hepburn speaker
IFA 2018 - Day 3 highlights
Bose gets smart with new voice-controlled speaker and soundbar range
B&O brings Google Assistant to high-end BeoSound wireless speakers
Hisense budget OLED TV set for Q4 launch
Hisense shows off two ULED 2019 televisions at IFA
Huawei announces its AICube smart speaker with Alexa voice control built in
Philips OLED+ 903 with Sound by B&W hands-on review
Technics reveals SL-G700 SACD player and network streamer
Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive Bluetooth: 24-bit support, low latency and ‘glitch-free’ streaming
Sony announces UK pricing for its flagship Master Series LCD and OLED TVs
Yamaha’s MusicCast VINYL 500 is an all-in-one streaming turntable
IFA 2018 - Day 2 highlights
Sharp launches 2nd-gen 8K TVs – and an 8K soundbar
Samsung reveals Q900R 8K QLED TV range with 8K AI upscaling
AKG unveils four new wireless headphones at IFA 2018
Harman Kardon reveals Citation Series home cinema speaker system with Google Assistant
IFA 2018: Toshiba reveals 8K, full array, voice-controlled and ‘wall art’ TVs
JBL announces four Link products with Google Assistant at IFA 2018
JBL launches new Charge 4 portable Bluetooth speaker
LG shows off 88in 8K OLED and giant 173in MicroLED display at IFA 2018
New JBL Endurance Peaks are truly wireless in-ears for £130
Philips launches OLED+ 903 TV with Bowers & Wilkins sound system
Sony launches WH-1000XM3 Bluetooth noise-cancelling headphones
Sony announces three new home cinema projectors at IFA
Sony introduces WF-SP900 true wireless sport buds and £750 MDR-Z7M2 over-ears
Ultimate Ears launches Boom 3 and Megaboom 3 Bluetooth speakers
IFA 2018 - Day 1 highlights
Audio Technica introduces entry-level VM95 range of cartridges
Audio Technica unveils its first true wireless headphones
Beyerdynamic's new Byrd headphones promises personalised sound quality
B&O adopts radical design for Edge wireless speaker with AirPlay 2 and voice control
Google Home Max smart speaker is now available in the UK
HTC unveils midrange U12 Life smartphone with Bluetooth 5 and aptX HD
Libratone announces Zipp 2 and Zipp Mini 2 smart speakers with Alexa
Sonos Amp aims to be the heart of your smart AV system
Technics launches new SC-C50 wireless speaker (UPDATED)
Yamaha introduces flagship 5000 hi-fi component range
IFA 2018 pre-show news
Philips confirms 903 OLED TV with integrated B&W sound system
Samsung 8K TV ranges set to launch by end of 2018
IFA 2018 what to expect
B&O
Whether or not the speaker and headphone company will be bringing out new products remains to be seen (you'd think it would be - it's hosting a press conference), we do expect it to be showing off its Spring/Summer collection - which includes the Beoplay A1 and Beoplay P2 speakers, and the Beoplay H4 wireless headphones.
LG
Will LG install its iconic OLED tunnel for the third year running? We wouldn't be alone in saying we hope so. Equally likely is its indulgence in all things OLED, its 2018 OLED TV range getting off to a flying start with the five-star OLED55C8PLA.
Probably amongst the screens will be its new Atmos soundbar, the SK10Y, and (considering LG’s chief executive officer Jo Seong-Jin and chief technology officer Dr. I.P. Park are due to deliver a keynote about the brand’s ThinQ artifical intelligence), we can expect to see the latest fare that falls under that umbrella - including the G7 ThinQ smartphone and WK7 ThinQ wireless speaker. And maybe an ‘intelligent’ fridge or two. Hopefully there’ll be new new product as well.
LG used IFA 2017 to unveil (and demonstrate) its V30, the first smartphone with MQA audio support, so we could be treated to a new smartphone this time round too.
Panasonic
We’re more confident than ever with Panasonic’s OLED efforts having recently seen (and awarded five stars to) its TX-55FZ802, and we don’t doubt OLED will be under the spotlight in Panasonic’s booth - probably alongside its recently announced 4K Blu-ray player.
With 2018 marking Panasonic’s 100th birthday, we anticipate more product announcements at IFA to mark the occasion. And of course, the ‘100 Years’ exhibition we saw at CES 2018 could resurface.
MORE: Panasonic 2018 TVs: OLED, 4K, LCD - everything you need to know
Philips
Last month, Philips and B&W announced a "a new multi-year exclusive partnership", which we imagine means better sound on future Philips TVs, courtesy of Bowers & Wilkins. According to both companies, IFA is where we’ll get the "first glimpse of the potential of the new partnership…” The news has now been confirmed but details remain thin on the ground, so we look forward to getting the full scoop on the showfloor.
Samsung
While we’ve been able to ogle 8K screens during the last few IFAs thanks to their presence on Sharp’s stand, this could be the first IFA we see an 8K TV (or two) from Samsung. The Korean giant supposedly has two 8K TV ranges up its sleeve, with the first due to launch towards the end of the year.
Who knows what else we could see - Samsung’s next-gen Frame TV? Another high-end (or even new flagship) QLED TV? But with the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event taking place in New York on August 9th, we now know that IFA won’t be the launch pad for company’s forthcoming Galaxy Note 9.
We'll be hands on at the Samsung IFA 2018 press conference on the Thursday morning.
MORE: Samsung 2018 TVs: QLED, LCD, 8K, 4K – everything you need to know
Sharp
It's unclear what Sharp will be showing at its conference, but we imagine that giant (truly giant) 4K and 8K HDR sets will be on the cards as they have been in recent years...
Sony
One of the most prolific AV brands out there, Sony is never short of new products to talk about at IFA. IFA 2017 set the stage for Sony to announce three projectors, wireless noise-cancelling headphones, a HDR-supporting smartphone, a Walkman and a Google Assistant smart speaker. We're expecting sequels and second-gens, and possibly even some more Sony OLED TV news too.
Needless to say it will be all hands on our laptop keyboards during the Sony IFA 2018 press conference on Thursday 30th.
TCL
Although nothing has been announced as yet, QLED TVs and new Android TVs is where we'd put our money. We'd expect lots of big, budget 4K TVs too - including the ones that have recently launched in the UK.
Toshiba
IFA 2017 was a prolific affair for Toshiba, who announced everything from a big-screen 4K OLED TV to a small-screen Star Wars-themed telly. We expect more of the former from the TV brand, as well as the selection of 4K and HD TVs it's been making with Amazon - which runs the Fire TV operating system found on the Fire TV Sticks.
MORE: Amazon unveils Toshiba Fire TV Edition 4K televisions
Technics
Although Technics only launched its SP-10R and SL-1000R earlier this year, we can only hope the iconic turntable brand will continue its recent IFA tradition of product announcements.
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