IFA 2015: Going beyond smartphones with a perfect mix of IoT, hybrids and more!

While **CES** kicks off the year for technology enthusiasts, it’s IFA that reflects the trends by the end of the year. The IFA 2015 has seen the usual flow of smartphones, but there is definitely something different about the technology event this year. If you glance through all the announcements from major companies, it is quite evident that manufacturers have started looking beyond the usual smartphone launches. Yes, we are on the same mobile path, but there is a certain shift in pattern at what mobile means to many.  Firstly, wearables as a segment is here to stay and the product category didn’t disappoint us at the IFA. Motorola pulled out its answer to Apple Watch with the **second-gen Moto 360** , while so did **Samsung** in yet another attempt that wooing the smartwatch segment, and reportedly it did manage to do so to some extend. Asus had its ZenWatch successor out, and Google ensured its Android Wear got a fair amount of attention. Unlike a few years ago, when we were looking how far can a manufacturer push the hardware and software of a phone, they hardly seem to be the ‘only’ key factors now. The focus is now slowly shifting towards what else can your smartphone do, refined software support with other services and products, and so on. There is no denying that there were a handful phone launches from **Huawei** , **Lenovo** , **Sony** and others. It all seems like a tug of war with the price point. However, besides the fight for 4GB of RAM, Marshall’s rocknroll unconventionally styled phone and Alcatel’s phone with a denim back, there isn’t anything particularly striking to remember.

IFA 2015 looked like an extension of CES when it came to Internet of Things. Yes, IoT is taking slow yet steady steps. Samsung continued to give a vision of where it stands in the IoT space when competing with others like Google and Apple. Samsung explained how it plans to dig deeper into making our lives easier with smart technologies for home and auto. Google also announced further improvements to the **Nest thermostats** . Research firms and analysts the world over have been consistent with one observation – decline in tablet sales. However, this hasn’t discouraged manufacturers and the IFA this year will vouch for it. From Samsung to Lenovo, companies have dished out tablets in varying sizes. We also saw Alcatel churn out a massive 17-inch tablet for kitchens. While PCs and AIOs have been given a miss, clearly hinting at a path to extinction, hybrids and laptops clearly seem to be replacing them. The IFA saw companies come forward and pull the wraps off several laptops and hybrids. It could possibly be the arrival of Windows 10 and Intel’s Skylake that may have ignited the ray of hope. But how long will it last? It’s too early to say.  Its the TVs segment that has been quite consistent over the past couple of years, and this year is no different. At the look of it, all companies are trying to convert your living room into a big 4K display. It is interesting that we still have a dearth of 4k content, but that hasn’t stopped the number of OLED 4K TVs from growing by manifold. The IFA 2015 wasn’t a show heavily dominated by a particular segment and rather brought a refreshing mix of phones, tablets, hybrids, IoT and ‘other important things’.