IFA 2018: What to expect from Sony, LG, Acer, Samsung, Huawei and more

As summer officially comes to a close and we roll into Autumn, the Internationale Funkausstellung or as it’s more commonly called IFA is about to begin. In the same league as massive consumer electronic and trade show events such as CES (Consumer Electronics Show) or MWC (Mobile World Congress), IFA is one of the oldest industrial exhibitions dating back to 1924. For the tech savvy, this is among the Mecca’s that must be visited at least once. As always, IFA will be conducted in the German capital of Berlin and this year it will run from held 31 August to 5 September.

Sony, Samsung, and a few others can be considered as regulars to this event and we have a broad idea as to what they might be launching. As for others, we can only guess, but in this day of leaks and rumours, a guess might be as good as fact. We shall, of course, be providing day-to-day live coverage of IFA as tech2 will have boots on the ground and as such, we shall be keeping you apprised of all confirmed launches.

In any case, here is what you can expect from IFA 2018:

Sony

Solid rumours have it that Sony is all set to launch the Sony Xperia XZ3 smartphone at IFA. Leaked images of the phone revealed that Sony still has not boarded the notch-express, and that is always good to see. Instead, we seem to have a design that is almost identical to that of the XZ2 Premium launched earlier this year.

What is surprising, however, is that the leaked photo showed a single lens camera at the back. Rumour has it that this single unit will be a massive 48 MP sensor. In line with all other flagships, we should expect the top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, at least 6 GB of RAM and also a QHD+ display to be present.

It’s also a known fact that Sony and great audio products go hand in hand. At IFA this year we expect the Japanese electronics giant to reveal the WH-1000X MK3 headphones along with a bevvy of new audio products to satisfy the most quintessential audiophile tendencies, or at least, we hope they do.

Samsung

Another regular to IFA is Samsung and for some time earlier, the South Korean tech giant used the event for unveiling its new Note smartphone. That will not be the case this year, as the Note 9 is already out along with the Galaxy Watch and also the Galaxy Tab S4. So it is safe to assume that Samsung will not be launching any mobile device at the event.

It has, however, send out a launch invite which features a TV and it just might be that Samsung will be unveiling the much talked about microLED TV and also 8K QLED TVs. There might also be new information revealed about the recently announced Bixby-powered Galaxy Home smart speaker.

Lenovo/ Motorola

Lenovo is most likely going to announce a new addition to its Yoga lineup, the Yoga 930. Also, it’s expected that, like last year, Lenovo will be showing up with some new VR gear, and we expect to hear more about the company’s Mirage Solo VR headset.

Lenovo also owns Motorola and at IFA there is the possibility of seeing the Moto X5 or the Moto P30. Clarity will only come during Lenovo’s keynote at IFA.

Acer

Acer, synonymous for a few with the ultimate gaming machine, will be showcasing the latest in gaming laptops featuring 8th gen Intel i5, i7, and i9 processors and there is also the possibility of a new Chromebook being introduced. The keynote is to begin on 29 August at 2.00 pm IST. We’ve embedded the stream here for your convenience.

BlackBerry

Once one of the biggest smartphone brands around, and now just a shadow of its former self, the name BlackBerry still commands some respect. At IFA 2018, BlackBerry is quite likely going to unveil what looks like the Key2 LE, which is a cheaper version of the Key2 , but offering the same physical QWERTY keyboard.

LG

LG could announce the LG V40 ThinQ smartphone at IFA 2018, but seeing as it just launched the G7 ThinQ , the chances are pretty slim. However, chances are quite high that LG will unveil its own MicroLED TV to compete with Samsung. We can also expect more information regarding LG’s ecosystem of smart, connected devices called as ThinQ AI. Could we see an LG smart-speaker as well? We shall know for sure at the event.

Huawei

All eyes will be glued to Huawei’s keynote at IFA 2018 as it is highly expected that the Chinese smartphone giant will launch the Mate 20 series. Along with that, Huawei will also be introducing its next-gen flagship chipset called the Kirin 980 chipset, which is expected to power the Mate 20 series and all future Huawei and Honor flagships of this year. We might also hear more on Huawei’s plan for 5G connectivity.

Razer

Gaming hardware maker, Razer is expected to make further announcements regarding its concept Project Linda , which was demoed at CES this year. For those who are not aware, Project Linda happens to be a laptop which is powered by a Razer phone. Speaking of which, we might also see a glimpse of the Razer Phone 2, although we should not keep our hopes too high on that front.

Fitbit

Smart wearables maker Fitbit has been announcing a new device at IFA for the past couple of years and this year will be no different. Fitbit’s upgrade to the Charge 2, called the Charge 3 , which was announced recently, will most definitely be showcased.