IFA 2017 Is Here, And It's More Than Just Gadgets

It's summertime in Berlin, and that can only mean one thing: IFA 2017 has arrived. What was once seen as the European answer to CES has bloomed into a trade show behemoth in its own right, not least thanks to its strategy of expanding into home appliances alongside the latest phones and laptops. That's happened in parallel with shifts in IFA's biggest players in the tech space.

Whereas once IFA was dominated by Samsung's big event, which in earlier years had seen several iterations of Galaxy Note make their debut, that's no longer the case. With the Note 8 already revealed, it's the turn of companies like LG and Motorola to grab their moment in the spotlight. That means the LG V30 and the Moto X4, respectively.

Of course, IFA is about more than just smartphones. Indeed, consumer technology like phones, tablets, and the Internet of Things is just one subsection of what's brought along to the show. Big screen 4K TVs rub up against the latest in white goods such as fridge-freezers, new ranges, and the geekiest of coffee machines. Samsung may not have brought the Note 8 along to Berlin, but it did bring a brand new washing machine with the promise of faster, more efficient cycles.

According to Messe Berlin, the organization responsible for IFA each year, that focus should come as no surprise. Indeed, home appliances may only have joined the IFA line-up ten years ago, but they're now occupying eleven halls at the show. It's now the world's largest trade show for the segment.

"IFA is now the most important trade show for the Consumer and Home Electronics industry," Jens Heithecker, IFA executive director, said today, "with the largest number of trade visitors and highest international attendance." Messe Berlin says it has the receipts to prove that, too, pointing to a hefty 4.5bn euros of sales made at IFA 2016.

For those of us based in the US, a fair amount of what's shown off at IFA never makes it to North American shores. While many of the brands might not be recognizable, though, the underlying message holds true. The modern smart home is more than just connected speakers and streaming TVs, it's appliances that talk with each other, and the unavoidable progression of the Internet of Things.

We'll have all the biggest news from IFA in our show hub, so keep that bookmarked to find out all the latest information.