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Long ago, IFA was a European home-goods trade show. Now it's basically Fall CES: the big moment before the holidays when large electronics companies get their product lines in order for later in the year. While the Berlin-based show still has a strong European focus, plenty of U.S. products appear at IFA as well.
IFA has an odd cadence to it. Because the show floor is open to the public, most of the press and trade announcements happen before the show formally begins. We'll start to see major announcements rolling out on Tuesday, Sept. 1 and they'll largely be done by
Friday, Sept. 4, the first day the show floor is open. Still, the huge IFA floor is full of all sorts of amazing technology, so we'll be cruising around looking for the best innovations.
Chips
Intel has a major press conference on Sept. 2, where it's expected to announce Skylake, its sixth-generation Core family and its newest mainstream desktop/laptop set of chips. Because they're designed to operate at a range of wattages from 4.5 watts to 45 watts, Skylake chips can work in devices from tablets up to desktops (but not in phones.) Skylake chips also use less power (even when driving displays supporting high resolutions, such as 4K) and integrate next-generation imaging, audio, and memory technologies.
At Intel's developer forum in August, the company went into details about the Skylake architecture, but the only chips it's actually launched so far were some super-fast gaming versions. If Skylake chips are coming, we should expect to see some Skylake-powered desktops and laptops as well.
Home Entertainment
For HDTVs in North America, don't expect much news out of IFA; the big announcements always come from CES in January. However, we can still see some interesting trends and concepts in home entertainment come out of Berlin, the most important one being the UHD Alliance further fleshing out Ultra HD Blu-ray technology.
Ultra high-definition (UHD, or 4K) video has been technologically possible for a few years, and 4K HDTVs have become more and more affordable. However, besides streaming content through services like Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Instant Video, actual things to watch haven't been very common. This could change with Ultra HD Blu-rays, a new Blu-ray standard that allows much more data to be stored on the discs, thanks to both multi-layer media and compression systems. Besides 4K video, Ultra HD Blu-ray discs will support advanced features like high dynamic range (HDR) content and Dolby Atmos object-based surround sound. This will require you to get a new Blu-ray player that supports it, and in the case of HDR and Dolby Atmos, new HDTVs that support 4K and HDR, as well as Atmos-compatible sound systems.
Expect to see some new audio products, including headphones, earphones, and headsets from major manufacturers, along with soundbars and other sound systems. Dolby Atmos uses height and audio reflection to produce a much more accurate and all-
encompassing surround sound, but has previously been only for commercial theaters and expensive custom home theaters. We'll likely see some more accessible Atmos sound systems at IFA.
IFA has an odd cadence to it. Because the show floor is open to the public, most of the press and trade announcements happen before the show formally begins. We'll start to see major announcements rolling out on Tuesday, Sept. 1 and they'll largely be done by
Friday, Sept. 4, the first day the show floor is open. Still, the huge IFA floor is full of all sorts of amazing technology, so we'll be cruising around looking for the best innovations.
Chips
Intel has a major press conference on Sept. 2, where it's expected to announce Skylake, its sixth-generation Core family and its newest mainstream desktop/laptop set of chips. Because they're designed to operate at a range of wattages from 4.5 watts to 45 watts, Skylake chips can work in devices from tablets up to desktops (but not in phones.) Skylake chips also use less power (even when driving displays supporting high resolutions, such as 4K) and integrate next-generation imaging, audio, and memory technologies.
At Intel's developer forum in August, the company went into details about the Skylake architecture, but the only chips it's actually launched so far were some super-fast gaming versions. If Skylake chips are coming, we should expect to see some Skylake-powered desktops and laptops as well.
Home Entertainment
For HDTVs in North America, don't expect much news out of IFA; the big announcements always come from CES in January. However, we can still see some interesting trends and concepts in home entertainment come out of Berlin, the most important one being the UHD Alliance further fleshing out Ultra HD Blu-ray technology.
Ultra high-definition (UHD, or 4K) video has been technologically possible for a few years, and 4K HDTVs have become more and more affordable. However, besides streaming content through services like Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Instant Video, actual things to watch haven't been very common. This could change with Ultra HD Blu-rays, a new Blu-ray standard that allows much more data to be stored on the discs, thanks to both multi-layer media and compression systems. Besides 4K video, Ultra HD Blu-ray discs will support advanced features like high dynamic range (HDR) content and Dolby Atmos object-based surround sound. This will require you to get a new Blu-ray player that supports it, and in the case of HDR and Dolby Atmos, new HDTVs that support 4K and HDR, as well as Atmos-compatible sound systems.
Expect to see some new audio products, including headphones, earphones, and headsets from major manufacturers, along with soundbars and other sound systems. Dolby Atmos uses height and audio reflection to produce a much more accurate and all-
encompassing surround sound, but has previously been only for commercial theaters and expensive custom home theaters. We'll likely see some more accessible Atmos sound systems at IFA.
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