Highlights of IFA 2017

Highlights of IFA 2017, from September 1 through September 6, focus on the newest consumer technology. The IFA or Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin is Germany’s oldest technology trade show and now one of the leading shows in the consumer electronics industry. Consumer technology companies from around the world gather this week at Europe’s version CES.  Previews indicates that some of the highlights of IFA 2017 will focus on the internet of things and artificial intelligence. 

Samsung’s Smartwatches

One of the highlights of IFA 2017 comes from Samsung. Android lovers will be thrilled to hear that the new Gear Fit 2 Pro and Gear Sport are looking about as beautiful as they’d hoped. While a bit larger and heavier than their predecessors, the new smartwatches intend to woo the sports enthusiast. 

The Gear Fit 2 Pro is similar to the original Gear Fit 2 from 2016 since it comes with the same resolution AMOLED display, battery, and storage. What it lacks in those, it more than makes up for in water resistance going from IP68 to 5 ATM. 

The Gear Sport, with a smaller battery than the Gear S3, offers a 1.2 inch Super AMOLED display, 786 MB RAM, and 4 GB of storage. The Gear Sport shares the 5 ATM water resistance rating with its sibling the Gear Fit 2 Pro making it worth looking into for those who want something a bit smaller that offers the same shower and swimming capabilities.

Acer’s Gaming Computers 

Well known gaming computer company Acer went big but not home making it one of the highlights of IFA 2017. It announced  new additions to its computing familly. 

The ACER Predator Orion 9000 offers an 18-core CPU that incorporates an Intel Core i9 and liquid cooling system. Not out yet, this will be offered up just in time for the holiday rush in December starting at $1200. 

ACER also announced two new gaming laptops that build upon its current models. The Swift 5 and the Spin 5 offer gamers Intel Core processors. The biggest difference between the two lies in the Swift 5’s touchscreen and the Spin 5’s graphic card, choice of 13 or 15 inch screen, and expanded memory. 

Finally, the piece de resistance of the Acer’s announcements is the fanless convertable laptop. The Acer Switch offers an option of being a tablet or laptop. In addition, the new Switch offers a much nicer-looking design thatn the Acer Aspire Switch . 

Huawei’s New AI Integrations 

Currently the bronze medalist of the smartphone race, Huawei is planning to showcase its new artificial intelligence smartphone features. Announcing the new technology, Huawei is planning to match Apple and Samsung. 

The new AI will feature many of the same qualities other smartphones incorporate. It will offer language translation, follow voice commands, and incorporate augmented reality. 

What makes this announcement one of the highlights of IFA 2017 is that the new Huawei phones will use Kirin chips instead of Snapdragon chips making Apple and Huawei even in the “use your own core processor” race. 

Following the news from IFA 2017, the future of electronics seems to increasing incorporate not just the interconnectedness of devices, but also the desire to make them smarter. As IFA 2017 follows nine months after, or 3 months before depending on how you look at it, the question becomes what CES 2018 will have to offer that IFA doesn’t. 

What are your predictions for what we’ll see at CES 2018 that expands upon this?