IFA Berlin kicks off in the name of AI: everything you need to know

The appointment cwith the European consumer electronics fair is from 5 to 9 September, and what will be staged at Messe Berlin is the 101st edition of the Internationale Funkausstellung. On the home page of the event's official website is the title "Imagine the Future at IFA 2025", and the future that enthusiasts and professionals are ready to discover in the exhibition halls (and in the set-ups that some companies have organised in the city) is, as always, that of home technology and the innovations that will mark the way we live, work and communicate in the name of greater environmental sustainability. Taking the lion's share, once again, is artificial intelligence in all its possible ramifications and applications, from emotional robotics to smart living devices to AI-enhanced content.

Innovation Stage, Dream Stage and Creator Stage: these are the stages that will become venues for discussion and debate on the main topics of IFA 2025, and the list of keynotes at the opening of the event includes the names of Yannick Fierling, President and CEO of Electrolux Group, and Markus Miele, Managing Partner of Miele & Cie. Their respective keynotes will focus on the role of sustainable innovation for the future of home and consumer technology and how artificial intelligence embedded in smart appliances will further transform our homes in the long run. Also awaited with great curiosity is the keynote speech by Jack Shuai Li, CEO of JD Worldwide & Senior VP of JD Group, the Chinese giant behind the e-commerce site JD.com, which is celebrating its official entry into Europe in Berlin after acquiring a majority stake in Media Markt-Saturn (Europe's largest retailer). In terms of exhibition areas, this year's main novelties are expected at the Ifa Creator Hub, a meeting point for influencers, content creators and their communities, the Beauty Hub (making its absolute debut in Hall 17) dedicated to the world of fitness and digital health, and the Outdoor Cooking & Gardening, where a veritable world of experiences for outdoor enthusiasts will be set up, with innovative solutions for cooking and gardening.

For years now, the Berlin event has not given the classic bang for the buck when it comes to new products, and this year's tradition should also be respected, although the list of new products on the market launch pad will be substantial. In the mobile sphere, for example, there is curiosity around Samsung on the source of foldable devices (there is persistent talk of the Korean giant's first triple-foldable), while new mid-range and high-end smartphone models are expected from Honor and a few other Chinese manufacturers (such as Zte with its Nubia brand), characterised by processors optimised for artificial intelligence, cutting-edge cameras, high refresh rate Oled displays and ultra-fast rechargeable batteries. Data accuracy and ergonomic design are instead the cornerstones of the new generation of wearable devices, and here the surprises (some announced as in the case of Huawei's new smartwatches) should not be lacking among watches with

enhanced health sensors, rings with increasingly smart functionality, and gadgets to carry with you at all times for monitoring your well-being. On the TV front, once the real attraction of IFA, the new announcements will most likely be about energy-efficient Oled and MicroLed technology-based panels and AI tools for image processing. 8K screens, still a niche market, could be back in the spotlight thanks to new supported content and increasingly high-performance video processors, but the "leitmotif" that will characterise the installations in the Messe Berlin pavilions is decidedly different, and once again we are talking about home automation and the smart home. The entire white goods sector (fridges, ovens, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and so on) has long since 'converted' to the word of artificial intelligence for the management of energy consumption and the optimised use of appliance functions, and this year's edition will in fact follow the same concept. More than substantial novelties in terms of Gen AI, in short, we could finally witness the consecration of the new era of the smart home, that of total interoperability (and consequent greater ease of configuration and management of devices via mobile apps and smartphones) between products of different brands under the banner of the Matter standard.

The first press conferences are scheduled for Thursday, 4 September, but something, as usual, has already been made official by some of the vendors who will open their doors to the public on Friday. LG Electronics, as per tradition, has officially anticipated the novelties it will bring to the showcase and the most important concerns the proprietary artificial intelligence platform ThinQ AI, which will integrate two new services (ThinQ UP and ThinQ Care) and will finally be available also for the European market. The Korean company thus wants to give a strong signal to its numerous competitors in terms of sustainable smart home solutions, and the above-mentioned services are in fact its calling card. ThinQ UP, specifically, allows compatible appliances to acquire new functionalities through software updates, with the possibility of introducing specific functions in as many specific regions based on user feedback collected through the ThinQ app; ThinkQ Care, on the other hand, works on the proactive maintenance of devices to detect possible anomalies in advance, using a large database of data and intelligent diagnostic systems for this. Also from Lg will be a series of AI-equipped washing solutions, the flagship of which announced is the LG HeatPump washer-dryer (formerly known as the WashCombo and part of the Lg Signature collection), and in the same sphere is Samsung, which in Berlin will present the new Bespoke AI washing machine in energy efficiency class A-65% and the second generation of the Bespoke AI Laundry Combo. Also making its debut at IFA and in Europe is the Bespoke AI dishwasher with AI Wash function (launched in Korea and the US earlier this year), which uses a high-sensitivity sensor to measure water turbidity and an artificial intelligence algorithm to automatically select the best washing programme based on the degree of soiling of the dishes.