Record numbers of exhibitors, new products and international trade visitors – high media interest from journalists of 160 countries – IFA keynotes outlined the future of 5G, streaming media and sustainability – IFA NEXT featured Japan as the first global innovation partner – SHIFT-The Future of Mobility showed innovations in mobility tech with AXA, BMW, Daimler, Ford, Fujitsu and VW – IFA Global Markets strengthened its position as the largest event for the parts and supply industry in Europe
Berlin, 11 September 2019. With almost 2,000 exhibitors, 245 thousand visitors, and a new all-time-high number of international trade visitors, IFA 2019 broke the records once again. More than half of the trade and industry experts came from overseas, underscoring the event’s attractiveness to an international audience. Three major technology trends dominated IFA across all product segments in consumer electronics and home appliances: voice control, artificial intelligence (AI) and networking, especially in view of the imminent rapid expansion of 5G mobile networks with high-speed bandwidths.
IFA Next, the innovation hub at IFA, also set new records: In addition to research institutes from countries such as Germany, Japan and Korea, more startups and innovation leaders than ever before were represented across two halls. This year, IFA NEXT featured Japan as its first innovation partner country. The Japan Pavilion exhibited highly innovative ideas as well as product examples showing how people and technology may interact in the future.
Keita Nishiyama, Director-General of the Commerce and Information Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said: “We hope that Japan’s ‘interface with consideration and sensibility’ has inspired IFA visitors to embrace the future and continue on the path of innovation. As the first IFA Global Innovation Partner at IFA Next, we look forward to staying in touch. Please follow us as Ninja does!”
Once again, the 2019 IFA in Berlin lived up to its reputation as the world’s most important trade fair for the consumer electronics and home appliance industries:
“As an important source of inspiration for trade and industry and the world’s most important platform for consumer electronics and home appliances, IFA 2019 has fulfilled high expectations. Showcasing a large number of innovations, it has had a positive influence on the mood in international markets. Given the current market situation, an unexpectedly stable volume of orders has laid the foundation for a good end-of-year period,” explains Hans-Joachim Kamp, chairman of the, gfu Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH supervisory board, the organizers behind IFA.
“We are happy with the results achieved by IFA 2019. The home appliance industry is optimistic about the future. The IFA has once again strengthened its position as the world’s largest trade show this year, also for home appliances, and made a positive contribution to market performance,” stated Dr. Reinhard Zinkann, chairman of the ZVEI Home Appliances Association.
Dr. Christian Göke, CEO of Messe Berlin, said that IFA had again demonstrated the “power of co-innovation, where inventors from different sectors and industries inspire each other.” He noted that trade conflicts and political barriers would ultimately harm consumers, partly because they slow innovation. Drawing upon remarks made by Albert Einstein in 1930, in one of IFA’s most famous keynotes, Dr. Göke said that today, Einstein would probably “call on the best and brightest minds in the world, whoever they are and wherever they live, no matter which country they call home, to pool their knowledge and innovate together in order to create a better world.”
Impressed by the innovative power shown at IFA in Berlin, IFA’s executive director, Jens Heithecker, said: “As the number of exhibitors has grown, so has the quality and quantity of innovations, as well as the number of new product premiers, on show here in Berlin for the first time.”
Worldwide media presence at the IFA has increased again this year. Journalists from media companies in 160 countries came to Berlin to cover the show. This underlines how important the IFA is for technology and lifestyle journalists worldwide. For the first time, 2,800 journalists came to Berlin from all over the world.
Among the broadcasters reporting from IFA were Al Jazeera from the Arab Emirates, NDTV from India, Nine Network from Australia, BBC from the U.K., IBA International from Israel, TEKNAVI from Finland, CNBC from the U.S.A., as well as CGTN/CCTV, Global Times and the Phoenix Group from China. Teams from Eurosport, 01net TV, LCI, BFM TV, OUATCH.tv, France 24, and ES 1 covered the latest IFA news for audiences in France. Additionally, journalists from the public EBU (European Broadcasting Union) organizations and private broadcasters cooperating via ENEX were present, and news agencies such as AP and Reuters were also represented.
Two of the IFA keynotes – from Huawei CEO Richard Yu and Qualcomm president Cristiano Amon – focused on how 5G networks and the power of artificial intelligence will continue to push the boundaries of what is technologically possible, in products that surround us in our personal and professional lives, in vehicles and in industrial applications. Anthony Wood, CEO of Roku, whose technology is in a third of all TV streaming boxes in the US, used his keynote to outline a vision of how online streaming will increasingly change the way people watch TV. He announced his company’s planned expansion into the UK, followed by other European countries. Hakan Bulgurlu, CEO of Arçelik, dedicated his keynote to the industry’s response to the challenges of climate change and plastic waste.
SHIFT – Future of Mobility
SHIFT, the two-day conference with a focus on the future of mobility through new technologies, grew strongly compared to the previous year. Speakers included top executives from industry giants such as AXA Insurance Group, BMW, Daimler/Smart, Ford Fujitsu and Volkswagen, as well as from startups like 2Getthere, Iomob, LISNR, Trafi, Vive La Car, what3words and Wundermobility. Several mobility pioneers spoke at the conference, including: Zipcar founder Robin Chase; Franscesca Bria, the former CTO of the city of Barcelona; Venkat Sumantran, the former CEO of Tata Motors and a very unusual automotive consultant; and Jay Ward, the Creative Director of the Cars Franchise at Pixar Animation Studios.
IFA Global Markets
Now established as an important part of the IFA, the IFA Global Markets is a meeting place for the parts and supply industry. Dirk Koslowski, IFA Director remarked, “IFA Global Markets has been growing continuously for four years now. This makes it the leading platform for the parts and supply industry in Europe and has firmly established its position as the largest sourcing fair in Europe.” With an area of 20,000 square meters, this B2B marketplace was fully occupied. IFA Global Markets is exclusively accessible to trade visitors, suppliers, component manufactures and OEMs/ODMs. In 2020, IFA Global Markets will take place on 6-9 September.
Upcoming global IFA events
CE China 2019 19-21 September, Guangzhou, China
CE Week 2020 10-11 June, New York, USA
IFA 2020 4-9 September, Berlin, Germany
- 2-3 September, IFA Media Days
- 2 September, IFA Opening Press Conference, 1pm
- 6-9 September, IFA Global Markets