Opinion: IFA Consumer Electronics is back, and this marks that time of year when summer ends as brands make announcements that will run through the end of the year.
What do we expect to see in the show? There are things we can speculate and others we can’t, but it looks like IFA 2022 could be an interesting proposition, especially if you’re interested in picking up audio and home cinema related products in the run-up to Christmas.
Technically, some of the brands mentioned are actually not in IFA and maybe just me, but I’m a little surprised there aren’t many new products that haven’t really been teased or leaked. There may be a surprise or two in the near future, but nonetheless, I’m excited to have IFA back on the list.
This is what we expect at IFA 2022
After a small launch earlier in the year for the 2022 range, Philips is tempted to release its OLED champions – most likely the OLED907 and OLED937 – in September. The TVs were already leaked earlier in the year with the OLED907 expected to be available in 48-, 55- and 65-inch sizes. From the leaked images, it appears that the OLED907 has built-in speakers at the bottom, while the OLED937 continues with the Bowers & Wilkins audio system with Atmos support. I suspect they will feature LG’s new OLED EX panels, and I wouldn’t expect pricing to be announced at this event.
It’s been years since Sennheiser released the massive, but undoubtedly impressive, Ambeo Soundbar. However, market conditions have changed as smaller bars that support Atmos are hitting the market. Sennheiser has made a few notable launches in 2022 with the Momentum True Wireless 3 and Momentum 4 Wireless headphones, and it is expected that they will reveal a compact and less expensive version of the Ambeo speakers. I’m very interested in seeing the audio magic he conjured this time around because the Ambeo is the best Atmos speaker on the market right now.
Japanese acoustics brand Audio Technica is listed as one of the exhibitors, and according to the announcement on its website, new turntables and headphones are on the way, although I can’t say more about that.
Bang & Olufsen will open its doors in Berlin (September 1-3) for people to watch The Sound Bar, the Danish company’s latest home cinema offering. We loved the Beosound Stage, so we’re interested to see what innovation the brand will bring with the amplifier.
Qualcomm ramped up its Snapdragon Sound ecosystem again in early 2021, so it’s taken a while for the ecosystem to take shape, but it’s almost at a point where products are about to launch with tech support. More details about the Snapdragon Sound and aptX Lossless are expected at the show, and I’ll be interested to see how well aptX Lossless pricing is after hearing about the NuraTrue Pro earlier this year.
Toshiba will be there, likely introducing new TVs, and XGIMI will showcase its current line of projectors (you can read about the latest in Horizon Pro).
Urbanista will be at IFA but we’re not expecting any previously unannounced products at this event following the unveiling of the Phoenix true wireless in August. Elsewhere, while LG and Samsung are at the event, we think their focus will be on other areas like sustainability and home living, and we don’t expect anything from Panasonic that is about to bring new OLEDs to market.
We’re not expecting any news from the likes of Bose and Sony at this event, the two brands have skipped the event in recent years to focus on their own ads.
If there’s anything to be taken from IFA before the event, it’s as if it’s business as usual. That’s fine, especially after the past few years, but I also like to sprinkle something really new and different. There is excitement about these kinds of tech programs that seem to be dwindling due to the pandemic, and if they are to continue, they will need to come back strong to get people’s attention. Let’s see what IFA has to offer.