Europe's largest tech show, the Berlin International Consumer Electronics Fair (IFA), a traditional appliance-centered event that showcases new products such as TVs, refrigerators, and washing machines, will broaden its scope this year to cover consumer technology as a whole. IFA Management set the slogan of "IFA 2026" as "The Future Is Now" and expanded the event to encompass devices and services used in daily life. With artificial intelligence (AI) as the foundational technology across the show, it will cover everything from smart homes and computing to Humanoid Robot, mobility, digital health, and content creation.
According to IFA Management on the 24th, IFA 2026 will run from Sept. 4 to 8 (local time) at Messe Berlin in Berlin, Germany. More than 1,900 brands are expected to participate. The exhibition area alone reaches 190,000 square meters (about 57,500 pyeong). Last year, more than 1,900 companies from 49 countries took part and about 220,000 people from 140 countries visited. Overseas retail buyers accounted for 67%.
IFA, first held in 1924 in Berlin, Germany, marks its 65th edition this year. It has grown from a radio fair into an event that spans TVs, home appliances, and consumer electronics at large. It is also known as a key gateway for expansion into Europe, as distribution companies and buyers conduct transaction and procurement consultations there. Along with the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, United States, and Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, it is considered one of the world's three major tech exhibitions.
◇ AI as a "new infrastructure"… five themes including retail and content
IFA Management defines AI as "new infrastructure" and makes it the common axis of the exhibits and programs. Exhibition categories will include ▲ home and entertainment ▲ appliances ▲ smart home ▲ communications and consolidation ▲ audio ▲ computing and gaming ▲ content creation ▲ beauty tech and well-being ▲ mobility ▲ and the future tech pavilion "IFA Next." Rather than clustering related technologies in separate spaces, the halls will be organized so that intelligent features are applied to each product and service. Keynotes and corporations presentations and panels will be divided into five themes: ▲ the world of AI and future technologies ▲ retail and the future of commerce ▲ marketing and creativity ▲ culture and lifestyle ▲ and smart, sustainable living.
Retail programs will also increase. The newly established "Retail Innovation Zone" will cover topics such as online-offline shopping integration and consumer behavior analysis. A new "Smart Living Forum" will address future residential technologies such as smart homes, kitchens, and wellness, and the "Retail Leaders Summit," where global retail executives discuss retail issues including AI, omnichannel, and logistics, will return this year following last year's event. At the business-to-business (B2B) procurement event "IFA Global Markets," manufacturers and parts suppliers from more than 20 countries will participate to showcase original equipment manufacturing (OEM) and original design manufacturing (ODM), among others.
The content sector will expand its exhibition space by 70% from last year to occupy two halls. In addition to cameras, drones, lenses, and storage devices, virtual and Augmented Reality (AR) and AI-based editing technologies will also be showcased. The "Creator Hub" will include broadcast and streaming studios and podcast production spaces.
Humanoid Robot will be exhibited on the largest scale ever. Major robotics companies such as Unitree, AgiBot, DeepRobotics, MagicLab, and Pudu Robotics will participate. Including these, the total number of participants in IFA Next will increase 15% from 260 last year to about 300 this year.
In the newly introduced "Robots on the Runway," humanoids will walk the stage and demonstrate movements. Engine AI, Dobot, DeepRobotics, AgiBot, and Unitree will participate, and RoboCup, a robot soccer demonstration by researchers from Humboldt University of Berlin, will also take place.
◇ About 90 officially registered from Korea… LG in the main hall, Samsung in the city center
Ralph Lintner, CEO of IFA Management, projected in June that 120 to 140 Korean corporations would participate this year. Currently, about 90 corporations and institutions registered with Korea as their country are listed on the IFA website. LG Electronics, Cuckoo Electronics, Nota AI, Rebellions, and Neuromeka are among those named.
LG Electronics will present an AI Home in Messe Berlin's Hall 18 under the theme "Innovation in Tune With You," consolidating AI-based appliances, TVs, and energy management. It will further develop the concept of an "AI Appliance Orchestra" and unveil its latest AI TVs.
Samsung Electronics will shift the center of its showcase from Messe Berlin to "Humboldt Carré" in downtown Berlin. From 2014 through last year, Samsung Electronics effectively used CityCube Berlin exclusively, utilizing about 8,700 square meters. With Samsung preparing a separate city-center exhibition, others such as Panasonic will occupy the now-available space. Samsung will, however, participate at Messe Berlin as the official main sponsor of the "IFA Creator Hub," running its own programs and hands-on events.
Korean small and medium-sized enterprises and startups will also set up a Korea Pavilion in IFA Next. The Korea Electronics Association (KEA) will operate a presence in Hall 25 with 10 companies across 11 booths. Ten companies, including Goryeo Otron, Clair Optic, All The Time, Impactive AI, Picogram, and TKK, plan to exhibit AI, smart home, digital health, Augmented Reality (AR), and Extended Reality (XR) products.
◇ China tops 900… AMD to deliver opening keynote
Participation by Chinese companies is increasing rapidly. The number of Chinese corporations and institutions registered on the IFA participant list now exceeds 900. That is up by more than 200 in a year from over 690 last year. The scale grows further if those registered under Hong Kong subsidiaries such as TCL and Hisense are included.
The opening keynote will be delivered by Jack Hu, senior vice president of AMD's Computing and Graphics Group. Under the theme "The era of personal AI: The imagined future," he will explain how high-performance computing, graphics, and AI are transforming personal technology. Observers say that a leading executive from a semiconductor company delivering the opening keynote at IFA—where appliance makers have usually taken the spotlight—also reflects the widening scope of the show.
Other major speakers include Carsten Wilterburger, Germany's Minister for Digital and National Modernization, Kristine Wolburg, chief brand officer (CBO) of Volkswagen, and David Reger, founder and CEO of Neura Robotics.
An electronics industry official said, "It is true that IFA's influence in the domestic industry has declined compared with the past and that the share of Chinese companies has risen significantly," adding, "However, it still serves as a gateway to the European market, and the advantage of being able to meet multiple transaction partners in one place remains."