Korean and Chinese home appliance corporations are set to vie over technology in the European market. While Chinese corporations put robots at the forefront, Korean corporations showed how artificial intelligence (AI) can blend into the home. Europe's largest tech show is also changing for the AI era.
On the 4th (local time), the Berlin International Consumer Electronics Fair (IFA) 2026, Europe's largest home appliance and information technology (IT) show, opened in Berlin, Germany. The event, held at Messe Berlin through the 8th, features more than 1,900 brands from 49 countries. The number of Chinese participants registered on the website is 932, up 241 (34.9%) from 691 a year ago, marking a record high. Korea has 79 corporations and institutions, down 27 (25.5%) from 106 a year earlier.
IFA began in 1924 in Berlin as a radio fair and grew into a show encompassing TVs, home appliances, and electronics. Along with the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the United States and Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Spain, it is regarded as one of the world's three major tech exhibitions. Distributors and buyers from around the world gather in one place to conduct transaction and procurement consultations, serving as a bridgehead for entry into the European market.
This year's theme is "The Future Is Now." The biggest hallmark is that AI is treated not as a separate product line but as a foundational technology woven throughout the exhibition. IFA Management, which hosts IFA 2026, said AI has already moved beyond a single category and is changing not only computers, smart homes, wellness, robots, and interfaces but also business models. The program is organized around five pillars: ▲ the world of AI and future technologies ▲ distribution and the future of commerce ▲ marketing and creativity ▲ culture and lifestyle ▲ smart and sustainable living.
◇ Largest-ever humanoid showcase… Chinese robot corporations converge in Hall 25
Participating corporations also moved beyond showcasing AI as a single product feature. Both China and Korea presented directions that consolidate home appliances, mobile, and platforms, with technology understanding user needs and acting directly.
There is, however, a difference in emphasis. While Chinese companies highlighted AI operating in physical space by putting humanoids and various service robots out front, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics focused on showing changes in daily life by bundling devices and services that are already established in the home.
About 300 companies are participating in the future technology pavilion "IFA Next," up roughly 15% from 260 last year. IFA said this year will feature the most humanoids ever. Major participants include ▲ Unitree ▲ MagicLab ▲ DEEP Robotics ▲ AgiBot ▲ Pudu Robotics, many of which are Chinese corporations.
Programs that show robots in motion have also increased. "Robots on the Runway," to be held on the 5th, will feature ▲ Engine AI ▲ Dobot ▲ DEEP Robotics ▲ AgiBot ▲ Unitree ▲ AIMOGA. Their humanoids and quadrupeds will take the stage to demonstrate actions such as walking, dancing, and even backflips. RoboCup, where an autonomous driving robot developed by a research team at Humboldt University of Berlin plays a soccer match, will also run during the show.
The booths of these companies also focused on showing the real-world applicability of robots. Unitree will present the humanoid "G1" and the quadrupeds "GO2" and "B2-W." DEEP Robotics will showcase the industrial quadruped "Lynx M20S," emphasizing use cases such as power facility inspections, disaster rescue, and security patrols. MagicLab will deploy the humanoid "MagicBot" and the quadruped "MagicDog," while Engine AI and AgiBot will introduce general-purpose humanoid technologies in dedicated spaces.
Roborock will unveil not only robot vacuum cleaners at IFA but also pool cleaners and lawn-mowing robots. Ecovacs is also expanding its robot lineup from home vacuum cleaners into various areas of daily life. The technology that recognizes its surroundings with AI and moves autonomously is being extended both inside and outside the home.
◇ China puts "moving AI" front and center
Chinese home appliance corporations flaunted their technology by placing "robots" at the forefront of their booths, but they did not neglect AI home strategies, which have recently emerged as the fiercest battleground in the market. TCL, under the theme "AI Inspired Life," shows TVs, mobile devices, air conditioners, and washing machines consolidated into one. It is also unveiling "NXTHOME," which configures the entire house as a technology ecosystem. The family AI companion robot "AiMe" is also greeting visitors on site.
Hisense put more weight on AI home than on robots themselves at this show. The next-generation operating system "V AIOS" is designed to recognize people, devices, and the surrounding environment, understand intent, and execute needed services. Based on this, the "AI Companion Suite" links TVs and home appliances across ▲ cooking ▲ laundry ▲ air and energy management.
Xiaomi, participating at IFA for the first time, has arranged about 380 products across more than 3,300 square meters (about 1,000 pyeong), consolidating smartphones, home appliances, and electric vehicles into "Human × Car × Home." The humanoid "CyberOne" placed in the booth goes beyond simple demonstrations and is being tested for performance based on manufacturing work at an actual EV factory.
◇ Korea shows "AI seeping into the home"
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are also developing technologies that translate robots and AI into real-world actions. However, at this IFA, their emphasis is less on robots' physical abilities and more on bundling scattered home devices and services into one to assist daily living.
Samsung Electronics set up a separate exhibition hall in Humboldt Carré in the city center, outside Messe Berlin. Under the theme "Your Companion to AI Living," the exhibit runs through the 6th and is divided into three zones: ▲ entertainment ▲ home ▲ self-care. By consolidating TVs, home appliances, and Galaxy devices, it offers different services by user in leisure, health management, and energy savings. The showcase focuses on benefits of AI that can be directly felt in everyday life.
LG Electronics has prepared a 3,745-square-meter (about 1,133-pyeong) space at Messe Berlin to present about 150 key products. The new agent "ThinQ Claw" is central to the next-generation AI home hub "ThinQ ON." After assessing users' lifestyle patterns and situations, it proactively suggests and executes needed functions, and links from chat-based control of home appliances to external services such as web search and calendars.
The home energy management system (HEMS) using "Homey" from smart home platform company Athom integrates the power flow of home appliances, lighting, solar, and energy storage systems (ESS). The management technology built for homes expands its scope to building and office HVAC and various facilities through "ThinQ Pro." This marks a shift from merely adding AI functions to individual products to making the entire home understand users' lives and act on them.
LG Electronics is also placing the home robot "LG CLOiD" at the forefront. Through "LG AI Orchestra," in which CLOiD directs home appliances, TVs, and HVAC products and coordinates various devices, spaces, and services, the company presents the future of a "Zero Labor Home" that reduces housework.
An official in the home appliance industry said, "While Chinese companies emphasized AI's ability to move directly in the physical world, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics suggested how to incorporate the same technology into the home ecosystem," adding, "Corporations in both countries are taking AI out of on-screen chatbots or add-on features in appliances and moving it into real-world actions and services."
Lars Lintner, CEO of IFA Management, said, "The future is no longer far away. The future is now," adding, "But progress is not made by technology alone. Only when people understand technology, experience it directly, and co-create the change does its potential fully manifest." He added, "IFA is a place to feel innovation firsthand and to offer direction at a time when technology is changing faster than ever."