IFA 2018: this is what is expected

Artificial intelligence and connected homes make their way this week at Europe's longest-running technology fair

The technological year opens in Las Vegas and CES, picks up momentum at the Mobile World Congress and closes with an eye on the Christmas campaign at the IFA in Berlin. An exercise as far as technology fairs are concerned, because these have given way to the events of the brands to present their strong bets.

Trend initiated by Apple back in 2007 and to which all companies have joined. This has happened to the technological event with more tradition in the Old Continent.

The Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (IFA) attracted 253,000 visitors from around the world (70,000 more than CES), 1,805 exhibitors and 159,000 square meters of surface sold.

This Thursday marks the start of the fair that will last until September 5 . About a week where the major brands in the sector bring their bets for the last quarters of the year.

However, before opening its doors, firms prepare their scenarios. This year, smartphones will be absent in Berlin. With the Galaxy Note 9 just introduced, the new Xiaomi blunting in stores, with the Huawei Mate ready to go and, above all, waiting for Apple's surprise by mid-September, the IFA expects bets for artificial intelligence and new TVs .

In this field, the race is led by Samsung . The rumor mill points to a giant 115-inch television and microLED technology. The sector tries to adapt to the incipient 4K of image quality, but the South Korean already works in the 8K for 2020 .

With the presumed arrival of the television, Samsung, like other years, will present in the Berlin pavilions its wide range of appliances ... connected and, perhaps, its commitment to smart speakers.

The screens will dominate the German exhibitors, as it is expected a renewal of the Sony monitors and also the new LG OLED panels.

Little space for smartphones, a gap that is reserved for, it seems, the new Xperia XZ3 from Sony and also the new LG V40 , since in 2017 the firm from Cocarnación chose Berlin to show the world its flagship of 2017.

And Huawei? The Chinese keeps its last cartridge by the end of the year in an event of its own, perhaps close to the Apple Keynote. The company will present, like last year, a new chip focused on artificial intelligence and that will give life to the new Mate 20.

Many new features among which there will be trends such as mixed reality, virtual reality and a lot of commitment to artificial intelligence.