After a stacked year of major tech expos, from CES 2025 kicking it all off to Computex 2025 bringing major product reveals to the recent Gamescom 2025, we can now expect one of the biggest of them all just around the corner: IFA 2025.
The world's largest consumer and tech event, otherwise known as Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin, is taking place on September 5 to September 9 for a long weekend of keynotes, product reveals, and more from the biggest names in the industry, including Microsoft, Nvidia, Meta — the list goes on.
Considering IFA 2024 saw amazing innovations like Acer Project DualPlay and the Lenovo Auto Twist concept, along with other stand-out smart home tech, the sky's the limit for what this year's event will deliver, and we'll be on the ground to give you a hands-on look at what's on show.
But what's in store? Lenovo may surprise with a Lenovo Legion Go 2 reveal, but it's anyone's guess what will be revealed on the showfloor.
To find out, I sat down with IFA Berlin CEO Leif Lindner to give us a sneak peek at what's in store at the largest consumer and tech event.
What to expect at IFA 2025?
First and foremost, the question on all our minds: what can we expect at IFA 2025? Lindner gave me the overall gist of what to expect as soon as the doors open.
"With the rebranding last year that IFA is 'Innovation For All,' this year we will have more" Lindner states. "More tech introductions, more innovations, which means press conferences and new product launches. We will have more relevant speakers who will talk about the future of AI, AI commerce and so on."
Lindner continues: "Not only AI in general, because we had to go more precisely into detail. We will have people from Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta. So, what I wanted to say is we will deliver from all directions: entertainment, information and fun to the tech community."
Words we all want to hear. But I should pre-empt this by stating that not even Leif knows exactly what products are set to be announced. In fact, in his own words, "I know it maybe two days before. So, on the first day of the show, I can tell you what's coming, but product-wise, it's not easy."
Of course, AI has been the buzzword for the past few years, but now we're seeing ChatGPT 5 come out the woodwork, Google Gemini take over and more. It's not about slapping "AI" on a product anymore; it's about what this technology can do, which Lindner makes a direct point about.
There's a challenge that more or less every relevant exhibitor will talk, or is talking about, how AI is making their products better.
Leif Lindner, CEO of IFA Berlin
"There's a challenge that more or less every relevant exhibitor will talk, or is talking about, how AI is making their products better. Some that focus on the meaning: how life is easier or more convenient for a person.
"Others are focusing on the tech specs, but that can confuse consumers. Our goal is, as a show, to bring innovation for all, to bring that excitement and the understanding to everybody — how we are doing it. Because AI will be everywhere. What can we do?
"We are doing, for example, panel talks with the right [people] who can talk about it. Also, we create several topics. To give you an example. I understood that Microsoft will bring a new AI version to the market that focuses on AI commerce.
"There will be a different software, so you don't have to switch between, for example, ChatGPT or Copilot on your preferred ecommerce partner."
A new player in the global market?
So, an emphasis on explaining how AI is helping us on a consumer and business level. That's a crucial aspect that was missing from the boom of AI when it was first popping up in products. Anything else on the table?
"There are interesting keynotes and the most, maybe most important one, is because JD, the biggest Chinese retail partner, will announce their logic and strategy starting in Europe on the 5th of September, the first day of the IFA keynote.
"Also, the CEO of JD, and it's not normal that he's coming, but he will be there. Maybe you can imagine, but that would be if JD would start in the U.S. and take on Best Buy or Walmart. But in the same moment, they also decided to take the majority of the shares of Media Markt-Saturn, the biggest European retailer. You can imagine how big this is from a retail perspective."
Another player in the retail market in Europe from China? That may open up new access to more products, but only time will tell what kind of products we'll see from JD.com in a new landscape.
What will be on the rise?
One aspect that the biggest tech events always have a finger on the pulse of, especially IFA, is the products that we'll likely see in our everyday lives in the near future. Or, at least, a version of them. But every year brings a whole host of new products.
With that in mind, what products will we see rise in the ranks this year? Here's what Lindner had to say:
"I think the trend that I see is products, let's call them invisible smart home products, that make your life easier and more convenient, where people see a clear benefit that makes their life easier," Lindner says.
"People are willing to invest over there. So that means the design factor is meaningless because they are more or less invisible, but they are clearly changing their perception."
It allows a stupid cook like me to create a good dinner for his girlfriend
Leif Lindner, CEO of IFA Berlin
Lindner chats about how the integration of AI is what's making their products far more desirable, and how that's what he believes consumers will be looking for. It's making the harder tasks of life, ones that usually take a lot of knowledge and practice to perfect, far easier to master.
"It allows a stupid cook like me to create a good dinner for his girlfriend," he states, and he isn't the only one. "It not only recommends to me what to do, but it also decides to change the temperature and change the way steam or not steam, and so on. I'm able to be a master chef, maybe for a moment."
That's exactly like what the Instant Pot Pro for lazy chefs (like myself) offers, and if Lindner believes that's the type of product that will be on trend, you can bet there will be plenty of those on show. Whether it's from the top dogs like Samsung or LG, or start-up disrupters at IFA.
What does IFA 2030 look like?
Being one of the largest tech events around, IFA has a long time ahead of it to deliver even more futuristic products and innovations. I wondered what that would look like, and Lindner has an exciting vision that may have to do with plenty of "flying."
"First of all, we will have a mobility track," Lindner says, referring to the track used for testing upcoming e-scooters and the like at the show. "I think, in five years, we will have the same for flying taxis to test them."
Now, I've been hearing about flying taxis ever since kicking off my career pre-pandemic, so seeing is believing. But in five years, it may not be so unimaginable.
"IFA is getting more popular because we have that spider net and visibility all over the city. For a show like IFA, it is important not to have the spotlight on only doing, let's say, the 10 days before. We need to have reasonable visibility during the whole year. It's not easy to do it, I know, but that is my vision. In five years, IFA will be visible all over the year."
But you want to see the movie, and our strength is that IFA is the movie! And the movie is more interesting than the trailer.
Leif Lindner, CEO of IFA Berlin
Giving IFA an even bigger stage that extends beyond just Berlin is a natural progression, but Lindner doesn't want to lose a vital aspect of the show.
"Many other shows sometimes talk about visions too much. That's, on the one hand, good because I also like, as a consumer and as a tech enthusiast myself, visions. But if you're doing it too much, then you're only showing the trailer."
Lindner continues: "But you want to see the movie, and our strength is that IFA is the movie! And the movie is more interesting than the trailer.
"I don't want to overestimate ourselves for the moment, but I want to make it bigger and clearer that IFA is the place to be because we are talking about very big tech opportunities that we have and it's a chance at risk, but in my opinion, we have more chances than risks."
Are you excited for IFA 2025?
So, no flying taxis this year, but what we can expect is a deeper look into AI in products, a new retailer on the rise and a trend in smart home tech that makes us masters of a particular craft on the down-low.
IFA continues to bring big innovations from the biggest brands like Meta, Samsung, Lenovo, LG and more, along with start-ups with burgeoning ideas worth looking out for. And this year looks to be no different.
We'll be scouring the floors of IFA 2025 soon, so stay tuned for all the latest products to look out for. Oh, and Lindner had one final statement to say to me:
"You can expect that IFA will be quite loud, sometimes maybe too loud! But that is what I think a good show is: excitement."
