Consumer electronic trends at IFA 2016
Now that I’m settled in after a jam-packed tour of IFA, here’s my take on the trends and developments I saw there.
IFA is still a top event in consumer electronics. As in previous years, all the big consumer electronics brands were present including Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Philips, and myriads of others. Brands invested a lot of time and money to create an enjoyable experience for consumers at the show.
At this year’s IFA, the three biggest consumer trends were in:
- VR
- Drones
- 360º-cameras
Trends in storage
Specific to Tuxera’s main areas of interest – storage and networking technologies – a hot area of demand is the camera market, including drones. There’s an explosion of 360º-cameras, action cameras, professional drones, cinematographic drones, and other high-performance video recording devices – which all need plenty of data storage. This consumer market could bring good return on investment for SD or UFS card manufacturers.
No truly disruptive technologies at IFA 2016
Although the products at IFA were packed full of features with great designs, I didn’t see any so-called “disruptive technologies.” In fact, it appears the markets are becoming saturated and commoditized. Most of the big brands have similar technologies to offer in all product categories including TVs, drones, routers, music products, and the smart home.
Robots are one area where I would have hoped for more. Despite being real crowd-pleasers at the show, they're still in the early stages of tangible consumer use. At the moment, they’re mostly toys or somewhat clumsy servants designed to help with specific, simple tasks (such as cooking or exercising). That said, it will be interesting to see how the robot market grows in the coming years.
Final thoughts
That’s a wrap for our coverage of IFA 2016! Thanks to everyone that followed us on our tour, and we hope you continue to like our video reviews and interviews. In case you missed it, here’s a recap of our favorite devices from this year’s show.
https://youtu.be/31xHSs9pNLU
If you want to talk more about IFA 2016 or discuss the devices I reviewed there, send a Tweet my way at @claudiomkd!
