IFA 2019: every key announcement, in brief

The Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (translated as “International radio exhibition Berlin” but mostly known as IFA 2019) starts at the beginning of September. The consumer electronics trade show is one of the biggest in the world and usually hosts multiple smartphone announcements.

As we lead up to the crucial holiday season, nearly every major brand will use IFA 2019 as a launching pad not only for smartphones, but for tablets, laptops, headphones, and other electronic devices.

Last year, we saw the launch of the Sony Xperia XZ3, the Huawei Mate 20 Lite, the Honor Play, the BlackBerry Key2 LE, and many other interesting new phones. This year, we expect to see a few flagships, some mid-rangers, and who knows, maybe some big surprises.

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IFA 2019: Dates and important info

IFA 2019 formally starts September 6, 2019, and ends five days later on September 11. The event happens at the Messe Berlin convention center in Berlin, Germany.

IFA 2019 will start on September 6 and run until September 11.

Although IFA is open to the public starting September 6, many of the announcements are already happening. Below we take a look at some of the chief announcements so far (in no particular order).

IFA 2019: everything announced so far

Samsung is focused on the future: 5G and foldables

At IFA 2019 Samsung’s primary announcements focused on 5G, but it also announced final release details for the previously delayed Samsung Galaxy Fold.

• Samsung Galaxy A90 5G: While Samsung has already released 5G flagships, the A90 5G aims to make 5G flagships more affordable, with a price tag of less than $800. Despite the pricing, it still offers high-end specs like a Snapdragon 855, 6 to 8GB of RAM, and 128GB storage with microSD support. The new 5G flagship will launch in Europe next month, though no word if or when it’ll come to the US.
• Samsung Exynos 980 announced: The new Exynos 980 is a mid-range SoC based on an 8nm FinFET process and features a hexa-core design — two high-performance Cortex-A77 cores and four Cortex-A55 efficiency cores. These are paired with a Mali-G76 MP5 GPU. Even more significant is the integrated 5G modem which will allow Samsung to potentially bring 5G to mid-range devices in the future.
• Samsung Galaxy Fold is almost finally here: At IFA 2019 Samsung confirmed the Galaxy Fold will arrive in South Korea on September 6th and will then hit the US in the “coming weeks”. We also know it will cost $1,980 for the 4G version.

TCL releases its first internationally branded device, alongside several Alcatel devices

TCL traditionally has focused on its Alcatel and Blackberry brands but at IFA 2019 it unveiled a new mid-range device directly under the TCL brand. As expected, Alcatel also had several devices to show off.

• TCL makes its global debut with the Plex:The TCL Plex is the first internationally-available self-branded smartphone from the growing electronics empire. It is clearly a mid-range device with its Snapdragon 675 SoC, but offers a beautiful design and near-bezel free display, as well as extras like a triple cam setup.
• Alcatel 1V and Alcatel 5X: Priced around $87, the Alcatel 1V isn’t going to turn any heads but it’s a decent looking entry device for those wanting something basic, though we’d have preferred to see an Mediatek processor over the Unisoc SC9863A. For those with a bit more to spend, the Alcatel 3X will start around $164 and offers a Helio P23, 4 to 6GB of RAM, and a triple rear camera setup.
• Alcatel Smart Tab 7: The latest tablet from Alcatel features a seven-inch display with 1,024 x 600 resolution, a VGA rear camera, two speakers, the quad-core MediaTek MT8167D processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, a 2,580mAh battery, and Android 9 Pie. The tablet will be very affordable at around $87.
• Alcatel MoveTime: The TCL Movetime isn’t your typical smartwatch, instead it’s aimed at seniors with extra features like the ability to send SOS messages to preset numbers, as well as fonts and icons that are a bit larger. The watch will be priced around $150.

Sony announces the Xperia 5

During it’s press conference Sony focused nearly all its attention on its latest flagship phone, though it did announce a new pair of Bluetooth headphones (WH-1000XM3) as well. Sony may have a few other announcements outside of the press conference, but that’s all for now.

The Sony Xperia 5 is the company’s latest flagship: The new handset is a little smaller than the Xperia 1 offering a 6.1-inch FHD+ OLED HD display with a a 21:9 aspect ratio. Under the hood, you’ll find the Snapdragon 855, 6GB of RAM, and a 128GB storag with microSD support. The Sony Xperia 5 will arrive to Europe next month (no US plans were announced).

Asus ups its laptop game, also announces a new watch

At IFA 2019 Asus announced its European launch plans for the Asus Rog Phone 2, showed off several new laptops, and even debuted a new smartwatch.

• Asus ROG Phone 2 comes to Europe: The Asus Rog phone 2 has been available in the US for a little while now, but at IFA Asus announced the gaming phone is now available in Europe for €899 (~$990).
• Asus gives us a 300Hz laptop display: The Asus Zephyrus S GX701 is an e-sports player’s dream device with its 300Hz display. While this is the first laptop to feature the technology, Asus plans to bring the high refresh rate to more devices in the future.
• Asus puts a Quadro RTX 6000 in a laptop: Not content with just having the fastest display, Asus introduced the Studio One as “the world’s most graphically powerful laptop”, thanks to its Quadro RTX 6000 GPU. The rest of the specs are equally high end including a 4K UHD Display, an Intel i9 processor, and 32GB of RAM. Asus also announced the StudioBook Pro X, it’s latest Screenpad 2.0 device.
• Asus VivoWatch aims to bring ECG to the masses: Not to be confused with Garmin’s Vivo series, the Asus VivoWatch SP is the latest smartwatch from Asus. The new watch offers cutting edge features like built-in ECG and PPG sensors.

Nokia announces two epic looking mid-rangers

Nokia is here at IFA 2019 bringing consumers two new mid-range devices, as well as announcing three KaiOS-based feature phones

• Nokia debuts two new mid-range phones: The Nokia 6.2 and 7.2 are the lastest mid-rangers from HMD Global. The phones are nearly indentical, including the same 6.3-inch Full HD+ LCD display. Where they differ is in processor and other internals. The cheaper Nokia 6.2 has a Snapdragon 636, while the Nokia 7.2 has a Snapdragon 660.

There’s an army of smartwatches at IFA 2019

It seems like smartwatches are having a moment at IFA. WE already talked about Asus announcing the Vivowatch and Alcatel releasing a watch aimed at the elderly, but let’s not forget about Garmin, Michael Kors, and Puma.

• Garmin unveils a truckload of watches: Garmin really wants you to get a new GPS watch, as evident by the plethora watches it has announced. Garmin updated its Vivomove line with advanced features like Garmin Pay and connected GPS, while the Garmin Venu, Vivoactive 4 series, and Legacy Hero series share many of the same features and design cues, but all three watches have a little something different for everyone.
• Puma enters in the Wear OS market with its aptly named Puma Watch: Puma is joining the smartwatch came with its own Wear OS device. It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 3100 SoC, and has a built-in GPS, heart rate sensor, and NFC for Google Pay. The watch will be available in November for $275.
• Michal Kors announces three new watches: With IFA 2019 right around the corner, Michael Kors today announced a trio of new Wear OS smartwatches: the Lexington 2, Bradshaw 2, and MKGO. Two of the watches will support the ability to make and receive calls right from the watch, thanks to the built-in speaker.

Everything else announced so far

While the above are probably the biggest announcements so far, there’s plenty of new products launching at IFA. Below is a round-up of some other announcements worth checking out:

• JBL announces new speakers and soundbars: Known for headphones, loudspeakers, and other audio products, JBL today announced a slew of new speakers and soundbars. Chief among the releases are the JBL Pulse 4 and two new JBL Link speakers.
• Philips Hue goes old school: Philips Hue is introducing a Filament Collection that brings the old-school Edison-style light bulb aesthetic while still offering the same color-changing LED technology under the hood. The popular smart light company also unveiled a new version of its portable smart light and it’s first smart plug.
• Amazon is expanding the Fire TV lineup with 15 new devices:  Amazon is betting big on Fire TV, dramatically expanding the line. This includes tons of smart TVs via partnerships, and first-party devices like the new Fire TV Cube.
• Light Phone 2 is now out: At IFA 2019 we had the opportunity to take a closer look at the new Light Phone 2, a phone designed for those that want as minimalistic of a mobile experience as possible.
• Acer releases new Chrome and Windows laptops: Acer made a slew of announcements at IFA 2019, including four new Chromebooks: the Acer Chromebook 315, the Chromebook 314, the Chromebook 311, and the Chromebook 311 Spin. Acer had other devices on deck, too, including Predator gaming rigs and Swift consumer-grade Windows machines.
• Razer announces Blade Stealth 13: Ahead of IFA 2019, Razer announced the refreshed Blade Stealth 13. Whereas the previous model was available with the Nvidia GeForce MX150, the new Blade Stealth 13 now features the beefier GTX 1650 with 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM. The updated Blade Stealth 13 will go on sale sometime this month in the U.S. and start at $1,499.99.
• Dell updates its XPS 13: One of the best laptops you can buy gets even better! Therefreshed XPS 13 come with the 10th Gen Comet Lake U-series processors and improved WiFi performance. The refreshed series is available now, starting at $999. That said, the top-end model with a hexa-core Core-i7-10710U processor will arrive in October.