IFA returns to a fully in-person format in 2022. Europe’s biggest tech gathering begins in just a few weeks time. Here’s a preview of wearables that are likely to make a showing.
IFA or Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin is one of the oldest industrial exhibitions in Germany. The first show debuted back in 1924. From then on it was held annually until 1950 when it transitioned into a biannual format until 2005. This is when it went back to an annual format.
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However, it has been a couple of years since we were last in Berlin attending the show. As you’ve probably guessed, the coronavirus turned things upside down. In 2020 IFA was predominantly a virtual event with some limited in-person gatherings. Things were no better in 2021. In fact, in that year the organizers decided to entirely cancel the event.
But things are slowly returning back to normal and IFA 2022 returns to its usual format. The event is scheduled to take place between Friday, September 2nd and Tuesday, September 6th. This will be the 59th IFA. The last in-person IFA in 2019 attracted nearly a quarter of a million visitors. We are hoping for more of the same in 2022.
Wearable technology typically makes a strong showing in Berlin. It’s a big deal for wearable manufacturers as the timing for product announcements is great – early September, a couple of months ahead of the all-important holiday shopping period. Most of the big players will be there in 2022 debuting their latest gear, including Fitbit, Garmin, Fossil, Honor, Huawei and Samsung.
The one obvious omission is Apple. But no surprise there as the company prefers to organize its own launch events. Xiaomi is another name missing from the list of exibitors.
For starters, Fitbit will likely showcase Sense 2, Versa 4 and Luxe 2 at the event. The trio officially launched in August, the devices are available for pre-order but they will not ship until well into September.
The company has used the Berlin platform as a launch ground for its wearables many times in the past years. So it’s perfect timing. All three come with iterative upgrades over the predecessor devices so no huge surprises there.
Garmin is another big name that is expected to reveal a few new devices. Top of our list of expected wearables is Venu Sq 2 which we suspect has also been listed by the FCC recently. Other possibilities include Instinct Instinct Analog, Vivomove Trend and a mystery device called Austin. These names come from a list published by a local Garmin distributor so remain unconfirmed. Another possibility is a smart blood pressure monitor called Index BPM. The company has recently added the ability of Garmin Connect to write blood pressure measurements to Apple Health.
Samsung will, of course be there. It always makes a big splash at IFA with a large hall dedicated to its products. Galaxy Watch 5 and 5 Pro were made official as of a few days ago and the company will be proudly displaying their abilities at the gathering. It is unlikely we will see any other wearables from the tech-giant at the show but never say never. Its fitness band line could see a refresh.
Then we have the Amazfit brand. We are expecting Gen 4 of its GT line to debut. The first of the devices in this line has already dropped in the guise of the GTS 4 Mini. But we should get the GTR 4 and GTS 4 which are expected to come with Huami’s latest generation Bio sensor. Some high-res pics of the upcoming wearables are available online.
Withings will be in Berlin in early September. Little has dropped from the French outfit in terms of new devices this year. Our hope is that we will see its Body Scan scale. Announced at the start of this year, this will be the smartest scale in existance when it is made available for purchase. In addition to standard metrics, the device can assess nerve activity, detect Afib and monitor segmental body composition. Another, albeit distinct, possibility is a urine analysis device called Bio-Screener. Withings has filed a few patents for this so it will likely debut at some stage.
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In this hands-on review I test out the Garmin Running Dynamics Pod. This is a tiny device that collects and
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