Europe’s biggest consumer technology trade show, IFA, is taking place once again in early September 2025. Companies from around the world will pack into Berlin’s massive Messe exhibition center to show off their wares. IFA sees a host of announcements from audio, TV, wearable, and smartphone brands, but lately the smart home industry has made the biggest impact at the German trade show.
This sucker can’t fly, but it can avoid your socks.
A ball-catching robot tennis coach, cuddly AI robots, and a laptop with a rotating screen for optimal doomscrolling.
In the first public demo of the new universal language for smart locks, I used a Samsung Galaxy S24 to tap-to-open a Nuki smart lock. No app necessary, and no need to unlock the phone first.
Aliro is based on Apple’s NFC Home Key technology and will support UWB unlocking, allowing any smartphone to securely unlock any door lock, regardless of ecosystem or brand. The Aliro standard is scheduled to launch later this year.
It’s a bucket list item for a tech journalist slash tennis fan. So, when I heard the Acemate Tennis Robot was coming to the IFA tech show in Berlin, I was first in line (like, literally off the plane and on to the court).
It was surprisingly fun, and the bot easily kept up with me using its two 4K binocular cameras and omnidirectional wheels. But I didn’t enjoy its post-match critique quite as much.
The customized XT5 Ultra model on display at IFA isn’t solid gold, but a PR rep told me that the company wanted to showcase designs like this because they “have appeal in the US market.”
It’s officially Day 1 of the IFA 2025 tech show, and I made a beeline for the Smart Home hall, where I’ll be checking out new products from Govee (like these fetching new pendant lights — coming soon), Aqara, Reolink, Aeotec, Shelly, and more.
Stay tuned to our IFA story stream for all the news.
Lenovo’s 14- and 15-inch ThinkPad X9 Aura Edition laptops are getting a glacier white color treatment for IFA 2025. The X9 may be polarizing to hardcore ThinkPad fans because it lacks a TrackPoint, but I dig this clean look.
Now imagine if a ThinkPad came in, gasp, colors?
Hey, that’s our line! That saves us from counting while we follow Samsung’s IFA keynote, but Google probably still holds our record.
The company started unifying its AI-powered TV features under the Vision AI branding this year, and now it’s introduced a “Vision AI Companion” to the mix. The Bixby-powered generative AI feature allows Samsung TV users to ask questions about anything on the screen, and can be accessed by pressing the AI button on the TV remote.
Eve’s Tim Böth is on stage discussing how its smart home devices work with Samsung SmartThings via Matter. “Eve’s smart plugs capture energy efficiency data for SmartThings Energy, the motion sensors provide data to help SmartThings understand your daily routines,” he said. “Our products show how AI can fade into the background.”
So said Samsung EVP Cheolgi Kim, in a not-so-subtle jab at Apple as he wrapped up a 20-minute presentation around how Samsung’s AI Home platform is a layer over all of Samsung’s products. From its watches and phones to its health and sleep tracking features, as well as its Samsung Food and SmartThings smart home platform, AI Home is “designed to make everyday living more convenient, efficient, healthy and safe,” says Kim. I’m still not clear on exactly how any of this will work, though.
