BERLIN, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) — The German technology fair IFA 2022 opened to the public in Berlin on Friday, for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, the fair was limited to professional visitors, while last year it was cancelled.
Until Tuesday next week, 1,100 exhibitors from 46 countries and regions will contribute to “one of the biggest tech events of the year,” according to organizers gfu Consumer and Home Electronics and Messe Berlin.
“We are confident that IFA will once again live up to its role as the world’s most important platform for home electronics and home appliances,” says gfu CEO Sara Warneke.
This year’s fair focuses on sustainability, connectivity and artificial intelligence, especially for smart lifestyles. Exhibitors include global industry players such as Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, American car manufacturer Tesla, South Korean technology giant Samsung and German engineering and technology company Bosch.
In terms of sustainability, the fair has its “largest ever retail park”, which also includes a new refurbishment zone for consumer electronics. In addition, many sustainable products such as “the world’s first self-charging, solar-powered headphones” by Swedish Urbanista will be presented at IFA 2022.
Despite planning uncertainty and ongoing travel restrictions, the fair is “reclaiming its status as a major technology fair in Germany’s most exciting city,” a spokesperson for the German Electro and Digital Industry Association (ZVEI) told Xinhua on Friday.
Meanwhile, China is omnipresent at the technology fair in Berlin. The exhibition space for the Chinese appliance giant Haier alone covers 3,700 square meters. Honor and Huawei are also on hand, with their latest smartphones, laptops and tech gadgets for the European market.
Haier’s app hOn creates “ecosystems that can anticipate desires and offer matching solutions for a simplified everyday life” using smart appliances. The company’s showroom was designed to convey a “new vision of a smart home.”
Germany’s consumer electronics market grew to 9.7 billion euros ($9.7 billion) in 2021. Chinese imports contributed 5.4 billion euros to the German market, “but some are also re-exported,” according to industry association ZVEI. (1 euro = 1 US dollar)
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Source: sn.dk