IFA 2026 Opens Today: Beyond the “AI Home,” Robots and B2B Take Center Stage

Europe’s largest consumer electronics and IT show, “IFA 2026,” opened on the 4th in Berlin, Germany, local time. At “IFA 2026” in Berlin, a Samsung exhibition hall was operating, and visitors were also seen listening to an explanation of Samsung Electronics’ OLED TV on site. Artificial intelligence (AI) remained the key keyword this year.

However, the center of gravity in the competition has shifted. The scope of AI is moving beyond individual products such as refrigerators and washing machines to the expanded integration of home devices and services. Another major trend is the extension of AI into real-world action through robotics.

This change has also altered how companies view IFA. Its character as a venue for unveiling new consumer appliances has weakened, while its role as a stage for real business discussions with distributors and corporate customers has strengthened. The share of business-to-business (B2B) content has also grown, and LG Electronics allocated 46% of this year’s total exhibition booths to consultation spaces exclusively for business partners.

This year’s IFA can no longer be described simply as an “AI appliance show.” With the AI home now established as the baseline, robots, physical AI and B2B have emerged as new axes of competition. IFA is a global exhibition centered on home appliances and consumer technology, and its scope spans future technologies such as AI, smart homes and robots.

IFA 2026 runs from this day through the 8th at Messe Berlin in Germany. This year’s B2B program has been expanded, and a separate B2B sourcing platform, “IFA Global Markets,” is also being operated. More than 550 companies are taking part in “IFA Global Markets.”

LG Electronics is taking part in “IFA 2026,” Europe’s largest consumer electronics show. LG Electronics’ event schedule runs for 5 days from the 4th, local time in Berlin, Germany. LG Electronics is unveiling its “AI Home,” which connects spaces, products and services inside the home with AI.

Robots have emerged as one of the most notable changes at “IFA 2026.” At this year’s IFA, robots have become a central pillar of the exhibition, a shift reflected in the organizers’ decision to make “IFA Next” the largest humanoid robot showcase in the event’s history.

Startups, companies and research institutions are participating in “IFA Next,” with roughly 300 companies and organizations taking part. The exhibition showcases future technologies such as humanoids, smart glasses, AI wearables and smart living.

In particular, the major robot companies participating include Unitree, AGIBOT, DEEP Robotics and UniX AI. The core of the robot exhibition is to show the possibility of carrying out real tasks in homes, services, medical settings and industrial sites.

On the opening day, the 4th, a session titled “Robots in the Kitchen and Home: From Task-Specific Tools to Humanoids” will be held. The session will discuss robots specialized in cooking and cleaning, mobile assistants and humanoids, and will address the role of robots in the home.

On the 5th, an event titled “Robots on Stage!” is scheduled, with humanoid robots from multiple companies, including Unitree, AGIBOT and DEEP Robotics, appearing on stage. They will demonstrate motion technologies and interaction technologies. This highlights the flow connecting robots and the next stage of the AI home.

The existing AI home had focused on software and platforms centered on understanding user lifestyle patterns, adjusting air conditioners and automatically operating appliances. Robots, by contrast, are positioned as a means for AI to move and act directly within physical spaces. This means physical AI, which goes beyond answers on a screen to perceive and act in real space, has begun entering the home.

LG Electronics is demonstrating this trend by installing an “LG AI Orchestra” at the exhibition entrance, conducted by its home robot, “LG CLOiD.” The “LG AI Orchestra” consists of appliances, TVs and air-conditioning products, and is staged to move like a single ecosystem in line with CLOiD’s conducting. This expresses the future vision of “Zero Labor Home,” which aims to reduce housework.

At Samsung’s exhibition hall at “IFA 2026” in Berlin, Germany, visitors listened to an explanation of Samsung Electronics’ “Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.” Photo courtesy of Samsung Electronics.

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have placed AI at the forefront of their appliance strategies this year. Both companies’ focus has shifted from AI features in individual appliances to the seamless connection of products, services and spaces.

Against this backdrop, Samsung Electronics has been operating a separate experience space since the 2nd at Humboldt Carré, a convention center in downtown Berlin. The theme of the experience space is “Your companion to AI Living.”

Samsung Electronics presented a direction that expands beyond the existing AI home centered on connecting home appliances and smart devices. The concept Samsung Electronics is advancing is “AI Living,” in which AI supports everyday life, including leisure and health management.

The exhibition space is organized into an entertainment companion, a home companion and a self-care companion.

Samsung Electronics emphasized the practical benefits users feel in daily life rather than AI technology itself. Benjamin Braun, Samsung Electronics Europe CMO, said that daily-life benefits from AI are needed, and explained that the company plans to unveil practical AI applications across entertainment, mobile and the connected home ecosystem.

LG Electronics has put forward the theme “Innovation in tune with you.” It will unveil more than 150 key products in an exhibition space of about 3,745 square meters.

LG Electronics is demonstrating a single AI ecosystem operating across home spaces, products and services by connecting AI appliances, the AI home hub “LG ThinQ ON” and the AI home platform “LG ThinQ.” In a living environment made up of the living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and outdoor spaces, AI provides the functions needed for each space’s circumstances.

Samsung and LG are both emphasizing a shift in focus for AI appliances: from “appliances with AI” to platforms that connect multiple products and services. Accordingly, the competitive landscape for AI appliances is also shifting from a contest over individual product features to a contest over ecosystems that connect the entire living space.

Among these changes, B2B stands out as the most notable. LG Electronics has turned about 46% of its total exhibition booths this year into consultation spaces exclusively for business partners, creating the largest private booth setup in IFA’s history. This is interpreted as a strategy to generate tangible business results with local distributors and corporate customers while also unveiling new appliances for European consumers.

The expansion of AI home platforms into B2B is also continuing. At this exhibition, LG Electronics unveiled B2B services that commercially extend ThinQ and its energy management system. ThinQ is a home-space control platform, while the energy management system is the target of commercial expansion. This is seen as a move to lay the groundwork for expanding smart home technologies accumulated in the home into residential facilities and commercial spaces.

IFA is strengthening its B2B function by enhancing its character not only as a consumer-facing showcase for the latest products, but also as a business event that connects global supply chains and distribution networks. Accordingly, IFA Global Markets, a B2B sourcing platform connecting OEMs, ODMs, component suppliers and global buyers, will also be held separately from the 5th to the 7th.

This trend also aligns with the view among appliance makers that B2B is an area for expanding growth drivers. That is because AI home technologies can extend beyond ordinary households to apartments, hotels and offices, allowing companies to combine appliance sales with various businesses such as platforms, energy management and air conditioning.

LG Electronics is taking part in “IFA 2026” in Berlin, Germany. “IFA 2026,” Europe’s largest consumer electronics show, runs for 5 days from the 4th, local time, and LG Electronics is presenting its “AI Home,” which connects home spaces, products and services with AI.

Appliance makers’ AI competition used to focus on strengthening the functions of individual products. Refrigerators recognizing ingredients and washing machines identifying laundry loads were representative examples.

In the next stage of development, the scope expanded into AI homes that connect multiple appliances. The current discussion is expanding further, to the point of helping users through robots that move through actual spaces.

In line with this shift, Chinese robot companies are participating in large numbers in this year’s IFA Next. The participating companies are Unitree, AGIBOT, UniX AI and DEEP Robotics, and they are putting humanoid technology and general-purpose robot technology front and center.

This trend has new competitive implications for domestic appliance companies such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. A key variable in future competitiveness will be how they combine appliance, user and space data secured in the AI home with robots that actually move.

At this year’s IFA, the question is not only whether new refrigerator and washing machine features will appear, but also whether the AI home has become the common direction for the global appliance industry. Accordingly, the next axis of competition is also shifting beyond added functions to the level of AI’s understanding of homes and commercial spaces, and the ability of robots to perform useful tasks in real-world spaces.

At the same time, companies are moving to turn AI home and robot technologies into revenue and expanding their B2B businesses. Against this backdrop, IFA is expected to evolve from a “showcase for new appliances” into a stage for examining how AI enters real spaces and industry.

Source: IT DAILY · Lee Jae-young
Original: https://www.itdaily.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=241400

References

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