The IFA 2017 technology event was held between 1 and 6 September in Berlin, at the Messe venue. There major technology companies such as Samsung, LG, Dell, Sony or Lenovo have introduced great innovations in their products, as well as the latest developments.
E-skin, the T-shirt that works like a joystick
A research team from the University of Tokyo, called Xenoma, has presented at IFA “e-skin”: a T-shirt that is capable of controlling video games and Virtual Reality (VR) gadgets. The garment is full of sensors that analyze movements and convert them into operational commands thanks to bluetooth, which sends the information to the smartphone or computer.
It has a total of 14 sensors, a Hub with accelerometer and gyroscope, as well as a Micro USB to charge the batteries. It resists moisture, perspiration and is worth between $479 and $959, depending on the model.
The project was funded by the crowdfunding Kickstarter platform, from which they managed to raise $55,000.
Samsung shows its wide variety of products
Samsung has demonstrated at IFA 2017 the wide variety of products developed by the brand, presenting in Berlin its variety of smartwatches, televisions, washing machines, vacuum cleaners…
Samsung Electronics Marketing Manager for Europe, David Lowes, noted that the Korean aims to “Install a new concept of ‘normality’ that involves technological advances integrating naturally on a day-to-day basis. These are advances you couldn’t have anticipated without those you won’t be able to live from now,” he said. Lowes added that “The world is at the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution, where Artificial Intelligence, Virtual and Augmented Reality, and the Internet of Things play an increasingly important role.”
But, among all the products presented, what was the most outstanding? One of them was the Gear Sport and the Gear Fit2, their smartwatches.
The first, Gear Sport, monitors nutrition, sleep rate, pulsations and movements that the user performs. It also has GPS and creates healthy recommendations based on the data you’ve monitored. On the other hand, the Gear Sport can act as a remote control on those Samsung devices that are IoT-enabled.
It also presented the version with more sporty aesthetic “Gear Fit2Pro”, with features suitable for aquatic activities such as swimming, not only because it is submersible, but the Korean company has launched “Speedo On”, an application that tracks of the exercises that are performed in the pool.
It integrates a 1.5-inch Super AMOLED color touchscreen, a 200mAh battery and its operating system is Tizen and is equipped with the Spotify app, which stands out for having an offline mode.
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But the Korean company has not only presented its wearables. He has also tried to stand out with his 43-inch THE FRAME TV, which simulates the frame of a frame. He has obtained important collaborators from the world of art for this project such as LUMAS, Saatchi Art and Sedition.
“Samsung’s innovation is inspired by consumers and designed to make an immediate difference,” Lowes said. “This innovation is based on technical and artistic realization, intelligent connectivity, and the bet on what seemed impossible. As technology increasingly plays a role in every area of our lives, we are creating products and services that adapt to consumers and set the pace, becoming part of a new daily life.”
The last to collaborate has been the Prado Museum, allowing the user of this television, when the device is turned off, to project in 4K works as important as Las Delicias del Bosco or Las Meninas de Velázquez. Two ways are offered for the acquisition of the tables: by subscription – approximately 5 o per month – or individually. It is also possible to project user-specific images.
On the other hand, the company has introduced the CHG90, the largest video game monitor in the world, 49 inches, which allows an immersive viewing thanks to its ultra wide viewing angle of 178 degrees.
The first 8K TELEVISION is born
The Sharp Aquos 8K is going to be the first 8K television to be marketed and will arrive in Europe – a continent that has not yet hosted 4K televisions in every home – in March 2018.
The screen of about 70 inches offers an 8K resolution of 7680×4320, that is, 16 times more resolution than a FullHD – although the human eye is almost unable to distinguish 4K resolution with 8K. In addition, it supports Dolby Vision HDR and BDA-HDR, and the sound goes hand in hand with Yamaha Audio Engine and DTA 2.0 technology.
It will be marketed for 7650 euros, starting its expansion in the Asian market. Japanese company Sharp has decided to start with Asian giant: China will arrive in October while in December and Taiwan in February.
It is a perfect product for viewing photographs or a professional audiovisual environment.
The new Lenovo Yoga incorporates Machine Learning features
The Lenovo Yoga 920, thanks to its 360-degree swivel hinges, allows you to turn the computer into a laptop or tablet depending on the user’s needs. It has a screen without frames of 13.9 inches and thickness of 13.95 millimeters, weighs a total of 1.37 kilograms.
In addition, among its most noteworthy features is the possibility to interact with the user based on their behaviors – for example, reminding them that they have to send an email. This is done through Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence and is supported by the Windows Voice Assistant Cortana, which recognizes your voice within approximately four meters.
It contains Intel’s latest processor: The eighth generation Intel Core i7 – This processor, for now, is only available on these devices. It provides energy efficiency and performance, as it is a 40% more powerful than the previous generation, but with a battery that can exceed 10 hours of use if you opt for the 4K panel, although if you use the FullHD you can get more than 15 hours.
It offers 8GB, 12GB or up to 16GB RAM and 256GB, 512GB or 1TB SSD capacity. It also offers the user a USB 3.0 port, another DisplayPort and two Thunderbolt 3s. It also comes with the Lenovo Active Pen 2, with 4096 sensitivity.
It will be on sale for a price of 1,599.99 euros in September and, a limited version Vibes, protected by a Gorilla Glass for 1,799 euros.
LG V30 is competing on mobile of the year
The LGV30 incorporates some changes to the dual-display inherited from the LGV20 and LG10. It focuses not only on photography, but also on cinematography thanks to its new Cinema Video Mode. Allows you to adjust saturation, brightness, hue and the most striking: the shutter according to the desired film genre.
In addition to this cinematic mode, glass lenses with f/1.6 aperture are added in one of its cameras and in another f/1.9 with 13 megapixels. One of them features an optical image stabilization system. In addition, thanks to the “Point-zoom”, the user can focus certain points of the video.
Physically, it has a screen with 6 inches diagonal, larger than the previous ones, with OLED “Full Vision” technology. Despite this, it is lighter, weighs only 158 grams.
Maintains water resistance, dual chamber and reduced margins from previous versions. It also has a digital audio system that stands out: The Quad DAC (32 bit Hi-Fi). Perhaps most strikingly, the LG V30 has passed 14 tests from the US Department of Defense’s MIL-STD 810G durability test, so it is trained for military use.
As for storage, it has two versions: one 128 GB and one 64 GB.
Sony unveils its first headphones with wireless sound control
Shigeru Kumekawa, president of Sony Europe, introduced the company’s new audio, television and digital photography products:
“Following our policy of delivering revolutionary products that resonate on a deep emotional level, Sony is in the ‘last inch’ among its customers and the experiences they seek. Here in Europe, we are achieving steady profit growth in our electronics business by focusing on a high value-added market, and we are well positioned for the rest of 2017 and beyond,” Kumekawa said.
Among the highlights of the IFA 2017 are its three models of high-resolution, Bluetooth-enabled, noise-cancelling 1000X series stereo headphones. These are: the WH-1000XM2 headband, the WI-1000X for behind the neck and the fully wireless WF-1000X.
Noise cancellation is achieved by having the first wireless sound control: disables or activates noise cancellation depending on the usage situation and user actions.
They also featured, accompanied by the PS4 Pro, their 77-inch Sony Bravia OLED A1 4K televisions. As a novelty, it introduces Acoustic Surface technology, which makes the screen vibrate in such a way that the sound comes straight from the TV screen, and also the HDR 4K processor from Sony X1 Extreme.
In addition, it has also presented three projectors with 4K resolution and one of them with HDR, and include unique native 4K SXRD panels. The models are the VPL-VW760ES – it reproduces high fidelity and contrast images thanks to its laser light – the VPL-VW360ES – the image quality conforms to the type of display – and VPL-VW260ES, the latter offers HDR4K images.
Google Assistant joins wireless speakers
The first wireless speaker with built-in Google Assistant has come from Sony: the LF-S50G, with an approximate price of 200 euros. In addition to great features in terms of 360o sound quality, the gesture control function gives the user the possibility to skip the songs or change the sound by moving their hand near the device, without having to touch it.
At the end of the year, the BRAVIA will incorporate the functions of Google Assistant are the BRAVIA, allowing the user to play audio or video, control IoT devices, and find out the latest news. In addition, your device supports services such as Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, Philips Hue, Google Play Music, Nest or Uber.
Panasonic also exhibited its first smart speaker with Google features: the SC-GA10. Just like Sony’s, you can control other devices, check news, answer questions.
The device has radio and is compatible with the main music streaming apps, such as Google Play Music or Spotify. Just like Sony’s product, its price is around 200 euros.
Mixed Reality devices at more competitive prices
Microsoft has announced the development of competitively priced mixed reality devices. The biggest difference between these devices and those of Virtual Reality is that there will be no external cameras, but they will be integrated into the glasses.
In addition, they ensure that Steam content on VR devices will be compatible with Mixed Reality. However, the device will be very similar to VR, and they haven’t specified much about the differences between the two.
Meanwhile, Dell has unveiled its first Mixed Reality device for $350 – $450 if the motion controller device is included – called Viewer.
Dell offers a visiondevice thanks to two 1,440 x 1,440 pixel LCD displays resolution and 360o vision to ensure immersion and a 90Hz refresh rate. Both cameras collect images from the outside so you can monitor what’s around you.
The glasses move thanks to the technology of Windows Mixed Reality and, to interact, has controls similar to that of the Oculus Rift.
Fitness and health gadgets aren’t just for humans
Acer, through its subsidiary Pawbo, has presented three devices that allow to track physical activity, has geolocation and, establishes prizes as treats. The recipient is pets: dogs and cats.
These devices are: PawboiPuppyGo, a tracker that attaches to the strap to measure sleep cycles, activity levels and even the animal’s mood continuously.
In addition, thanks to the iPuppyGo app the owner and his pet can play the game “Treasure Search”. The game consists of a virtual map with treasures, prizes and offers hidden by the map, so that it incentivizes both to walk the map together.
Pawbo WagTag, is intended for the geolocation of the pet, thanks to its GPS, AGPS, WiFi and 3G, with a battery that lasts several days. But also, if it detects any strange behavior it sends a notification to the owner’s mobile, and even activates voice recording so you can hear it happening. In addition, the sensors record the temperature of the animal or any possible accident, to know the condition of the pet at any time.
You also have the option to search safe zones and notify the owner in case the pet leaves that area by means of a notification.
Finally, the PawboMunch, a smart prize dispenser. It can be controlled via smartphone thanks to the Pawbo Life app, which is connected to a Pawbo+ interactive camera. When animals perform according to which games receive the incentive of PawboMunch, you can choose the amount and type of snack.
