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Saturday, August 30, 2014

Android Headliner: IFA 2014 Preview

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Typically, IFA hasn’t been a really popular show. Other than Samsung coming over and releasing their latest Galaxy Note products. However, in recent years, IFA has been the home of many holiday product launches. And this year looks to be the biggest show yet. So we are going to break it down by manufacturer and take a look at what we think we are getting at this year’s show.


Acer


Acer is typically always at IFA, but they don’t always have a ton to show off. However, this year we are expecting a few tablets and smartphones from them plus a wearable or two. Now we also may see them show off their latest Chromebook, the 13-inch model powered by the NVIDIA Tegra K1. But that’s probably about it. They do have the first press conference on Wednesday, September 3rd, at 11AM Berlin time. That’s 5am on the East Coast and 2am on the West Coast.


ASUS


Next up is ASUS. We’ve seen a few teasers from ASUS for IFA already, but for the most part we are expecting to see a smartwatch from ASUS next week. Likely running Android Wear, it’ll be named the ZenWatch. But what else could ASUS have up their sleeves, we have no idea. We could see some tablets from them as well, after all they did announce the Fonepad 7 earlier this week. Their press conference is at noon on September 3rd. And for those of you in the US, that’s 6am ET, and 3am PT.


Samsung


Now this is the big one. Samsung always holds an Unpacked event at IFA, although they aren’t listed on IFA’s press conferences. Typically, Samsung announces the new Galaxy Note here, and we expect nothing less. But what else do they have planned? Well there’s the rumored Gear VR, and we may even see a refresh of the Galaxy Note 10.1. But going back to the Galaxy Note 4, that thing will be a beast. Likely a 5.7-inch QHD display, and a Snapdragon 805 inside. We’ve got less than a week to find out! Their’s starts at 3pm in Berlin. For those in the US, that’s 9am ET, and 6am PT.


Sony


Sony is also kind of big. We expect a new smartphone, the Xperia Z3, and the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact from them this time around. The Xperia Z3 is almost identical, spec wise, to the Xperia Z2, and the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is just a smaller tablet. Which I would love, as I did love the Xperia Z2 Tablet when I reviewed it earlier this month. Sony may also announce a new smartwatch at this event, but it likely won’t be running Android Wear, as Sony has pretty much said they are sticking with their own ecosystem. Sony’s event starts at 4pm in Berlin, and that’s 10am on the east coast and 7am on the west coast.


Lenovo


So what’s Lenovo got in store for us? Well tough to say, but we may see some new tablets and smartphones from Lenovo this year. We haven’t seen much in terms of leaks, which is why it’s hard to guess at what we’ll see. But as far as Android goes, I’d be willing to bet we see some new tablets and smartphones that may or may not make it into the US. Lenovo’s press conference is on Thursday, September 4th at 2pm. Which is 8am ET and 5am PT.


Huawei


This is going to be the interesting press conference, especially after seeing their teasers with a calculator, cats, and a safe. Obviously they’ve got some good stuff for us. We have seen rumors for the Ascend P7 with a Sapphire Display, and a Ascend Mate 7. But other than that, we have no clue what they’ve got for us. Huawei kicks things off at 3pm in Berlin. That’s noon-ET, and 9am PT.


HTC


For the past few years, HTC hasn’t been at IFA, but it looks like they are making a return this year. From what we can tell, they are going to be announcing a few mid-range Desire’s like the Desire 820. Which will be a mid-range smartphone with a 64-bit chip, which will be exciting. We may see a smartwatch from HTC next week, but I wouldn’t count on it. We don’t yet have a time for their press conference, so it may just be one of those, let’s release press releases, type of thing.


Motorola


While Motorola isn’t actually at IFA, they are holding an event on September 4th in Chicago. In which I will be there to see what Motorola has to show us. According to their invite, it looks like we’ll be getting the Moto X+1, Moto G2, and the Moto 360, plus another wearable that looks interesting. So it’ll be exciting. There’s no time for their event yet either. But you can stay tuned to Android Headlines for all the information from Chicago.


Final Thoughts


There’s going to be a lot of goodies announced this year at IFA in Berlin. A lot more than in years past. Off the top of my head I can think of about a dozen devices being announced. Do any of them catch your eye? The Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact definitely catches mine.


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