Home appliances and electronics have followed this evolution. What were once large, bulky machines have since become highly advanced, integrated devices and essential companions in daily life.

▲ Exterior view of the Messe Berlin exhibition grounds during IFA 2022

In the midst of this change, Samsung has positioned itself to lead the next 100 years of innovation by seamlessly connecting mobile devices, TVs and home appliances through SmartThings¹ — while offering enhanced control over devices through upgrades in Bixby,² the company’s voice assistant which can now better understand complex commands based on natural language.

IFA 2024 kicks off on September 6 under the slogan “Innovation for All.” Before its grand opening, Samsung Newsroom looked back at IFA’s century-long journey of innovation and Samsung’s legacy of technological breakthroughs.

From Radio Exhibition to Innovation Hub for AI Devices

In its early days, IFA served as a platform for the German government to showcase emerging radio technology in the 1920s. Albert Einstein even delivered the opening speech in 1930.

▲ Albert Einstein during his opening speech for IFA in 1930 (photo credit: IFA website)

This marked the beginning of a series of breakthroughs including the introduction of the world’s first car radio in 1932 and the first color TV in 1937. World War II halted IFA for several years in the 1940s, but technological progress continued. In 1971, the show was renamed Internationale Funkausstellung to become the IFA consumers know today.

The evolution of home appliances has been equally remarkable. Refrigerators and washing machines are no longer simple mechanical devices designed to reduce household labor. Innovations in compressors and motors — along with advancements in electronic components, smart features and connectivity — have turned these devices into sophisticated, high-tech tools for modern living.

Samsung first started exhibiting at IFA in 1991, showcasing monitors, PCs and more at a modest 43-square-meter booth during the trade show’s expansion beyond radio and television to include digital media devices. Twelve years later in 2003, the company upgraded its booth to a significantly larger 3,600-square-meter one in the prime location of Hall 20. Since 2014, Samsung has exclusively occupied CityCube Berlin and is ready to impress visitors once again with its 6,000-square-meter booth this year.

Growing With IFA and Leading the AI Era With a Connected Ecosystem

Samsung’s presence at IFA has continually increased as the company introduced groundbreaking technologies across home appliances, TVs and mobile devices. In 2006, the tech giant showcased the Bordeaux TV, which established Samsung as the global TV market leader. In 2011, the company introduced the industry’s first smart TV and the Galaxy Note — the latter of which heralded the “phablet era” by blurring the line between smartphones and tablets.

Samsung unveiled the world’s first curved UHD TV and the company’s first smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear, at IFA 2013. Three years later in 2016, the launch of the Family Hub refrigerator with a large touchscreen marked the transition of home appliances into advanced Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

▲ Samsung Electronics’ SmartThings booth at IFA 2023

In 2014, Samsung had recognized the potential for connected experiences to revolutionize consumers’ lives and acquired SmartThings just a month before IFA 2014. Today, SmartThings has since grown over a decade into a massive, global ecosystem of more than 340 partners and 350 million users.³

At IFA 2018, Samsung highlighted AI as a key focus, signaling that “connected living” would become a major trend in the electronics industry. The company proceeded to introduce 15 AI-powered appliances at IFA 2023, ushering in the AI era of home appliances. Last year, Samsung also introduced Samsung Food — an AI-powered food and recipe platform that connects home appliances, TVs and mobile devices to deliver a personalized cooking experience tailored to each household and individual.

▲ Samsung Food was unveiled at IFA 2023.

Samsung’s journey with IFA is now headed toward innovations in device control through more advanced voice commands. Basic machines designed to store food and wash clothes 100 years ago are now evolving into intelligent companions that communicate with users verbally and handle complex household tasks with ease.⁴

This transformation will be showcased at Samsung’s booth in CityCube Berlin at Messe Berlin during IFA 2024 from September 6-10.

¹ Available on Android and iOS devices. A Wi-Fi connection and a Samsung account are required.
² Bixby is Samsung’s brand of Internet of Things (IoT) voice assistant. Bixby service availability may vary depending on the country. Bixby recognizes certain accents/dialects of English (US, UK, Indian), Chinese, Korean, French, German, Italian, Spanish (Spain, Latin America) and Portuguese (Brazil). The user interface may change and differ by device. The availability of Bixby features and content providers may vary depending on the country/carrier/language/device model/OS version. A Samsung account log-in and data network connection (Wi-Fi or data network) are required.
³ As of August 31, 2024.
⁴ This function may produce inaccurate results, and will be updated periodically to improve accuracy.

One thing, however, has always remained the same and helped the trade show grow, and that’s this: Each year at IFA, electronics manufacturers present their latest consumer innovations, attracting attention from all over the world.

Samsung has presented its technical innovations in Berlin since 1991, and is one of the most prominent exhibitors at IFA today.

‘The Great German Radio and Phonographic Exhibition’

“Dear present and absent ones. When you listen to the radio, also spare a thought for how humanity obtained this wonderful instrument. The wellspring of all technical achievement is the divine curiosity, the ludic drive of the tinkering and pondering researcher, and no less the constructive imagination of the technical inventor.”¹

These were the words with which one of IFA’s most famous guests, Albert Einstein, opened the “Great German Radio and Phonographic Exhibition” – as IFA was originally known – in Berlin in 1930. The radio – the latest and, arguably, most important technical achievement in mass communications at that time – was the star of the show, and Einstein himself presented the exciting new technology to event attendees.

(Left) Albert Einstein opens the Great German Radio and Phonographic Exhibition in Berlin in 1930; (Right) Einstein explains the potential of the still-young communications medium to attendees. Source: Messe Berlin

Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Stuttgart

The first IFA trade show took place in December of 1924. The inaugural event gathered a total of 242 exhibitors, who fascinated crowds with their latest technological innovations for a total of twelve days.

The trade show was held each year until 1939, when the outbreak of WWII and the subsequent reconstruction forced it into hiatus. IFA made its return in Düsseldorf in 1950 and, on its 20^th anniversary, in 1957, moved to Frankfurt and added “television” to its title. Reconstruction operations in Germany would lead IFA to shift its location from Frankfurt to Stuttgart and then Berlin, only to return to Düsseldorf in the end.

Since 1971, the trade show has taken place exclusively in Berlin, under the official name of “Internationale Funkausstellung” – hence “IFA”. gfu, a corporation that promotes the advancement of consumer electronics, came onboard two years later, and has been organizing IFA² ever since.

The innovation cycles of many products have grown shorter and shorter over the years, and eventually, in 2005, IFA became an annual event.

Queues at the opening of IFA in 1973. Source: Messe Berlin.

Samsung – an Innovation Driver and Major Attraction

Samsung has been a fixture at IFA ever since it first exhibited at the trade show in 1991³. During that IFA, 26 years ago, Samsung presented screens and televisions in a 660-square-meter space.

2003 marked an important juncture in Samsung’s relationship with IFA. A move to Hall 20 meant that a substantially larger exhibition space would be available, turning Samsung into one of the show’s major exhibitors.

With keynote speeches in 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2014, Samsung strengthened its position as a global brand, establishing ground-breaking technologies and setting future trends. In 2008, for example, Park Jong-Woo, the then-President of Samsung Electronics Digital Media, predicted that the entertainment industry would take a gigantic leap forward by seamlessly networking a variety of devices. Nowadays, smartphones and tablets easily hook up to users’ TVs and Bluetooth speakers, and even some fridges and washing machines can be controlled on the go.

(Clockwise from top left) Samsung’s IFA booths in 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Samsung has been one of IFA’s largest exhibitors since 2003.

2014: Samsung Becomes IFA’s Largest Exhibitor

2014 saw the opening of CityCube Berlin, which IFA’s host venue, Messe Berlin, invested over 83 million euros to build. Samsung moved into the three-story cube – which, along with featuring the largest product-exhibition space (approx. 6,000 m²), also houses several rooms (approx. 2,500 m²) for presentations and sales meetings – as soon as it was completed. The location has been used exclusively by Samsung at IFA ever since.

More exhibition space also opens up new possibilities. Samsung’s individual product divisions were previously presented spread across several halls, but the move to CityCube Berlin meant that they could be showcased under one roof. Today, Samsung has become IFA’s largest exhibitor, with 8,700 square meters of hall space.

In 2016, Samsung impressed IFA attendees with this TV installation at the heart of CityCube Berlin.

Picture quality remains one of the most important focuses for TVs, and is one of the hottest attractions for the trade show. Over the last eight years, the TV industry has mastered the leap from HD to Full HD to UHD resolution – each of which has been successfully established in the mass market.

IFA has also served as a popular showcase for introducing new product categories in other areas. In 2010, Samsung presented its first tablet to the world with the Galaxy Tab. One year later, the Galaxy Note marked the beginning of large-screen premium smartphones, or ‘phablets’. Samsung’s first smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear, was introduced in 2013, laying the foundation for Samsung’s smartwatch portfolio. And in 2014, the Galaxy ecosystem was further expanded with the Gear S and Gear VR.

This year, too, visitors to Samsung’s IFA booth are treated to a great many innovations and technical highlights, such as QLED TV, The Frame, the QuickDrive washing machine, Family Hub refrigerator, mobile devices, portable SSDs and more.

For more information on Samsung’s presence at IFA 2017, visit: https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-electronics-shapes-lifes-new-normal-at-ifa-2017

¹Extracted from a recording of Albert Einstein’s opening speech at the Great German Radio and Phonographic Exhibition in Berlin in 1930. Source: http://landesarchiv-berlin.de/

²With the exception of 1985, 1987 and 1989.

³Samsung did not attend IFA in 2004.