Robots. Flying cars. Artificial intelligence.
To The Jetsons, it's any old week in September. To the rest of us, excluded from that Hanna-Barbera envisioning of the mid-21st century, it's all of the things that you can find on the showroom floor of one of consumer tech's biggest annual expos: Internationale FunkAusstellung Berlin, or as it's more commonly (and thankfully) referred to, IFA Berlin.
IFA Berlin is one of the longest-running exhibitions of its kind and attracts brands from all over the world as a place to showcase the most cutting-edge innovations in tech. Formerly known as the "Great German Radio Exhibition," IFA Berlin has been hosting technological advancements since 1924, making this year the expo's 100th anniversary.
Some of IFA Berlin's most noticeable unveilings include the world's first public demonstration of an electronic television system and the debut of the audio cassette tape. Just last year saw us wowed by the likes of the Lenovo Legion Go, a Windows handheld gaming PC, and Honor's impossibly thin Magic V2 foldable phone, and we'll be expecting big things again in 2024.
While I won't be making it to this year's showroom floor myself, I'm still someone who has been fascinated by tech and the way things work since I was old enough to ditch diapers. I think my brother caught the bug too. Not because he'd grow up to be a mechanical engineer, but because I once watched him carve an alkaline battery in half with a table knife just to see what was inside. We still don't know, but whatever it is, it ruins carpets. However, that's a story for another day.
I assume we inherited that from our dad, who was an electrical engineer and all-around tinkerer (and my very own tech support for whenever I'd managed to destroy his beloved Atari ST seemingly).
I'm now lucky enough to spend the majority of my days tinkering also. Gadgets and gizmos (which I'll assume are categories that computer peripherals and accessories fall into, for alliteration's sake) take up much of my day, and I'm forever encountering something to find excitement in among them, from state-of-the-art smart glasses to desk-defining docking stations.
I love nothing more than opportunities like the one IFA Berlin gives us to gawp at the weird and wonderful things spilling out into the public eye for the first time. You can keep your oft-predictable Apple special events, your Galaxy Unpackeds, and your Made by Googles. Give me an IFA Berlin any day of the week and watch me spew rainbows as I enact a five-year plan to acquire as much of this show's incredible inventory as possible.
Thankfully, for myself and hopefully yourself, I won't be missing out too much by not attending this year's event. As in previous years, Laptop Mag will be on the ground at IFA Berlin, ready to not only soak up the sights and sounds that accompany a new generation of tech innovation but to award the most impressive products on show with our newest seal of approval: Laptop Laurels.
While our Laptop Mag team will be journeying forward some six hours as they cross the Meridian Line on their way to Berlin, Germany, it strikes me that the trip to the IFA showroom floor will catapult them months (if not years) ahead in time, giving us an all-important glimpse at the future of the consumer tech landscape. Where, hopefully, they can bring everything they come across straight to you.
With that said, I welcome you to join us for Laptop Mag's IFA Berlin 2024 Issue, a week of exciting reveals and awards brought to you straight from the showroom floor of the Messe Berlin.
That's enough of me. I now hand things over to our Laptop Mag team, consisting of managing editor Sean Riley, staff writer Madeline Ricchiuto, and contributing writer Stevie Bonifield, for on-the-ground coverage and reporting from this year's IFA Berlin event.
Laptop Mag's IFA Berlin 2024 Issue celebrates one of the world's longest-running consumer tech expos, Germany's own Internationale FunkAusstellung Berlin.
Our on-the-ground team will bring you all the news emerging from the showroom floor of Messe Berlin and highlight the best in consumer tech as we announce our inaugural Laptop Laurel winners for best-in-show products.
Head over to Laptop Mag's IFA Berlin 2024 Issue for more coverage.
