Samsung IFA 2017 launch: What you need to know
The Korean company packs its event in Berlin with plenty of news on gear ranging from home appliances to wearables.
David Lowes, head of marketing for Samsung's European operations, touts the company's vision what "normal" now is with smart devices.
Samsung may have just hosted a major event in New York, but there's no way it was going to sit out the biggest tech show in Europe.
That's IFA, held each year in Berlin. And Samsung did have plenty of news (even if it all was pretty minor compared with its new flagship Note 8 smartphone).
Samsung's now best known for its smartphones, but it has a huge business selling other electronics, including TVs and home appliances. The company typically hosts two separate events at IFA, one for its electronics business and one for mobile. This year, it combined them into an hour-long keynote Wednesday at the Tempodrom in central Berlin.
Its talk centered around the theme of "your new normal" -- what life should be like with all of your smart devices.
"What is your new normal?" asked David Lowes, head of marketing for Samsung's European operations. "It's being able to create, capture and share moments in the moment. It's having TV as a work of art. It's having your laundry perfectly done in 30 minutes. It's having a wellness trainer on your wrist. It's about simple innovations that change aspects of your life in ways you never could have anticipated but then can't live without."
Samsung's biggest news was three new wearables -- the Gear Sport smartwatch, Gear Fit 2 Pro fitness band and Icon X 2018 wireless earbuds. They all emphasize fitness features, like the ability to swim in salt water with the Gear Sport and Fit 2 Pro. One thing the watch and fitness band don't have is Bixby, Samsung's new voice assistant, though the Icon X 2018 earbuds can interact with Bixby via a Samsung phone.
Here's everything Samsung announced:
- Samsung's Gear Sport smartwatch is swim-ready with Spotify.
- Samsung Icon X 2018: AirPod alternatives get a battery boost.
- Samsung's $200 fitness tracker has Spotify, GPS and can swim.
- Samsung's Frame TV gets a 43-inch version and will be able to show art from museums like the Prado.
- Samsung's new Q8F QLED TV, a flat version of its curved Q8C television, will launch in Europe in 55- and 65-inch sizes.
- Samsung has partnered with Panasonic and 20th Century Fox to spread HDR 10+ technology (read more about HDR 10 vs. Dolby Vision).
- The company showed off a 49-inch QLED gaming monitor (which it originally announced a couple of months ago).
- Samsung's QuickDrive washing machine technology is said to cut washing time by half and energy use by 20 percent.
- The PowerStick Pro cordless vacuum cleaner has 40 minutes of battery life and 150 watts of suction -- as well as five accessories and a Flex Handle that folds up to 50 degrees.
- The Family Hub refrigerator will add some new languages: British English, German, French and Italian. And it will work with Samsung Connect.
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